We love a little versus large battle here at Goodwood, whether it be monster muscle cars versus scrappy euro saloons, or varying sizes of sportscar duking it out. The Abarth and Morgan in this video could be the contents of a Ferrari 275-shaped Faberge egg. Yet here we see them scrapping with the big V12 prancing horse for second place in the Ronnie Hoare Trophy at the 78th Members’ Meeting presented by Audrain Motorsport.
Michael Gans in the Abarth uses momentum, leaning on its tyre sidewalls, as the Ferrari has a slightly tougher job managing its mass. The Morgan looks on from behind, keeping pace and applying pressure but never quite able to push and make a move stick. On the straights and through the sweepers, the power of that howling V12 is in abundance as it sings away from the scrappy Abarth and Morgan.
Then as the Vincent Gaye barrels down through St. Mary’s running wide, Gans sees an open door, slipping the little Abarth with precision. Only Olly Bryant in a Porsche 904 and the little Abarth-Simca could push the times into the 1 minute 32 second range. A proper plucky little sportscar that we love seeing put to work.
If you want to watch the 79th Members’ Meeting, you can watch Saturday in full here on GRR and across our social channels. To watch on Sunday you’ll need to be a Member or Fellow of the GRRC.
Video
Members Meeting
78MM
79MM
Ferrari
275 GTB
Morgan
Abarth
Ronnie Hoare Trophy