Sixty years ago this month Goodwood was host to one of the most intense and hotly contested races of all time, the final race of the 1959 World Sportscar Championship. It was at this event that Aston Martin and Stirling Moss fought off the might of Ferrari and Porsche—as well as a fiery blaze that nearly ended their challenge—to win the race and take the World Sportscar Championship in the process.
The Revival will pay homage to that historic race with a demonstration of some of the very cars that took part all those years ago, and making it that much more special will be the birthday celebrations that are planned for Sir Stirling Moss, who will turn 90 on 17 September.
The race itself proved to be six hours of fierce battle both on and off the track as on lap 24, on the first pitstop, the Aston Martin of Moss/Salvadori caught fire due to some spilled fuel. Fortunately only the car and pit area were damaged but with Moss potentially out of the running and nowhere to pit the remaining cars, the situation seemed hopeless. Thanks to a privateer Aston Martin team offering up their pit area and Moss turning in the performance of his life at the wheel of the number 2 car, he crossed the line one lap ahead of the second-placed Porsche and in the process won the championship too.
Speaking about the celebration, the Duke of Richmond said, “The 1959 Tourist Trophy was, without doubt, the most momentous race that Goodwood staged in period, and it delivered a true landmark in British motoring when Aston Martin claimed the World Sportscar Championship. We shall be celebrating that extraordinary performance to the fullest, as well as toasting the 90th birthday of Sir Stirling Moss, by recapturing the entire spectacle of the occasion when we open the 2019 Goodwood Revival. I am sure that our visitors on Friday will be amazed.”
The 2019 Goodwood Revival takes place from 13 to 15 September and a few tickets are still available for purchase.
Images courtesy of Goodwood and LAT Images
