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Goodwood never really closed
completely and I can
remember testing a single
seater there on a very wet
day in the 1970's, sitting
in the rather run down café
eating sandwiches and
drinking tea waiting for the
skies to clear, discussing
Chico Serra at some length
with Derek Warwick, who was
there testing an F2 car. The
track was fast and tricky,
particularly around the back
section where it was hard in
the wet to find and hold the
line coming down the
gradient through St. Mary's,
which leads to the start of
the Lavant Straight.
After
very extensive efforts Lord
March's team and a band of
enthusiastic supporters
suceeded in getting planning
permission to open the track
for a few days each year and
the Goodwood Motor Circuit
Revival was born, this year
being the second time
around. The restrictions are
due to objections from the
local residents to noise.
The
restoration involved a major
investment: 27,000 car and
lorry tyres were used to
form safety barriers,
270,000 tonnes of earth had
to be moved to form the
spectator bankings, six
miles of fencing was erected
and 20,000 trees were
planted. All of this makes a
fabulous neat, tidy and
clean circuit which in true
Goodwood style is a pure
pleasure to go to.
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