GOODWOOD REVIVAL IN PICTURES

There and back again in a classic BMW

FROM WHERE WE were sitting, the traffic jam leading to Goodwood for last weekend’s Revival was like no other. We travelled to the crowd-pulling retro event in a convoy of classic BMWs, ranging from the pretty 1600 GT to the rare 1800 TiSA, of which only 200 were made.

A 50-mile journey through the Sussex countryside took almost three hours, including a couple of stops to swap seats with other BMW drivers in the convoy.

Our transport was an E21 3-series. In 1975 it paved the way for future 3-series to come and featured a first-of-its-kind centre console angled towards the driver. The car, which had covered less than 7000 miles in its lifetime, was still good for 80mph on the motorways thanks to its 2.0-litre straight six. Brakes and steering felt pretty tight, too, even by more modern standards.

Once we arrived, we joined the crowds watching the action on track. One highlight was a tussle between a Mini, a 1965 BMW 1800 TiSA and a Ford Galaxie 500 in the St Mary’s Trophy race. Fittingly, Richard Shaw pulled clear to win in the BMW. ALEX KERSTEN

Period dress is as important as the cars

Kenny Bräck and Tom Kristensen took their Shelby Daytona Cobra to an emphatic win in the RAC TT Celebration race. Here they lead the AC Cobra of Rob Hall and Jochen Mass and the fast-starting Ferrari 250 GTO of Martin Brundle and Mark Hales.

This fight between Nick Swift’s Mini and James Wood’s Ford Galaxie 500 was a highlight of the St Mary’s Trophy race. Wood held the advantage at the flag.

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A near-priceless grid full of Jaguar E-types duked it out for the Fordwater Trophy. Here, the E-type FHC of Christian Traber and Rauno Aaltonen is about to be passed by the semi-lightweight version of Paul Radisich and Andrew Smith. AlanHenry

Racing lines Can Renault keep a seat warm for Robert Kubica?

Eric Boullier wants Kubica back in F1

Max Chilton The Brit, a GP2 Series regular, got his first taste of Formula 1 when he carried out straight-line testing for Force India at Kemble Airfield.

Theclockticks forKubica

LAT

LAT

I’M CERTAIN ALL Formula 1 fans sympathise deeply with the plight facing Renault team principal Eric Boullier over just how long he can leave the door open for star driver Robert Kubica, who is still recovering from serious injuries suffered in a rallying accident before the start of the grand prix season.

“I will be flexible, because I really like Robert and it will be good to have him return, but in the middle or end of October I need clear confirmation,” Boullier said last week. “My problem is that I cannot miss the opportunity to have Robert back, but at the same time I need to look after the interests of my team.”

Boullier’s dilemma reminds me of that which faced Lotus founder Colin Chapman in 1964. After Jim Clark’s teammate, Peter Arundell, suffered multiple injuries in an accident at Reims, Chapman kept open the Englishman’s place in the team until he had recovered 18 months later – and then gave him a full season of F1 in 1966.

Chapman’s generosity of spirit may have seemed unexpected for a man who had a deep-seated reputation as a ruthless tough nut who would hire and fire drivers on a whim. Sadly, Arundell never managed to recoup the form that earned him a

‘Sadly, Arundell never managed to recoup the form that earned him a place in F1’

place in the Lotus F1 team in the first place. But Boullier clearly wants to afford Kubica a similar level of consideration.

At least Kubica won’t be faced with the stark lack of sympathy directed towards Niki Lauda by Enzo Ferrari, whose immediate response to Lauda’s fiery accident at the Nürburgring in 1976 was to sign Carlos Reutemann to drive a third car in the Austrian’s comeback race at Monza just six weeks later.

This was a betrayal that fuelled Lauda to fresh levels of motivation. Asked later if he regarded Reutemann as a team-mate or a rival, he replied witheringly: “Neither!”

Read Alan’s exclusive motorsport blog every Monday at autocar.co.uk

BMW The Munich manufacturer was buoyed by the promising pace of its new M3 DTM car during the car’s first major test at the Lausitzring in

Germany.

Dario Franchitti The Scot lost his IndyCar points lead after tangling with Ryan Briscoe at Motegi in

Japan. Franchitti accepted the blame for the crash.

Mark Webber With six F1 races to go,

the Aussie said title favourite Sebastian Vettel can’t now be caught. “We’re fighting for second place,” he reckoned.

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