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Goodwood Revival 2017 – RAC Tourist Trophy Report

Revival 2017 by Nicole Hains NICOLE HAINS
Michael Gans in the RAC Tourist Trophy race winning AC Cobra (photo: Nicole Hains)

The Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy Celebration race at the Goodwood Revival 2017 was held Sunday, September 10th at the Goodwood Motor Circuit in West Sussex, England.

Michael Gans and Andy Wolfe claimed victory in the RAC Tourist Trophy Celebration race, but their AC Cobra wasn’t the car that finished first on-track.

The Jaguar E-type duo Chris Ward and Gordon Shedden had appeared set for a sensational third consecutive win, having been made to work hard for it by the father and son team of David and Oliver Hart in their AC Cobra.

Pole-sitter Ward fluffed the start and was swamped by the pack on the run to the first corner. It was a Cobra 1-2-3 at the end of the first lap, with Ward recovering to fourth at quarter-distance. He soon worked his way through the pack, his highly-developed Jaguar spending most of the time sideways in pursuit of the Hart family Cobra.

Ward had moved up to second place a third of the way into the one-hour race, and was first to stop once the pit window opened shortly thereafter. Hart Sr stayed out for a further lap.

The Jaguar and front-running Cobra were rarely more than a fraction of a second apart until three-quarter distance, leaving their pursuers trailing in their wake, only for Hart Jr to receive a five-second penalty for clipping the chicane.

It was of little consequence as the teenager’s awe-inspiring performance came to an abrupt end with ten minutes left to run after the car caught fire. Fortunately, damage was minimal.

Shedden continued to build on his lead, the E-type looking slightly less pristine at the end of the race at the beginning. With five minutes left to run, Ward and Shedden were given a 30-second penalty for a prior clash with the Bryant/Smith Cobra which demoted them to second place.

Goodwood Revival 2017 – RAC Tourist Trophy Race Results

  1. AC Cobra, Michael Gans and Andy Wolfe
  2. Jaguar E-Type, Chris Ward and Gordon Shedden
  3. Shelby Cobra, Nicolas Minassian and Ludovic Caron

Goodwood Revival 2017 – RAC Tourist Trophy Race Video

[Source: Goodwood; photo: Nicole Hains]