81st Members’ Meeting kicks off 2024 season at Goodwood
Goodwood kicked off its 2024 season with the recent 81st Members’ Meeting.
One of the most notable firsts from across the weekend was the use of sustainable fuels in two races - the Ken Miles Cup and the Gordon Spice Trophy - and drivers and owners were encouraged to use them as much as possible throughout the event. This comes ahead of the 2024 Revival in September, which will see sustainable fuels used exclusively.
Indy NXT driver and three-time W Series Champion Jamie Chadwick joined both races as she made her Goodwood racing debut.
The weekend also saw the opening of the newly relocated Tyrrell Shed on the Goodwood site. The Shed housed Ken Tyrrell’s Championship-winning Formula 1 racing team and was relocated, piece by piece, from its old home in Surrey. Members and Fellows of the Goodwood Road Racing Club were given an exclusive preview of the iconic Shed before it officially opens to the public at the Goodwood Revival in five months.
Niki Lauda was remembered 50 years on from his first F1 victory in the 1974 Spanish Grand Prix and 40 years since his third and final World Championship. An on-track demonstration of Lauda’s 1985 Dutch Grand Prix-winning McLaren MP4/2B was taken in by an excited crow with further celebrations of the legendary Austrian driver set to take place at the Festival of Speed in June.
Saturday afternoon also saw 10-time Grand Prix winner Gerhard Berger returning to drive his 1989 Ferrari 640 Formula 1 car, notable for being the first to ever use a sequential paddle-shift transmission.
Another Saturday highlight was the debut of Gordon Murray Automotive’s T.50s track-only hypercar driven by four-time IndyCar Series Champion Dario Franchitti. GMA is a regular fixture at the Members’ Meeting each year its paddock display showcased the story of the T.50s, as well as the T.33 Mule and a series of other GMA cars and engines on the Pit Lane Lawn.
The weekend also saw another first for the Goodwood Motor Circuit, as eight modern racing sidecars competed against one another in a spectacular Shoot-Out on Sunday afternoon.
The Ken Miles Cup run on sustainable fuel at the 81st Members' Meeting. Ph. by PA.
The Tyrrell Shed at 81st Members' Meeting. Ph. by Peter Summers.
Cars line up in the Assembly Area at the 81st Members' Meeting. Ph. by PA.
Can-Am Demonstration at the 81st Members' Meeting. Ph. by PA.
The McLaren-TAG MP42B in the Niki Lauda Celebration at the 81st Members' Meeting. Ph. by PA.
Hailwood Trophy at the 81st Members' Meeting. Ph. by PA.
The Funfair at the 81st Goodwood Members' Meeting. Ph. by PA.
Sidecar Knockout on Sunday afternoon at the 81st Members' Meeting. Ph. by PA.
Racing action at the 81st Members' Meeting. Ph. by PA.
Jamie Chadwick at the 81st Goodwood Members' Meeting. Ph. by PA.
A car on its way to the Assembly Area at the 81st Goodwood Members' Meeting. Ph. by PA.
words: Mike Booth
pictures: Goodwood & Henry Faulkner-Smith