Video: 2024 Earl of March Trophy full race | Goodwood Revival

24th September 2024

Rachel Roberts

Lashings of rain over the Goodwood Motor Circuit curtailed the 2024 running of the Earl of March Trophy, the first race scheduled for Sunday at Revival. Morning showers had ceased by the time the 500cc Formula 3 cars were on the track to start the day’s racing, but the prior rain was cause enough for a rolling start off the line.

Tom Waterfield in the Cooper-Norton MkVIII had qualified on pole four seconds ahead of the Cooper MkVII of Harry Painter and made an excellent start, while fourth place Michael Russell dropped down through the field. The opening laps delivered plenty of racing action, from J.B. Jones in the 1955 Cousy-Triumph running wide onto the grass, to a smooth overtake from Simon Frost on Richard de la Roche, while George Shackleton jumped from eighth to second in his ’57 Cooper-Norton MkXI.

We then saw the first safety car of the race, after Chris Wilson – running in one of the oldest cars at the event, a 1948 Cooper-JAP MkII – lost control of the rear and contact with the wet grass sent him bumping into the barrier. The appearance of the safety car coincided with a fresh bout of rain, where the combination of sunshine and showers made visibility poor for the drivers who looked especially vulnerable being battered by the heavens in their little lightweight machines.

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Waterfield, quoted as being one to enjoy racing in the wet, went on a mission to rebuild his lead after the green flags were waved, by which stage Madgwick corner told the story of the contrasting and treacherous track conditions: dry on the approach and drenched in rain on the exit. Andrew Turner and Alex Wilson were battling for third, meanwhile, with the latter coming out on top until a broken drive chain on his ’56 Cooper-Norton MkX ended his race.

With Wilson stopped on the grass the safety car resumed its duties, eradicating the substantial 16 second lead Waterfield had built as the pack began to close again. And with the rain only worsening, red flags called the Earl of March Trophy to a premature end, though there was no doubt as to who would be named the winner.