By Simon Hildrew

Kent racing drivers starred during last weekend’s Goodwood Revival in West Sussex.

The world’s finest historic car racing event made a triumphant return after being cancelled in 2020 due to Covid.

One of the most spectacular and closely fought races of the weekend, was a two-driver, 30- car Mini race, to celebrate 60 years of the Mini Cooper and featured six top drivers from the Kent area.

Ace Mini racer and preparer, Nick Swift, from Tenterden, came out the winner, sharing driving duties, in the 45-minute encounter, with former BTCC Champion, Andrew Jordan.

Swift had taken the lead from pole position, eventually followed by Sevenoaks pairing, Bill Sollis and Chris Goodwin, who had charged up from sixth on the opening laps. With Sollis in the driving seat, he took the lead at half distance, with Swift hot on his tail for several laps, just before the driver change.

Now with Jordan at the wheel, he set a blistering pace to re-take the lead after the stops and built up a comfortable gap to the rest, to remain unchallenged to the end. Goodwin suffered a slow pit stop during the driver change and fell down the order to fourth but claimed the fastest lap, in his pursuit of the top three.

Sollis was given a one-second time penalty though, for speeding in the pit lane, which dropped them to fifth, one place behind Marden’s Ian Curley, who had started from ninth on the grid.

Fellow Marden resident, Patrick Watts, sharing with top former Touring Car driver, Steve Soper, stormed to ninth, having started 21st. Experienced Goudhurst Mini racer, Ollie Streek, sharing with Andy Priaulx, were handed a 30-second time penalty, when Priaulx came into contact with the chicane on the final lap, losing them one place to end up seventh overall.

Swift was also in action in a completely different machine. Sharing a 1928 Frazer Nash Saloon, with owner Patrick Blackeney-Edwards, in the Brooklands Trophy, for pre-war cars.

From sixth on the grid, Blackeney-Edwards shot through to take an immediate lead, in a very entertaining wet race. He remained at the front going into the driver change but Swift fell back to second to the fast charging Eddie Williams, in a 1932 Frazer Nash TT, drifting and sliding on the wet track to take the win.

Watts had a busy time, driving in two more races. Firstly, in part one of the St Mary’s Trophy for 1950's saloon cars, driving a 1958 Ford Prefect 107E. Unfortunately, due to a technical infringement, his qualifying times were disallowed, so he had to start from the back of the 30-car grid, with a 10 second delay. Despite this disadvantage, Watts managed to finish the race in 25th position.

His third and final race of the weekend was in the headline, RAC TT Celebration race, for early ‘60’s GT cars. Sharing the driving, in the one-hour event, with Michael Squire, in a 1964 Sunbeam Lister Tiger. Having qualified 24th, out of the 28 cars, they drove an exceptional race and finished in an outstanding 12th place.

Switching from four wheels to two, the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy features pre-66, 500cc racing bikes, over two races, with two riders per bike. National Superstock Championship rider, Alex Olsen, from Sittingbourne, was paired with Richard Hann on a 1959 Norton Manx 30M. They qualified 21st on the starting grid, from 30 bikes and finished in 18th and 14th places, in the two races, giving them a combined overall result of 14th.

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