McLarens takeover the Goodwood 73rd Members Meeting

1 April, 2015

The Goodwood 73rd Members Meeting, held on March 21–22, was a spectacular occasion showcasing some of the best racing flashbacks seen for years, but what was our highlight?

McLaren decided to organize a never-seen-before experience for Goodwood fans by means of McLaren F1 GTR overload. McLaren arranged F1 GTRs from every year that they contested the BPR Global GT Series, alongside a few guest appearances such as the new McLaren P1 GTR.

What they also did was capture it all on video for your viewing pleasure. Feast your eyes on the ’95, ’96, and ’97 ‘Longtail’ GTRs all on the circuit at the same time.

Image credit: evo.co.uk

A second dose of Dash

When the car arrived in Wellington in December 2018 it was duly taken along for entry certification. Vehicle Inspection NZ (VINZ) found some wrongly wired lamps and switches — not too bad — but, much more significantly, some poor welding repairs. As the structural problems were probed more thoroughly, we realized the previous owner’s restoration would not do and we needed an upgrade. Dash had made it into the country but it would take some time and money before he would be free to explore any of New Zealand’s scenic highways.
We took the car to our new home in Johnsonville in the northern suburbs of Wellington and I pored over the car in detail to figure out what was next. There were lots of new parts on the car and a very perky reconditioned drivetrain but the chassis needed serious work.

Lunch with… Jim Palmer

In the 1960s, Hamilton’s Jim Palmer won the prestigious ‘Gold Star’ four times and was the first resident New Zealander home in the New Zealand Grand Prix on five consecutive occasions. He shared the podium with Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren, Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Denny Hulme, Jackie Stewart, and Chris Amon. The extent of his domination of the open-wheeler scene in New Zealand will probably never be matched or exceeded. Yet he’s always been modest about his achievements.