South Coast Meet: Goodwood

PHer Neil Devine reports on the shenanigans at Sunday's Goodwood meet...

By SiMan / Tuesday, 10 February 2009 / Loading comments

South Coast gatherings are normally a small affair, with about a dozen regulars from the area who meet up, catch up, and then proceed in convoy to a predetermined concluding venue, often coinciding with a breakfast club at Goodwood race circuit in West Sussex.

So when I thought up the idea of a meet for the 8^th February, I was more than surprised to see the list grow. So much so that I actually became a little nervous, conscious that I may have a little too much to orchestrate – the number of attendances now being over 100 strong.

With a change to the starting point that could accommodate this escalation in numbers, Rownhams (West) lorry park on the M27 near Southampton was chosen. Then, after some frantic emails to Goodwood, all seemed well when they said they would happily accommodate us on what would have been a publicly closed day. Marshalls and the Naffi wagon were also to be laid on.

As time went on we had to cap numbers at 111 as Goodwood felt that they would struggle to find parking places for many more, which seemed reasonable.

The week leading up to the date was filled with uncertain weather. Salt and grit lined the roads, making owners of cosseted exotica hesitant to brave the caustic streets. This coupled with the heavy snowfall and the thoroughly vile weather expected meant that I fully anticipated a wash out.

C'est la vie. Even better then when the morning was adorned with blue skies and sunshine - the temperature almost bearable too so I broke out the bucket and sponge.

We were meeting at midday, filling a not-unsubstantial area of the lorry park with a fantastic array of cars, much to the bemusement of the Polish lorry drivers. We then set off on some of Hampshire and Sussex’s finest roads, including the A272 and B2141 with Goodwood paddocks as a finishing point.

The roads, a little damp in places, saw some fantastic – if unintentional - synchronised drifting by some owners of rear-wheel driven cars. With about 100 cars turning up, some from as far as Bedfordshire, the M27 and M3 was festooned with some automotive greats making as much noise as possible.

Some quiet villages along the way were treated to some aural delights from the entire convoy of cars, that included tuned European four-cylinders, TVR straight sixes, Aston V8’s, Viper V10’s and Lamborghini V12’s to name but a few.

There were a couple of wrong turns by a minority, but as far as I’m aware everyone made it to indulge in a hot drink and a nice greasy burger at the other end.

Rain then called a natural halt to proceedings at 3pm, allowing the paddocks and nearby flying club to return to normality. So far the feedback has been all positive, we thank you for respecting Goodwood and their grounds.

We are planning another for March as the official season kicks off with the Breakfast Club so keep an eye on the South Coast forum for more info.

See you all soon,

Neil.D