Puffer jackets replace tweed jackets  Words and images by Stephen Mosley

I was there for the 72nd Members Meeting at Goodwood, the first of the new era, in warm spring sunshine with a gentle breeze coming up from the coast. The myriad daffodils positively glowed under the azure sky as the prancing horse-badged, jewelled flashes of scarlet screamed past, accompanied with that spine-tingling V12 howl. Whether by chance, or through global warming, the event seems to have got gradually colder at each subsequent running until this year we were welcomed by a biting wind and snow showers.

Perhaps it was understandable that the period outfits were less prevalent, being replaced with ‘puffer jackets’ and ski hats, but a good number still entered into the spirit of things in heavy tweed jackets and wool dresses. Although the Revival is a knowing evocation of the golden age of the circuit it is a little too arch at times, the ‘am drams’ and set pieces being a tad too knowing. The Members’ Meeting, by comparison, has always been more natural in referencing previous decades and part of its charm is its own unforced yet undeniable transportation of spectators and competitors alike back to club meetings of the ‘50s and ‘60s. It is a measure of the event that such extreme weather could not entirely thwart this aspect.

As a photographer the unusual conditions were something to be explored. Soft light accentuated by a lens smeared with melting snowflakes, and warmly glowing headlights promoting muted colours and pastel shades. The vibrancy of bright colours associated with motor sport and high output engines gave way to a warm nostalgic feel. The racing itself though remained vital with a wildness brought about by cold tyres and the reduced grip of wet tarmac. The Gerry Marshall Trophy for ‘70s tin tops, always a crowd pleaser, suffered from most laps on the Sunday being under the Safety Car. However, it still delivered over the weekend with Fiestas and a Metro joining the grid for the first time this year along with tweaks to the rules bringing about closer racing overall.

From late ‘60s Formula 3 single-seaters, through pre-war sports cars and ‘60s Le Mans racers, to the positively monstrous Group 5 Porsches, Ferraris and BMWs being demonstrated over the weekend; all gamely took on the tricky conditions with any number of subsequent thrills and spills to entertain the frozen onlookers. Sadly, the motorbikes took an early bath but with such rare machines and such inappropriate conditions for a mere two wheels it was a decision that could easily be forgiven. The enthusiasm could not be dulled though with everyone determined to enjoy themselves as best they could, even the firework display late on Saturday was still well attended.

So another fantastic weekend at Goodwood that even the Siberian weather couldn’t spoil. The expected eclectic mix of rare machinery being put through its paces for the enjoyment of the assembled enthusiasts but yet – there was a tinge of sadness. Something missing, or rather someone, and without them a sense of the whole being incomplete. We had lost Henry Hope-Frost, the irrepressibly warm and witty roving reporter of Goodwood’s events in modern times, in a road accident a mere week before the event. All those who had the pleasure of meeting him shared a profound sense of grief, significantly as did those who only knew him from afar. For the measure of the man look to the commemorative stickers, ubiquitous on cars and crash helmets over the weekend or the hundreds of personal tributes online. Mr Hope-Frost cast a big shadow and perhaps the finest eulogy we could have given him was this steadfast and unwavering celebration of the racing car? The celebration of speed untainted by the most trying of conditions.