Lancia Motor Club

                      A piece in last Saturday's Telegraph (May 7th, Motoring Section) refers to Freddie March (the current Lords' grandfather) holding a fun day at Goodwood House in 1935 for the "Lancia Owners' Club". It then speaks of a run up the "now famous hill" inspiring the first official race at the newly opened circuit in 1948 and the subsequent Festival of Speed.
                      It all seems a bit confused! Does anybody know where they got their info? and its veracity?
                      Mention is also made of " The Glory of Goodwood" .the history of the circuit written by the current Earl of March.

   PS  Perhaps someone can look it up and post a link. I am afraid I don't know how to!
                                                                                                                      Ben 

My parents have that paper,  I will scan and post it here later.

Articles scanned as a PDF, Lancia Owner Club is mentioned in the last but one column.

A very interesting article.

Although there is no reference to the March Augusta, it does say that Freddie, The Duke of Richmond, "started a car dealership and styled coachwork, helping create the Thirties' 'traditional' English sports car look.'  Seeing that statement, the lines of the March Augusta demonstrate exactly what the author obviously has in mind.

                   Andy

Here's a picture of the meeting of the Lancia Car Club at Goodwood in 1935 with a March Augusta on the left and a standard Augusta saloon just visible on the right.   The car on the left is almost certainly March's own car, now owned by Mike Wheeler.

'The Glory of Goodwood' has to be the definitive history of Goodwood and I count myself fortunate that my daughter and son-in-law bought it for me for my birthday on 2000.

Find a copy, you won't regret it. ;) Worth it for the nostalgic photographs alone.

Robin.

The Telegraph Motoring section dated 9th April also carries an article on Goodwood, particularly how motor racing came about on the estate. It seems it started, informally, during the war when RAF personnel stationed at the airfield constructed on the estate would race around the perimeter track, when they weren't required elsewhere !!!!

The article goes on to allege that, in 1947, Freddie, the Duke of Richmond, at the suggestion of a couple of the wartime racers   '..... drove his Lancia Aurelia to the airfield before calling friend, journalist and racing driver Tommy Wisdom, asking him to inspect the track'.  A bit of a slip there with regard to an Aurelia. Would it have been his March Augusta, or did he run an Aprilia (or another model) at the time ?

Whatever the model, it started something for  which we should be extremely grateful !!

                                        Andy