2018 GOODWOOD REVIVAL - ST MARY'S TROPHY
- 13 September 2018
RACE 1
Andy Priaulx emerged victorious after a frenetic St. Mary’s Trophy race although fellow former World Touring Car Champion Rob Huff was first on the road as they crossed the line.
Huff blasted off the front row once the flag dropped, but he was a bit too eager and received a ten-second penalty for his trouble. Without pits-to-car radio, Huff was unaware of this, and in the early stages battled mightily with fellow Lotus Cortina man Ash Sutton and Matt Neal in the 4.4-litre Studebaker Lark Daytona 500. Andy Jordan, who started from the back row, was the man on the move, however, and the rallycrosser turned touring car ace tore through the field in his Lotus Cortina and was up to ninth place within four laps. Progress was blunted somewhat for a few laps mid-race after he struggled to find a way past the lumbering Ford Galaxie 500 of Pikes Peak hero Roman Dumas. After attempting several overtakes, he eventually found a way past that didn’t involve driving on the grass, and homed in on the lead battle.
Once in the lead, Sutton eked out his advantage over his pursuers, but the reigning British Touring Car Champion dived into the pits late in the day which promoted Huff back into the ‘lead’ as Priaux took Neal for second. Unaware that second place was actually first, Priaulx tried everything he could to get past Huff on the final tour, and was only made aware that he had won during the post-race interviews. Neal was second from Jordan, with Huff classified in fourth place.
RACE 2
19-year-old Olivier Hart took a brilliant win in the incident-filled second instalment of the St Mary’s Trophy saloon car race. The Dutch teen, whose Alfa Romeo 1600GTA was driven by countryman Tom Coronel yesterday, drove brilliantly in a race of two parts.
Lotus Cortina man Mike Jordan led Roger Wills’ lumbering Mercury Cyclone at the start, but there were frenetic battles up and down the order. This was brought into sharp relief on the fourth lap after Duncan Pittaway demolished the chicane in his Plymouth Barracuda. The race was red-flagged as a result.
The race was restarted, only for the safety car to be deployed almost immediately after Peter Chambers barrel-rolled his Lotus Cortina on the approach to St Mary’s. Fortunately, he walked away unaided. The race got underway again with only a few laps left to run, with Hart in a class of one up front, with Ambrogio Perfetti chasing him in his Lotus Cortina.
Unfortunately, the Italian’s car was then tagged by Bill Shepherd’s Ford Galaxie 500 and spun off into retirement. Fourth-place man Andrew Jordan was also a casualty of this melée, and had to cede a place to arch-rival Steve Soper who was fielding his own Lotus Cortina. Hart came home the victor from Wills, but Soper and yesterday’s winner Andy Priaulx triumphed on aggregate.
Report courtesy of GRRC.