The St. Mary's Trophy: Goodwood’s touring car heritage

Big cats prowl the St. Mary's Trophy

Goodwood’s first St. Mary's Trophy came in 1959, running simultaneously on track with a GT race. It wasn’t until 3^rd April 1961 what the first standalone contest was held. Sleek Jaguar Mk2 3.8s dominated the rain-soaked event, holding the first six positions on a grid that included Formula 1 royalty including future double World Champion Graham Hill, Roy Salvadori and Bruce McLaren. 

As it was, Mike Parkes — a Grand Prix racer himself who’d go on to win the 12 Hours of Sebring with Ferrari in 1964 — won the day in the most unlikely manner, having to race on tyres borrowed from fellow racer Tommy Sopwith's road car. Two Jaguars trailed behind, with Hill in second and Dennis Taylor taking third.

Demonstrating the variety of cars that make the St. Mary's Trophy such a special event, Chris Kerrison won Class 2 in a 2.4-litre Jaguar, Bill Blydenstein's Cibié Cup-winning Borgward T5 Isabella took Class 3, and Class 4 was won John Aley's Austin 7.

Jaguar's dominance of the St. Mary's Trophy rolled into 1962, and Parkes looked odds-on favourite for a repeat result after taking pole on the grid until he was passed by Hill. Parkes fought to regain his position, but his efforts were hindered by gearbox issues that forced him to retire, leaving Hill to claim victory ahead of Salvadori and Jack Sears.

The three works Minis, driven by Sir John Whitmore, Paddy Hopkirk and John Rhodes, looked like they'd sewn up their class in ’62, but it wasn't to be. The trio threw treads on their Dunlop DP tyres (probably not helped by their pirouetting cornering antics) handing victory to Christabel Carlisle.

Given their form over the years, a Jaguar winning 1963's St. Mary's Trophy seemed a forgone conclusion. Mike Salmon led no less than six Jaguars away from the line composed of Hill, Salvadori, Peter Dodd, Bill Aston and John Sparrow. 

Hill passed Salmon, with Salvadori following a lap later and threatening to take the lead of the race. But Hill managed to avoid any incident to seal the win, crossing the line at more than 85mph and less than two seconds ahead of Salvadori, with Salmon a long way back in third.

The Lotus Cortinas were proving to be the new kings of Class 2, with Sears and Jimmy Blumer leading the way. That year’s winner Sears was well ahead of Blumer, and both were more than a lap ahead of the Sunbeam Rapiers.

Meanwhile, the Minis were the car to have in Class 3. Peter Clarke (Fiat Abarth) was the only driver not in a Cooper. John Fenning led the race with Whitmore, Hopkirk, and Carlisle chasing. A much harder fought contest than the Class 2 race, Fenning and Whitmore engaged in wheel-to-wheel diving into the chicane. Fenning stayed on the road while Whitmore found the wall, almost tripping up Carlisle, who slotted into second position in class. Whitmore took the win, though he and Fenning were summoned to the stewards for a debrief after the race.  

A new champion enters the frame

Jaguar's monopoly on the St. Mary’s Trophy made it hard to believe any other car could win at Goodwood, but then racing fans hadn't reckoned on the "big banger invasion" in 1964. The emergence of the V8 Ford Galaxies saw three of these American machines hoping to follow the success of the Mini Coopers and Lotus Cortinas, which now dominated their classes.

The Galaxies didn't have everything their own way, though. Jack Brabham's car suffered a blowout during practice, sending it into a mighty roll, while Sir Gawaine Baillie's car pulled up with gearbox trouble during the warm-up. 

Jack Sears' Galaxie led the early laps of the race with Jim Clark's Lotus Cortina nibbling at his heels, his inside front wheel cocked through corners. Even with his Lotus transformed into a tripod, Clark's driving was mesmerising, giving him a 13-second lead over Peter Arundell in another Cortina over ten laps. 

But victory was firmly with the Galaxie of Sears, who crossed the line at almost 90mph to win the race with a lead of more than five seconds over Clark, with Arundell nearly 15 seconds behind in third.

Mother Nature levels the playing field

That commanding Ford Galaxie performance wasn't repeated in 1965, and Mother Nature was the main reason why. 

Hail and pouring rain delayed the start of that year’s race, which was halved down to five laps to accommodate television coverage of the day's F1 race. On a cold, wet track, the Ford Galaxies and Mustangs’ power advantage wasn’t so telling. Perfect conditions to separate the good drivers from the brilliant, as Clark's Lotus Cortina took the win more than ten seconds ahead of the Cortina of Sears and 20 seconds adrift of Mike Salman's Mustang. 

Clark's fastest lap clocked an average speed of 81.51mph, tellingly almost 10mph slower than the previous year. 

A Ford grand slam

Order would be restored in the last St. Mary's Trophy in 1966, when Brabham and Salmon's Mustangs returned big V8s to the top of the food chain, and securing first and second place on the grid. Jim Clark's magic would win him the final position on the front row. 

Salmon got the quickest start away from the line, with Clark, Baillie, Brabham, Brian Muir, Arundell and Roy Pierpoint following nose to tail. 

The tight racing sent Peter Procter's Ford Anglia cartwheeling several times before coming to rest on the infield on fire. Procter eventually managed to get free of the wreckage but was badly burned. 

Roy Pierpoint came off in the same place but retired his car to the pits. Clark would relinquish second place to Muir, who took the lead, and Brabham overtook Clark and Salmon for second place. But victory was just out of grasp; Brabham finished less than a second behind race winner Muir. With Mustangs taking first and second place, Chris Craft's Anglia completed Ford’s podium lockout.

The St. Mary’s Trophy at the Goodwood Revival celebrates these saloons with one of the most engaging racing of the weekend, as mighty Minis take on the massive Ford Galaxies.

It’s also a race that attracts some of the biggest names, 2013 Indy 500 winner and 2004 IndyCar Series Champion Tony Kanaan is already confirmed to be on the grid in a Ford Zodiac. With action over all three days of Revival, there’s no excuses for missing these old road cars roar into riveting action.

Tickets for the Goodwood Revival are limited! Saturday tickets have sold out, so secure your Friday and Sunday tickets to avoid missing out on the world's best historic motorsport event.