The indie rocker's renaissance in historic touring cars

After many years of neglect as a racing category, the Group 1 touring car era is now a booming element of historic competition. These are the cars of the 1970s and early 1980s, an era when the Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Capri and Rover SD1 set the pace in the British Saloon Car Championship.

It was in 1974 that the BSCC dropped the increasingly expensive Group 2 formula for a switch to more production-based Group 1 regulations, adopting a set of rules that would be evolved over the following eight seasons. By 1976, the American V8s were outlawed by capping the top-class engine size at 3000cc.

The multi-class format usually delivered champions from the smaller-engined classes where competition was not always as fierce. No over-two-litre car won the overall crown in the Group 1 era, even though Capris and Rovers fought tooth and nail at the front of the races to the delight of the fans.

In 1984, the BSCC moved to Group A rules that would lead to the reign of the E30 BMW M3 and Ford Sierra RS500. From then on, the Group 1 cars were largely tucked away under dust sheets. By the mid-1980s, they were out of date, uncompetitive and undesirable.

For the better part of three decades these cars remained overlooked until the creation of the early season Members' Meeting at Goodwood in 2014 put the Group 1 generation firmly back into the spotlight.

Such has been the take up for the cars of the 1970s that close to 60 were due at Goodwood for the postponed 78th Members' Meeting

The race was fittingly named in memory of the great Gerry Marshall and the inaugural winners were Chris Ward and Andrew Smith in the Patrick Motors Group Rover SD1. By now, Motor Racing Legends had established its Historic Touring Car Challenge for the Group A touring cars of the 1980s and added a sub-set for the earlier cars under the Tony Dron Trophy tag.

Racer and journalist Dron was a star of the Group 1 era and the HTCC is the place for the Group 1 cars once the Goodwood season-opener is done.

Such has been the take up for the cars of the 1970s that close to 60 were due at Goodwood for the postponed 78th Members' Meeting, and it was an entry rich in diversity and colour.

Alongside the squadrons of Capris and Rover were Ford Mustangs, Alfa Romeos, BMWs, Minis, Triumph Dolomite Sprints and Vauxhalls. Memory-jerking liveries from Triplex, Hermetite, Datapost, Autocar, Bastos and Belga add to the fabulous spectacle. It is the diversity that really makes the Group 1 field stand out and drivers are clearly once more having a ball in all sorts of cars.

Nick Padmore 1977 BMW 530i

As one of the most accomplished and versatile drivers in historic racing, Nick Padmore can extract the maximum from any race car. He's raced a BMW 530i regularly and, though the car is not a competitive package, he reckons it's hugely entertaining.

"It's quite a heavy car but it is so much fun. It moves around and it hops, and when it does a big hop it almost takes your breath away. It's brilliant! We worked out that it's about 100kg overweight but that doesn't matter because it's cool and it's different."

Padmore is a guest racer in the UFO Jeans-liveried 530i: "It's owned by the Sadler family and they just use it at Goodwood and for some trackdays," he adds. "It's not a period race car but has been converted from a road car at some point. It has a blue leather interior and mahogany inserts in the doors!

"It was always a dream of theirs to have a car racing at Goodwood and the BMW came up for sale. I think if he had a bit more time, Jay Sadler would race the 530i, but at the moment he's happy for me to drive it, which is a right result for me!"

Padmore reckons the package has the potential to run at the front, but it would take a lot of work to make it a pacesetter.

"If we had a load more power and got rid of the weight, I think we could be there with the Capris and the Rovers," he adds. "But it's a question of how far you want to go with it, and the family just wants to enjoy the weekend - the whole family turns up to make it a really nice event.

"I'm very lucky to be able to drive it and it just does the Members' Meeting. The Sadler family is based in Chichester, so Goodwood is really local. I share it with Darren Turner and we're pretty even. He just turns up and drives it and we have some fun. I love the diversity on the grid and the different colour schemes."

Phil Perryman 1981 Volvo 242

The Bastos-liveried Volvo 242 of Phil Perryman is unusual in that it was built and raced in France in period. At the time, French Group 1 regulations were considered slightly more liberal than the UK rules and therein lies the key issue with the car.

"We've been refused HTP papers by the FIA," says Perryman. "It did run at Goodwood the first year we got it running, but not very successfully. However, we've now been told that they don't want to let in cars that raced in France in period.

"With the turbo, the power all comes in with a big rush and it wants to spin the wheels. We reckon it has over 300bhp and that's enough" Phil Perryman

"In the view of the FIA, the French cars were a bit more developed than those that ran in the UK to our Group 1 regulations. It ran in the French championship in 1982, which was for cars known as Group 1 Plus. They were allowed to run front and rear spoilers and things like that."

Perryman, who tends a number of race cars, took the Volvo on as a project.

"It was in a terrible state as it had not been run for years," he says. "We took it back to a bare shell for a repaint and rebuild and we updated the roll cage. It's been a big challenge to get the thing working properly. We've done lots of race cars, but this one caused me untold trouble.

"It's not too hard to drive but initially it was a handful. It had some funny old suspension angles and set-up on it, which we've now got to the bottom of. I think it could be very competitive against the Rovers and the Capris if it was running right."

Power delivery is a challenge however. Perryman adds: "With the turbo, the power all comes in with a big rush and it wants to spin the wheels. We reckon it has over 300bhp and that's enough, especially given the way the power is delivered."

Chris Snowdon 1981 Alfa Romeo GTV6

The Alfa Romeo GTV6 of seasoned racer and preparer Chris Snowdon gave him his 15 minutes of fame back in 2014.

"There was a big photo in the front of Autosport from the first Members' Meeting in 2014, when I demolished a load of polystyrene at the chicane and the Alfa went up on two wheels.

"It was my claim to fame. That weekend was the first grand prix and the first British Touring Car meeting of the season and there's some club racer on page six!"

As a local to Goodwood, Snowdon was keen to get an entry for the first Members' Meeting. He says: "When they announced the first Group 1 race, I thought no one was going to do an Alfa, and if I did one in this period Alpilatte livery, I might get an entry - and I did.

"It was basically that simple, as I had a car in the workshop as a rolling shell, which I built up to period specification.

"We've just put a fresh gearbox in it and freshened the engine up. It's the 2.5-litre V6. Unfortunately, it can't be the lovely three-litre unit as that didn't run in period. I saw pictures of Lella Lombardi at the Silverstone Tourist Trophy in this green and white Alfa and thought it would be a nice colour scheme to do."

Since that initial race, the GTV6 has been steadily developed.

"Initially it was pretty standard in terms of brakes and stuff and now we've done it to FIA specification, so it's state-of-the-art for the period. It's now owned by Paul Clayson but I still look after it. I used it for a couple of years and then decided to sell it.

"It's beautiful to drive now we've spent some time on it. For the first Goodwood it was a bit of rush using stuff I'd got in the workshop. We've tamed the exhaust note down ever so slightly and it sounds so much nicer."

Bill Shepherd 1969 Ford Mustang BOSS 302

At the fore of the V8 muscle pack is the sensational BOSS Mustang, which actually dates from the very end of the 1960s. Despite being one of the oldest cars on the grid, it is clearly a match for the best Capris and Rovers.

Bill Shepherd is renowned for racing American V8s.

"We brought it in from the States where it was a race car back in the 1970s," he says.

"We prepared it to Goodwood regulations. Unfortunately, I've got a fetish for American Fords and I've got several others, but this one seemed the appropriate vehicle for the job.

"It handles pretty well and is fairly neutral, but with the horsepower you've got the chance to make a complete mess of it" Bill Shepherd

"It fitted in for the Gerry Marshall race and the BOSS cars are absolutely fantastic. I remember seeing them race in period so it wasn't hard to convince me to get one. It runs a 302 cubic inch engine, which is five litres and about 440bhp. It's adequate!"

Despite the power, Shepherd reckons it makes a good package.

"It's a very nice car to drive and I like it a lot. It's had a hard life but it's been well looked after and we didn't have to do a hell of a lot to it. We stiffened it up quite a lot as the guy who had it before ran it very soft. It feels good and has plenty of horsepower. I don't think anyone could not like it.

"It handles pretty well and is fairly neutral, but with the horsepower you've got the chance to make a complete mess of it. The Mustang is tough on its brakes. Romain Dumas was in it with me at Goodwood last year and he got the brakes glowing bright red. I've never seen anything quite so hot. He likes to stick it in on its nose and he worked the brakes very hard. I'm kinder on the brakes than he is.

"We'll use it a bit more now and we can run with Motor Racing Legends. It's a question of priorities as there are lots of opportunities to do things with cars. We'll probably do the Silverstone Classic as we were going to go last year but lost an engine, so it all went horribly wrong. It needs the faster circuits."

Jim Morris 1979 VW Golf GTI Mk1

The Mk1 Volkswagen Golf GTi that Jim Morris races to such good effect is a family heirloom - 40 years ago his father John was a BSCC frontrunner in the same car.

"There is a huge legacy with the Golf, with it being my dad's car originally back in 1981 and 1982," says Jim. "Prior to that it was the Akai car of Richard Lloyd and after dad it was Alan Minshaw's car."

Morris later bought it back after a chance opportunity: "It disappeared off to Spain and two brothers ran it up to 1991 and then parked it under a tarpaulin. A friend of mine, Mike Horsburgh, who is a Volkswagen nut, told me about an advert for a car in Spain.

"During the whole negotiation to buy the car, I managed to keep from the owner the fact that it was my dad's car. Once the car was on the trailer and I went for lunch with him, I showed him the photographs.

"I knew it was his car as there were one or two telltale things that even I remembered as a kid, including the roll cage top mounts that John Maguire had made. Dad wouldn't believe it until he saw the car.

"I restored it with Graham Johnson at Lanan and they did a beautiful job. Then the Members' Meeting came about and we ran it for the first one with the engine that came back from Spain. I'd bought it because it was my dad's car, but now we had somewhere to race it. The Golf had been a big part of my childhood and so I wanted to get it back."

Just as four decades ago, the nimble Golf punches well above its weight: "Tom Shepherd has shared it with me as he was involved and raced it with dad in the day. We've worked really hard to get it up towards the front of the field, and it did do some giant killing in the day.

"Nothing really fundamental has changed on the car: the engine machining is probably a bit better and the dampers are probably a bit better, but it's the same car it was in 1981."