Video: Le Mans legends light up Goodwood

23rd March 2020

Ben Miles

The Audi R8 flies by, closely pursuing a Bentley Speed 8 down the straight. We see a silent Peugeot 908 go past, powered by a mighty V12 diesel motor. Then Panoz’s brilliantly bonkers P1 car roars away. No this isn’t a highlights package of Le Mans in the 2010s, this is Goodwood, Members’ Meeting, 2019.

If there weren’t footage of the incredible, into-the-night LMP1 demo that closed the first day of the 77^th Members’ Meeting you could quite easily wonder if it happened. Some of the greatest LMP1 cars of all time, with some of the greatest drivers (Kristensen and Pirro have 14 wins between just the two of them), absolutely hammering round Goodwood, lights ablaze through the spring sunset. Fortunately we do have video footage, we filmed the whole thing, which you can watch right here if you’re a member of the GRRC community.

And this moment, this short minute and 47 seconds sums up just how magical it all was. A couple of the shots show just how dark it truly was during that evocative demo. With cars designed to race through the night looking even better as they were picked out by each other’s spotlights.

For those of us who grew up with more of a sportscar-flavoured fandom, this was a moment that will be hard to beat. The sight of those cars, on that track, with those drivers. It’ll take your breath away.