- The JD Classics team also took victories in the Freddie March Memorial Trophy and the Fordwater Trophy- A hugely successful weekend was rounded off by a second-place finish in the Sussex Trophy and two pole positions- JD Classics was this year a main sponsor of the Goodwood Revival, and provided three course cars for the event
JD Classics won three races and came second in its fourth at the world-famous Goodwood Revival over the weekend – including a win in the iconic RAC TT Celebration race. The Maldon-based classic car experts were also a major sponsor of this year’s celebration of vintage motor sport, and provided three course cars.
JD Classics’ most notable success of the weekend was in the RAC TT Celebration – one of the most incredible races of the event, featuring a grid estimated to be worth in excess of £150m. In a race traditionally dominated by the powerful AC Cobras, JD Classics drivers Gordon Shedden and Chris Ward put in an excellent qualifying performance to take second-position in the Lightweight E-Type. Their time was just half-a-second behind the pole-sitting Cobra, which set a new track record of 1:25.1.
As the race rolled around, Chris Ward got off to a slow start, dropping back to fourth position. But over the next few laps, Ward drove the E-Type hard, battling the Cobras ahead of him every step of the way, pulling off tricky overtakes to snatch second place. Chris finally picked his moment, overtaking the leader in a magnificent sideways move in to Woodcote that saw him pushing the limits of his car and the track. As Gordon Shedden took over, he continued pulling away from the second, third and fourth-place Cobras to take an incredibly impressive win in the RAC TT Celebration by nearly 15 seconds.
JD Classics also managed a win in the Freddie March Memorial Trophy, in which JD Classics’ MD Derek Hood and Chris Ward shared the driving in a Cooper T33. With a 15-minute stint each, the Cooper was on top form amongst the field of C-Types, Aston Martins and even another Cooper T33, grabbing pole position and dominating the session.
In the 90-minute Freddie March Memorial Trophy race, with Derek Hood at the wheel for the first stint, the Cooper again showed the same impressive pace it had in qualifying, maintaining the lead until shortly before Lap 5 when a car ran wide and the safety car was called out. Sitting now in third position, an illegal overtake under the safety car by a Cunningham C4R put the JD Classics car back in to fourth – but as soon as the safety car moved off-track, Derek Hood was able to regain the place before handing over to Chris Ward.
A few laps later, and thanks to some brilliant driving, the Cooper was leading the pack and pulling away with each passing lap. Even as rain began to fall, the Cooper continued to increase its lead, eventually lapping even the second-place car before taking the chequered flag and the win for JD Classics.
Following their dominant form during the weekend, the JD Classics team had high hopes for the Fordwater Trophy race, with all signs pointing to another win after an excellent qualifying session. With two competition Jaguar XK120s in contention, the team qualified 1st and 10th in the 29-strong grid. The pole-sitting car was nearly three seconds ahead of the Porsche 356 in second-place.
As the Fordwater Trophy race began, the pole-sitting XK120 driven by John Young was slow to start, allowing the second-place Porsche 356 to take the lead. The Porsche’s time at the front was short-lived, however, with John Young regaining the lead by the end of the first lap. Another dominant race by the JD Classics team, saw the XK120 stretching its lead for the remainder of the 45-minute race before finishing well ahead of the rest of the pack. The team’s second XK120, driven by Derek Hood, also had a good race, crossing the line in 9th position.
Rounding off the JD Classics Competition Department’s incredible weekend of racing was a second-place finish in the Sussex Trophy, as Chris Ward held his qualifying position in the Lister Costin. Ward was constantly battling for the lead, sticking close to the tail of the leading Ferrari 246S Dino. The Ferrari managed to just hold of Ward’s challenges until the chequered flag, though, finishing just 3.5 seconds ahead of the team’s Lister Costin.
JD Classics Managing Director, Derek Hood, said: “This weekend is one of our proudest moments ever; we entered four races at Goodwood Revival, we won three of them – including the famous RAC TT Celebration – and came second in the other. It’s a personal highlight for me, too, winning my first race at Goodwood in the Freddie March Memorial Trophy. The whole JD Classics Competition Department team can be immensely proud of themselves: on one of the biggest stages in historic racing they’ve proved that they are truly world-class.”
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