Padmore gets his season off to a flyer Into gear at Goodwood event
Nick Padmore has got his motorsport season off the start line and into top gear, with the Horsham driver having his first races of the year at the 79th Members’ Meeting at Goodwood.
Driving a variety of cars at what he describes as one of his favourite race meetings of the year, he enjoyed a busy schedule as one of the major highlights of the Historic Motorsport season returned to its’ traditional spring calendar slot and a meeting blessed with great weather.
The past few years have seen Padmore race the distinctive BMW 530i (owned by the Sadler family, to whom he is extremely grateful for the chance to drive it) in the Gerry Marshall Trophy races for cars that competed in the British Saloon Car Championships from 1976 to 1982.
There were two races for this car, the first being a 45-minute race with driver changes and pitstops. He shared driving duties with Chris Ward, an established racer of historic cars and a Goodwood race winner in the past.
The pair qualified the car 14th on the capacity grid and ran a strong race to finish 10th, which could have been higher but for being unlucky with the timing of a safety car period.
The second race was a 15-minute Sprint race, with just Padmore driving for the duration.
He started seventh on then grid and drove an amazing opening lap to lead by the end of the lap. On the second lap, he was being caught by three of the big V8 engined cars that had started further back. These thundered past over the next three laps to leave Padmore fourth.
He went on to take the chequered flag in fourth, having held off challenges from some Ford Capris behind. During the second part of the race he consistently reduced his lap times and set the fastest lap he has ever set with this car around Goodwood.
Padmore also raced a couple of cars new to him, the first a 1963 Rochdale Olympic in the Weslake Cup for Sports & GT Cars that raced between 1958 and 1966. Mechanical gremlins hit him but he took sixth place.
In a Lotus Elan 26R Shapecraft dating back to 1964, sharing driving with owner Robin Ellis, they ended 19th.
One big highlight for Padmore over the weekend, was being reunited with the 1989 Arrows A11 which he was driving in the demonstration laps as Goodwood celebrated the V10 era of Formula 1.
It is the car with which Padmore set the lap record around Goodwood in 2020.
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