If you reuse this image, please credit and link back to historicracer.com.It’s back in 2004, the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Rain is falling in those annoying short showers that just stop the track from drying completely. Tricky conditions, the sort of thing that sends cars into the wall of bales if they drop a wheel onto the wet grass. A day for the lesser talented to learn humility. But a day for the talented to show how it’s done. Someone on the startline is wearing a Gilles Villeneuve helmet…
[quote]the nose turns in and with a sharp stab of power, the driver lights the rear tyres up[/quote]
Off the startline comes the wail of a 12 cylinder Ferrari F1 engine. sharp upshifts, then braking for the first greasy right hander, directly in front of all of the hospitality units with the shiny, wealthy people looking on. Heel toe down change, the nose turns in and with a sharp stab of power, the driver lights the rear tyres up, majestic, controlled oversteer of just the right amount, not straying from the damp track. Rears still sliding, he’s letting the engine have it’s head before an upshift, the rears grip and he’s away, under the bridge, exhaust bouncing back. Now that’s how it’s done….
The picture here records what I’ve been told is a unique event. The car I was talking about is Nick Mason’s beautiful Ferrari 312T3 F1 machine. The driver wearing the Gilles Villeneuve hemet was his son, Jacques Villeneuve. And the GPA helmet he was wearing that day was his father’s original GPA. Goosebumps?
Just the single run up the hill on the Saturday, no repeat performance. That was all he wanted. The commentary team find a microphone at the top of the hill. Jacques, “It was a one-off, something I’ve always wanted to do. Now I’ve done it, it will be intensely memorable and I doubt I’ll need to do it ever again”.
It must have been quite a feeling for him, sitting on the startline that day, selecting first gear, a big blip, then dropping the clutch, wearing that famous GPA….
If you reuse this image, please credit and link back to historicracer.com.
I’ve printed these images several times in response to requests from friends.
If you reuse this image, please credit and link back to historicracer.com.
