Goodwood Breakfast Club – Classic Car Sunday 2022
Last weekend saw Goodwood Breakfast Clubs Classic Car Sunday. For those not familiar with these events they are small-scale (by Goodwood standards), free-to-attend events focused on enthusiasts enjoying all sorts of cars. Throughout the year the event has different themes ranging from Supercar Sunday to Anything But The Car Sunday. The event is free to attend though you have to register your car. This allows you to drive down a small part of the historic Goodwood Motor Circuit, park up and then enjoy a good breakfast. One can then wander around, chat with like-minded car enthusiasts and take in the phenomenal array of cars.
Our morning started early, getting the Twyford Moors fully restored Jaguar XK140 demonstrator (nicknamed Reggie) out of the garage and warmed up. The car is stored on a trickle charger so, despite having a working clock fitted, it always starts on the button. Next, we fitted the youngest member of the team’s car seat on the passenger side. Inertia seat belts mean a proper booster seat can be safely fitted in the car keeping younger passengers safe and allowing them to see out. With that done, three generations of classic car enthusiasts were able to squeeze into the old XK with Grandad driving and yours truly squeezed into the occasional seat behind the driver.
A beautiful drive through the winding West Sussex lanes followed, with hardly another car on the road and only the sound of the wonderful XK engine interrupting the quiet sunny morning. As we got closer to Goodwood we found a few other cars but rather pleasingly these were mostly other classics on their way to the event. As you arrive at Goodwood, rather than being directed in through the main gate, you are instead sent up towards the local village of Lavant before turning onto the motor circuit itself. This was a real thrill for our young passenger who was delighted to be driving down a ‘real racing track’ in a proper classic car. You drive down the Lavant straight and then around Woodcote corner before being directed to park up amongst some delightful cars. On this occasion, we were flanked by a rather nice Sunbeam Tiger and an Austin Healey.
Once parked up we took a tour along the circuit to take in the other cars. The array of cars on show was truly astounding, ranging from Ferraris to Morris Minors. We were delighted to see a few of our customer's cars in attendance and we were particularly pleased to stumble across Reggie’s sister car. This Jaguar XK140 drophead coupe was restored at the same time as our XK140 demonstrator ('Reggie') to a near identical specification. The restoration was closely followed in the XK Clubs' monthly magazine XK Gazette by the owner Tony Hall. The car now belongs to Kevin Jacobs who founded and runs a great business called Retro Electric specialising in converting classic cars to electric. They have done some really interesting projects including VW Beatles, Fiats, and Porsche 356 replicas. We are rather pleased to hear that despite all these great EV classic cars Kevin still enjoys his XK140 and intends to keep the original straight six engine.
After a good look around the cars, we stopped for some refreshment. Tea and a bacon roll for the adults and ice cream for our junior classic car enthusiast. I know! Ice cream for breakfast… but you only live once and he did quite rightly point out that there was not a queue for ice creams that early. Suitably refreshed we had a good look around the paddock and spotted several more Twyford Moors cars including another one of our fully restored XK140s along with a few XK150s and E-Types. We also spotted a lovely DB2/4 that we look after.
A highlight of the day had to be a collection of Austin J40s from the Strettington Cup parked on the pit lane. They were there to celebrate 10 years of the charming pedal car race and to take part in a ‘test day’ ahead of the Revival. From there we headed out to the mini funfair that Goodwood had put on for younger visitors. Goodwood do think of everything and have made this into a proper morning out for all the family. Our young man is pictured here in a J40 on the carousel and was delighted to have been able to get a ride in one. We must start saving for a J40 pedal car! If you are in the market, it is worth checking out the J40 Motor Company.
Having passed a few happy hours as a family, and caught up with some customers, suppliers, and colleagues at the event it was time to head home. The boy was delighted to pick up a free copy of Motorsport as we headed back to the car and we were delighted to see that our fully restored aluminium XK120 featured inside the pages advertising this year's Goodwood Revival. Driving out was as much of an event as driving in heading back around Woodcote the wrong way and then back up the Lavant straight passing a beautiful array of classic cars and followed by a stunning MGA. If you have never visited, it is well worth checking out the Breakfast Club events left for this year or looking out for Classic Car Sunday next year.
