THE GOODWOOD OF THE SOUTH
WORLDWIDE, the various Goodwood Festivals are noted as the premiere historic motorsport events. Here in Australia, we have the Phillip Island Classic.
WORDS & IMAGES: Mark Walker
Sure, it’s doesn’t have the same focus on pageantry and fashion, but it does place an emphasis on racing, with the event typically drawing bumper fields from across the country, with leading international entries also on the agenda.
Picture this: 600 classic racing cars, with non-stop on-track action for three days.
The below gallery was captured at the 2007 event, which not only featured capacity fields of historic touring cars from various eras, but also Le Mans sports cars, a trans-Tasman field of F5000s (including some classic F1 beasts), but also a wildly varied field of cars on displays, used in parades and demonstrations.
A highlight was Jim Richards aboard the legendary Porsche 917/30 Can Am, which even with the turbo boost wound down was a complete handful for its massively credentialed pilot.
John Bowe can be seen below behind the wheel of an F5000, and while on the subject of Bowe, his former Veskanda C1 is depicted in action with its latest custodian Paul Stubber.
Typically contested on the weekend prior to the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, the event marks a fantastic start to a motoring themed holiday, especially with the weather typically glorious at that time of the year.
One to put on your bucket list.
Mark Walker (administrator)
A vastly experienced Motorsport Public Relations operator, journalist, commentator and photographer, Mark brings his unique angle to The Race Torque in both words and imagery. As well as serving as our key photographer on the ground at major events around Australia (and overseas), Walker will often chime in with his unique and pin-point sharp viewpoint of the racing world via the keyboard too.
