9 highlights from GRR in August
August is officially over, and with it, any semblance of the British Summer. Or, at least, so say the dark clouds hanging over the GRR office today. But while Reading may have wrapped up, and Camp Bestival has been and gone, here at Goodwood we have one last summer celebration, the vintage delight that is the Revival.
But before the big event kicks off, let’s take advantage of the momentary calm to look back at August and all the awesome content that kept us sane this summer.
What it’s like to ride on the back of a MotoGP bike
If you were to look up the definition of ‘once in a lifetime experience’, I’m pretty sure that a ride up the Goodwood hillclimb on the back of a Ducati Desmosedici MotoGP bike would more than qualify. It certainly did for me when I hopped on the back of Franco Battaini’s bike at the 2019 Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard.
The Iso Grifo A3/C Bizzarrini was built to destroy the Ferrari 250 GTO
Fast, red and Italian, and not a Ferrari? This Bizzarrini Iso Grifo A3/C was at Goodwood to compete in the Graham Hill Trophy at the 77th Members’ Meeting, a race full of stunning closed-cockpit GTs and prototypes.
The Mugen Shinden is an all‑electric Isle of Man TT conqueror
If you need to know anything about the TT Zero, it’s that the Mugen Shinden just about destroys all of the opposition. We were lucky enough to have the 2019 Mugen Shinden Hachi at the Festival of Speed, fresh from a 2nd place finish at the 2019 TT Zero in the hands of racing legend Michael Rutter.
Video: How Alfa Romeo almost won the 1972 Targa Florio
The narrow mountain streets of Sicily are steeped in motorsport history, with the echoes of endurance racing omnipresent on the island. It was on these very roads that Alfa Romeo came achingly close to winning 1972’s race…
The Leyton House CG901 Formula 1 car catapulted Adrian Newey’s career
Adrian Newey may be known for his work at Williams, McLaren and Red Bull, but there’s another F1 team that holds a special place in his heart: Leyton House. We sat down with Newey at the Festival of Speed to talk about the three-year restoration of his own Leyton House CG901.
Video: Babs – the land speed record car that was buried for 40 years
Babs may sound more like a bingo pal of your grandma’s, but this old lady is far faster than you may think. The 1926 Land Speed Record setter reached 171.02mph on Pendine Sands in the hands of Sir Parry Thomas. The following year, after achieving in excess of 180mph, Babs crashed and Sir Thomas was killed. The wreck was buried in the sand dunes of Pendine until 42 years later, when an enthusiast excavated it and later rebuilt it. Check out this awesome video of Babs in action at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Video: The five best moments from the RAC TT Celebration
The one-hour, two-driver race is a fan favourite at the Revival, celebrating closed-cockpit GT cars that would have raced at RAC TT events in 1963 and ’64. With the Revival just two weeks away we thought it was a good time to pick our five favourite clips from the race. It was difficult to narrow it down…
Donald Campbell’s Aston Martin DB4 GT to be auctioned at the Revival
World speed record legend Donald Campbell was no ordinary man. And his cars tended to reflect that. In 1961, after setting six world water speed records and just three years before hitting 403mph in Bluebird in Australia, he purchased an Aston Martin DB4 GT. And now it could be yours…
Driving a prototype Porsche Taycan
Would you believe us if we said that a 2.25 tonne, four-door saloon powered by electricity, can lap the Nürburgring in the same time as a Lamborghini Murcielago LP670 Super Veloce?
Well, it can. GRR columnist Andrew Frankel hopped behind the wheel of the 700bhp prototype Porsche Taycan in Germany.
Best of GRR
Porsche
Taycan
RAC TT Celebration
Aston Martin
DB4
Babs
Adrian Newey
Leyton House
Formula 1
Motorsport
Alfa Romeo
Targa Florio
Mugen
Shinden
Iso Grifo
Bizzarrini
MotoGP
Ducati
Desmosedici
