Goodwood Revival to celebrate 100 years of Maserati in motor racing
Maserati will be honoured at this year’s Goodwood Revival, as the Italian marque celebrates 100 years of motor racing.
Joining other celebrations across the weekend, including the Vespa track opening parade, Ford’s 1996 Le Mans podium finishers and tributes to Barry Sheene, Maserati’s 100 years in racing will be celebrated in true Italian style.
Maserati’s racing story
When Alfieri Maserati drove the pioneering Tipo 26 to a class win at the Targa Florio, it signalled the beginning of a racing story that would see many highs and lows across several disciplines. Maserati’s biggest pre-war successes came at the Indy500 in 1939 and 1940 with Wilbur Shaw behind the wheel of an 8CTF, and victories at the Targa Florio in 1937, 1938, 1939 and 1940.
Maserati's post-war effort in sports car racing saw it concentrate on competing in the World Sports Car Championship from 1953 to 1961; however, it was Grand Prix racing where perhaps Maserati’s most notable successes were achieved and, more specifically, Formula 1.
The Maserati 250F chassis
credit: Lothar Spurzem
In 1957, Juan Manuel Fangio won the World Drivers’ Championship in F1 behind the wheel of a Maserati 250F, beating teammate Stirling Moss to the eight-race championship title. The Italian marque can also claim a part of the championship Fangio won three years earlier in 1954, with Argentine driver making a mid-season switch from Maserati to Mercedes during that season.
Other racing disciplines that Maserati has ventured into include the British and World Touring Car Championships, the FIA GT Championship and Formula E.
Goodwood to capture the romance and spirit of Italy
From stylish mid-century fashion to stylish cars, the Goodwood site will be set up in tribute to the golden era of the Targa Florio, with paddocks resembling the dusty, sun-drenched roads of post-war Sicily, capturing the romance and spirit of Italy.
More than 50 pre-1966 Maseratis will take to the track across the weekend, each representing a defining moment in the marque’s racing history. Some of the models set to appear include the largest gathering of Maserati 250Fs, as well as others like the 150S, 200Si, 300S, 350S, 450S, 4CL, 4CM, 8C, 8CM, A6GCS, Tipo 151, Tipo 63, V4 and V8RI models.
credit: Maserati
Goodwood Revival takes place from Friday 18 to Sunday 20 September.
words: Mike Booth
pictures: Goodwood