5 cars to look out for in the St. Mary's Trophy

Austin Mini Cooper S

The St. Mary’s Trophy is not without its share of Mini Coopers. There are a total of five entered for 2024, with two of these Austin Mini Cooper Ss. First produced in September 1961, the Austin was the product of a collaboration between Mini designer Alec Issigonis and John Cooper, chief of the Cooper Car Company and Cooper Climax Formula 1 team – constructors’ champions in 1959 and 1960. This special homologation of the Cooper S saw fewer than 1,000 cars made over the 11 months it was in production.

It became one of the iconic rally cars of the 1960s as the Mini Cooper S claimed victories in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964, 1965 and 1967. The Austin was also the inaugural winner of the St. Mary’s Trophy back in 1998 with driver Richard Dodkins. This year, the competing pair will be guided round the Goodwood Motor Circuit by Alex Buncombe and Tony Jardine, with the latter’s 1965 car recognisable by its cheerful green bodywork and white roof, and large ‘3’ number painted on its side.

Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA

Star presence is one of the most exciting elements of the St. Mary’s Trophy, with the entry list reading like a who’s who of motorsport. This year it seems there is one car in particular attracting the big names – the 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA. Designed by Bertone, one of the standout features of this car is how light it is, courtesy of a bespoke alloy being used to construct it. Its 740kg total weight made it highly successful racing for Autodelta, and makes it nice and nimble for darting around the Goodwood Motor Circuit.

Only 200 of these were ever built, and seven of them will be lining up on the grid for the St. Mary’s Trophy. Giulia Sprint is the car of choice for the likes of Marino Franchitti, Jean-Eric Vergne, Jochen Mass and Emanuele Pirro, who previously won Part 1 of the St. Mary’s Trophy in 2019 in a different Alfa – the Giulietta Ti. The Duke of Richmond’s son, Lord March will also be behind the wheel of a white Giulia Sprint with Italian green and red stripes you’ll be able to spot as the race unfolds.

BMW 1800 TiSA

The 1965 BMW 1800 TiSA was based on the standard 1800 model and built specifically for the works BMW team. Only 200 models were ever made and sold to racers, with modifications from the standard 1800 which included a 132PS (97kW) 1.8-litre M10 engine and 144Nm (106lb ft) of torque, featured no bumpers or wheel covers, and had a wooden steering wheel. The car won the 1965 24 Hours of Spa with Jacky Ickx and Gérard Langlois van Ophem, and the German National Championship in 1964 with Hubert Hahne. The 1800 is also a past winner of our own St. Mary’s Trophy, winning Part 2 and the combined classification in 2011 with the pair of Oliver and Shaw.

In 2024, two of these BMWs will be gunning to repeat their feat, with Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner and 2016 Le Mans winner Neel Jani getting behind the wooden wheel, with Jani set to go up against his Le Mans-winning partner and Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard 2024 Timed Shootout winner, Romain Dumas, who will be driving a 1963 Ford Galaxie 500, when the race commences on Saturday.

Plymouth Barracuda

Now for an absolute monster which will grace the St. Mary’s Trophy grid, the Plymouth Barracuda is a Chrysler pony car first built in 1964 as the marque’s entry into the sportier end of the market to compete against the Ford Mustang. Based on the Chrysler A-body, the rear-wheel drive Barracuda was developed from the Plymouth Valiant, sharing its bonnet, windshield, and bumpers among other things, as well as the Valiant’s six-cylinder engine, all of which helped to save production time and cost for Chrysler.  

Ultimately, the Barracuda was discontinued in 1974 in the wake of the energy crisis the previous year, but two of them will be racing at the 2024 Revival. One will be driven by current BTCC drivers’ championship leader, Jake Hill, and the other by former W Series driver Abbie Eaton in the car owned by a great friend of Goodwood, Duncan Pittaway. Both cars will be vying to replicate Jean-Marc Gounon’s success, when he won Part 2 of the St. Mary’s Trophy in a Plymouth Barracuda in 2007.

Ford Anglia 105E

Finally, Ford may also have a strong presence in the St. Mary’s Trophy, but here we’re taking a moment to show some love to the lone Anglia model on the grid. The Ford Anglia 105E was first produced in 1959 as the fourth model in the Anglia line. With a sweeping nose and narrow grille, the American-influenced British design produced a look that is almost a cross between the aforementioned Alfa Romeo and BMW and the Mini. The use of a wind-tunnel in the design process saw this Anglia take a different look for Ford, with a reverse-rake rear window and functional rear fins, and a 997cc overhead valve straight-four ‘Kent’ engine.

Over one million units of this family car were made over its eight-year production run, but it is a rare sight here at Revival. As a marque, Ford has tasted success in the St. Mary’s Trophy on many occasions, but never with the Anglia 105E. This year’s car is owned by Shelspeed, who race it on the Classic Touring Car Racing Club circuit, one of the support races of the BTCC, and it will be driven by Goodwood regular Darren Turner.

The 2024 Goodwood Revival takes place on 6^th-8^th September. You can watch every moment of the historic motorsport action right here on our live stream!

Photography by Nick Dungan, Steven Stringer, Michal Pospisil, Jayson Fong and Drew Gibson.