Dual Victories for Team DK at the 2021 Goodwood Revival

For many of us, the Goodwood Revival’s triumphant return in 2021 has truly been the highlight of our year. The Duke of Richmond and his team put on such an extraordinary event. We were privileged to be a part of it, and even more thrilled to leave the circuit on Sunday with a handful of trophies.

James Cottingham and Harvey Stanley were out on track first thing on Friday for the official practice of the Stirling Moss trophy. Piloting the Huffaker E-Type prepared by ADP Classic Racing, the pair achieved the second fastest time in qualifying, just 0.031 seconds behind Martin and Alex Brundle, also in an E-Type. Joining them in the race was also the very eye-catching Shelby Cobra Dragonsnake, a car sold to the current owner by DK.

Next up for James was the Sussex Trophy qualifying session. Four hours after getting out of the E-Type, James quickly shot to the front of the field in the Tojeiro-Jaguar, also prepared by ADP Classic Racing, and proceeded to qualify in pole position, 0.6 seconds ahead of Roger Wills in his Lotus-Climax 15.

Having done a few laps earlier in the day in an E-Type, both Jenson Button and Alex Buncombe moved into the Shelby Cobra for the first round of Royal Automobile Club TT qualifying at 4:20pm on Friday. With the car prepared by Pursuit, Button and Buncombe notched the third fastest lap of the session, just 0.634 seconds off the Bryant/Turner Cobra.

Always a fan favorite, the Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy held at dusk on Friday was a truly electrifying race to watch. Starting on the front row of the grid, Harvey had an excellent start and took the lead through the first corner. Holding the lead until the driver change, the pit stop proved to be difficult and took more time than anticipated. Coming out in third place, James had his work cut out for him to get back to the top spot. Expertly moving his way into second, James managed to pass the Minshaw/Keen with seven minutes to go after a long stint behind the safety car to take the checkered flag for the first win of the weekend.

For the DK team, Saturday opened with David Cottingham in his DK-prepared Ferrari 500 TRC in qualifying for the Freddie March Memorial Trophy 22nd on the grid with a 1:42.508 lap time in a very well-stacked grid, which included the Austin-Healey 100S that we are currently offering for sale, along with a Maserati 300 S we had sold last year having since been beautifully restored by Pastorelli Classic Cars, which qualified in third.

Perhaps the most highly anticipated event of the weekend, the Setterington Cup has always been a fan-favorite, and the DK Engineering team were proud to support David’s grandson, Bertie Cottingham, in his first running of the event. The Austin J40, a mainstay of the Cottingham family collection since 1977, was painted Verde Tevere to match a Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta that had raced at the Revival in 2019. Bertie placed 15th out of a grid of 60 very excited entrants, truly adored the experience, and is already looking forward to next year!

Midafternoon, Jenson Button and Alex Buncombe returned to the track in the Cobra for the second round of RAC TT qualifying. The pair qualified third once again, confirming their grid position for Sundays race starting on the front row of the grid.

Nearly 24 hours after his last win, James was back on the track for the last race on Saturday, the Sussex Trophy in the Tojeiro-Jaguar. Roger Wills shot to an early lead with Cottingham hot on his tail. Keeping the pressure on, James managed to squeeze past when Wills went off-track while trying to overtake a car one lap down. Once in the lead, James held the position to take his second win of the weekend and the Tojeiro’s first Revival win after numerous entries.

On Sunday, All eyes were on the light blue Shelby Cobra piloted by Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button for the start of the RAC TT. Getting off to a slow start, Jenson was in 9th position by the end of the first lap, but gradually started moving towards the front, showing great pace and incredible talent, considering this was his very first historic race meeting. Handing off the car to Alex Buncombe in third place, unfortunately the car developed a misfire and was forced to retire, ending the pair’s podium-place aspirations.

The last race of the weekend for team DK was the March Trophy. David managed to move up the grid and finish in 15th place with a best lap of 1:40.5, his best lap in the car at Goodwood since 2014. Taking first place was that Maserati 300 S previously sold by DK Engineering, congratulations to the owner and driver!

The DK team will return to the track in two weeks’ time at the Spa Classic, followed by Estoril Classics in Portugal on October 8-10, and finally back to Goodwood for Members Meeting on October 16-17.

All photos courtesy of Robert Cooper.