In recent years, MotoGP
legends such as Dani Pedrosa,
Wayne Gardner and Kevin
Schwantz have all raced at Good-
wood. This year, Bayliss stepped
up to make his Goodwood debut
and faced a phalanx of real-roads
racers, including 23-time TT win-
ner John McGuinness, Peter Hick-
man, Todd and Ian Hutchinson.
If the rider list is impressive,
the machinery is enough to
make nostalgia victims go weak
at the knees. Racing machines
must be pre-1955; Manx Nor-
tons are the weapon of choice
for many, with big, powerful Vin-
cents also popular, some com-
ing all the way from Australia.
I was fortunate enough to
be invited by the Duke (Revival
entries are by invitation only)
to ride a beautiful 1953 G80
Matchless owned and raced by
British classic racing specialist
Stuart Tonge. His hand-built and
immaculately tuned Matchless
is a work of art. The engine
alone takes around 50 hours to
assemble, and the finished bike
looks far too exquisite to risk
around Goodwood, a circuit that
asks extremely impolite ques-
tions of aging machinery.
Goodwood opened in 1948
and its 2.4-mile layout remains
much as it was in the 1950s. The
track is mainly flat, fearsomely
fast and steeped in history, and
its list of famous drivers and
riders is seemingly endless.
Formula One buffs know it as the
circuit that ended Stirling Moss's
(Above) There
are very few places
on Earth that can
transport you to a
different time than
Goodwood. (Left)
Chad chases a
guy on number
21. No prizes for
guessing who
that is…
VOLUME ISSUE NOVEMBER , P101
