GPX Historic at Goodwood: The beauty, the brute and the cutie!

It’s obvious that at an event like the Members’ Meeting, you can only find rare, amazing, extraordinary or completely mind-boggling machines in the paddock! GPX Historic has done its bit to make the 79th edition a success! The branch of the GP Extreme group, which restores, prepares and runs historic racing cars entered a svelte, streamlined Formula 1 Footwork-Mugen, a curvacious, muscular-looking McLaren M1B-Chevrolet and an awesome 4CV Renault that wreaked havoc in the hearts of the Goodwood public!

The French cutie seduces the British

This weekend, “Little Reggie” in its French blue livery was the first 4CV ever seen on the former Royal Air Force airfield near Chichester in West Sussex. A journalist on the site goodwood.com who had fallen under its charm devoted a glowing article to it.

Despite its soigné look, the 4CV Renault enjoyed a great sporting career. It shone in major events like the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1949 to 1954) scoring two class victories, as well as in the Mont Ventoux Hill Climb, the Monte Carlo Rally and the Mille Miglia.

At Goodwood it was driven by none other than the general manager of GP Extreme, Pierre-Brice Mena. Although more used to F1s from the 1970s, he couldn’t get over the fact that he attracted so many people with a popular car destined for everyday drivers. “The incredible enthusiasm for the 4CV was really mind-blowing. The tyres are very narrow and it has a tendency to oversteer. This car is said to be always on the verge of spinning!”

McLaren, the monarch!

GPX Historic brought a car to Goodwood that has a much more brutal character. The McLaren M1B is an evolution of the first sports racing car created by New Zealander Bruce McLaren’s company. From 1965 onwards it raced in the North American USRRC and Canam series as well as in Europe’s Group 7 events. Engineers Tyler Alexander and Robin Herd, who both had long careers in F1, designed its chassis while its bewitching bodywork is down to well-known British motor racing artist, Michael Turner.

Goodwood marked the car’s first outing under the GPX Historic banner. Stuart Hall who’s been a part of the GP Extreme adventure from the very start knew that he had a potential winner in his hands at Goodwood, but unfortunately a technical problem stymied his chances.

The V10 era – light cars and stunning performances!

In terms of the outright power output of the three cars entered by GPX Historic, topping the bill was the 720 bhp developed by the 3.5-litre V10 Mugen-Honda installed in the Footwork FA14/01 that took part in “The V10 Era” demonstration at Goodwood. This Formula 1 car is a real featherweight tipping the scales at just 505 kg compared with the 798 kg (with driver) of today’s crop of F1 single-seaters.

Jake Hill aged 28 (a year less than the car) who drove it at this year’s Members’ Meeting knows the Goodwood track like the back of his hand. The Footwork team was called Arrows before 1991 and again after 1996. During the 1993 Formula 1 World Championship the Footwork FA14/01 was driven by Derek Warwick and Aguri Suzuki.

The FA14/01 will be eligible for another prestigious demo reserved for Formula 1 cars from 1988 to 1994, which will take place from 25th to 27th November at the second edition of the Historic Dubai Grand Prix Revival by Gulf Historic. As in 2021, GPX Event, the events management branch of the GP Extreme group, will ensure the promotion of this meeting, a trail-blazer in the world of motor sport in the Middle East. Not to be missed unless you have a really bulletproof excuse!