TZ 276 AT 2004 GOODWOOD REVIVAL MEETING

In this, the Centenary Year of Armstrong Siddeley, one of our members has been invited to enter his 1954 Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire in the feature race of the Goodwood Revival Meeting to be held on the first weekend in September.

MIKE WYLIE'S RECOLLECTIONS
Mike Wylie, from Belfast, has been an Armstrong Siddeley enthusiast from his youth, when his father managed the Armstrong Siddeley Distributors for Northern Ireland. He remembers that a works Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire was entered for the 1954 Daily Express Saloon Race at Silverstone and was listed No.1 in the programme to be driven by the famous pre-war Austin driver Charles Goodacre.

The Armstrong Siddeley was faster than the Jaguar Mk.VIIs in unofficial practice, when Sir Thomas Sopwith, then Managing Director of the Hawker Siddeley Group, was told that Jaguars were hurriedly building aluminium bodied cars for the race, the sole Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire was withdrawn, never to race again.

Young Tommy Sopwith, who raced an Allard with a special triple-Weber Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire engine, did race an Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire at Goodwood in 1955, but it is not known if it was the car that was to have raced at Silverstone. Works participation was limited to the 1954 and 1955 Monté Carlo Rallies, and with company money being ploughed increasingly into significant aviation projects, (the Hawker Harrier comes to mind) the car division was left to slowly fade away, while works competition outings were not a priority.

THE GOODWOOD REVIVAL MEETING
The Goodwood Revival Meeting is the brain-child of The Earl of March who will nominate a famous driver from the recent past to race the Sapphire in the first round of the St. Mary's Trophy, a twelve lap race of the 2.4 mile circuit, on Saturday. The owner will have the opportunity to drive in a second race on Sunday. The 30 car grid will include a variety of saloon cars raced during the 1950s, including Mk.VII and the smaller 2.4 litre Jaguars, that will battle with Austin A35 and A40, Ford Zephyr, Morris Minor, Riley 1.5 and Sunbeam Rapier.

MAGNIFICENT MACHINES AND THEIR MOTORING MEN
It is hoped they will be joined by more exotic racers including Alfa Romeo Giulietta, Lancia Aurelia B10, Tatra T603 and DKW 1000. Hopes are also high that the Revival may also see an Alvis Grey Lady, an Austin Westminster, Standard Ten, as well as Mike Wylie's Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire, on a British circuit for the first time in a generation.

Celebrity touring car drivers will pair-up with the cars' owners - expect to see such luminaries as Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jack Brabham, Derek Bell, Gerry Marshall, John Rhodes, Jackie Oliver, John Fitzpatrick, Tiff Needell, Tony Dron, Barrie "Whizzo" Williams, and Jason Plato taking part, as well as TV personalities Rowan Atkinson and Tony Jardine.