Every time I see a classic car “race”, I usually expect parade laps with passing done only by hand signal. “No, no, you have the power, you go ahead.” I understand that nobody wants to ball up their classic, but at least go have some fun! Excepting the Australian Touring Car Masters (because the Aussies don’t understand anything but all-out racing), seeing a bunch of forty-fifty-older cars take to the track is normally like watching a Miss America pagent: sure, they’re pretty, but they aren’t really doing all that much to impress me. Maybe someone else, but not me.
These two guys, however, get it. Drivers Nick Swift (Morris Mini Cooper S) and Alex Furiani (Alfa Romeo 1600 GTA) put on a hell of a show battling out for sixth place in the second race of the Goodwood Revival Meeting, running for the St. Mary’s Cup. The Mini can dance around the corners, which balances out the power deficit that it has compared to the Alfa Romeo. Both drivers are driving at 110% (Furiani, more so after getting the Alfa’s aluminum sheetmetal re-worked by a BMW earlier in the race) and the commentary couldn’t match the racing any better if they tried. This is how racing is supposed to be!
So you don’t get classic saloon car (or sedan) racing, Bryan?
Is that because instead of brute horspower and unlimited sums of money you have drivers using skill and determination to take on cars that outperfom theirs and yet still win races. That Mini must be putting out at least 25% less power than the Alfa Romeo yet it out-handles it on the corners. Witness the epic Ford Galaxy/Mini battles of old where the Minis reeled in the vast Fords on every corner to gladden the hearts of motorsport fans.
So come on Bryan give these old cars a chance and I think you’ll find them a lot more entertaining than those Miss America showroom dummies….
NASCAR , INDY, Boring!
I’ll watch vintage tin tops any day. Nothing beats watching a Mini in the hands of a skilled driver power slide through a corner on three wheels while passing a more powerful apponent.
As stated above, so much cooler and entertaining than today’s F1,NAPCAR or Indy racing. Hats off to that Mini Cooper driver for putting on a fantastic show against a more powerful adversary. Loved that clip, thanks for posting it.