[Music]
the song that we're at Goodwood it's a
test day for the Betty Richmond trophy
I'm racing one of Nick Swift's amazing
minis I've seen these things on circuits
for years this is the man himself you
know when you see a mini going mental
around Goodwood it's him he makes them
as well as well as drives them
beautifully Nick first of all tell me a
bit about this race well the Betty
Richmond trophies celebrating the 60
years of minato 60th anniversary and
originally it was a race for 30 minutes
and then all of a sudden they decided to
make it open it up for 60 minutes two
heats for 30 cars and the top 15 of each
go through to the final on Sunday so and
it's gonna be why my first ever car was
a mini all of my fire behavior in my
formative years in minis but I haven't
driven one well for 25 years it's how
much power it's about 130 horsepower so
it's roughly got two and a half times
the power my first mini had so it taught
me through this back of the car engine
engine Turner 1293 see see quite a very
little motor you know we're about eight
to eight and a half thousand revs as a
maximum obviously four-speed gearbox
limits diff twin inch and a half s use
Batman for me when I was 18 that was the
equivalent of a night with Heidi Klum's
I was Michelle Pfeiffer for a night over
twin one and rfsu what about BSU's so so
obviously with the twin su carburetors
we have to use the side grip and cooling
radiator which is really inefficient
obviously and I would have been better
to have it there but yeah that's the way
that it was done and we spend it Swift
to me an awful lot of time and effort on
these engines you know he's all very
well and good getting 130 horsepower but
then you've got to keep it together
yeah you know it's so happy hours what
in-race hours yeah before a rebuild
we're talking about 10 or 12 hours I
know I know even if we come to man I'm
celebrating it I love the fact you've
taken the humble mini and turned into
something that's just so precise the big
key feature obviously running on them a
little tiny 10 inch wheels yeah
obviously means we've got a little tiny
brakes as well yeah you know but with
new modern technology of better brake
pads and things
that better cony shock-absorbers keep
the ride nice and stiff how much it
weigh their homologated it's 620 kilos
so 6 20 kilos 125 horsepower do the
maths I mean that is well beyond a sort
of late 80s hot hatch I'm it's different
gravy isn't it yeah so but they think
it's about cooler speed for us yeah I
mean our top speed is only like 120
miles an hour that's it but average lap
here is over 90 miles an hour so you
gotta think you know we've got a second
gear she came here and you've got to get
through that and still keep your average
speed up at over 90 miles an hour okay
so the racing they're gonna be closely
matched aren't they there's not much in
it in power but the front on the back of
the grid yes where you know it would
take under the brakes upside down inside
out any way you can get I think it's
going to be Lively I think it's gonna be
Lively I think okay I think the place to
watch is at this you came you know the
grandstand seats there they're gonna be
in for a special treat what we're gonna
do some testing see what it's like to
drive I had some smiling because my my
dear mummy used to race one of these and
she suddenly passed away last week so
I'm gonna drive in the spirit of my mum
she used to race one and I just cannot
wait because I've watched you irritate
people for years and now I get to be
that irritation
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so before qualifying there was lots of
standing around pretending to be 60s
cool and mostly failing apart from the
minis which just looked high school
there's something so right about an
early mustache grilled Cooper s and the
dark green works inspired livery of the
car I was racing what it looked perfect
as you can see I had a gearbox trouble
in qualifying
there was a technical issue largely
because of a change to the gearbox spec
by the race organisers late in the week
I was effectively trying to select
reverse without realizing it and then I
buzzed the motor meaning the brilliant
factory mini mechanics over from Germany
had to replace a few valves sorry about
that guys
so I was already on the back foot ready
I wasn't going to finish much higher
than fifth in the race even if I went
camicazi right whilst it's all quiet
come and have a look at this beautiful
beautiful mini in classic Cooper livery
about
almost seems a shame to race it but it
is a racing car so race it we shall it's
all a bit quiet now but look how many
the right on there like points down
they're putting on their minis as far as
the eye can see all the way down there
Omega are they so yeah we'll do we cap
[Music]
qualifying not as successful as I'd of
hope but a bit of a gearbox issue and
then the high creative engine issues
will just brush that to one side apart
saying that the BMW beany mechanics have
been absolutely
but he was going on
so I'm eleventh on the grid 29 I need to
come 15th or higher to make it into the
final tomorrow that's our main goal
so hopefully I'm in our position but I
might not because other people might
have our problems but their gearboxes -
so really it's all to play for
I'm not quite sure I've got new rears
only describe those in memory that on
the rocket on the green flag lap but
we're here to have fun
[Music]
so for heat to my race I had a good
start
Nick passed a couple and then just tried
to tuck into the pack and see what
madness occurred sure enough there were
many scattered around some Mary's so I
made a few places there
but I got mugged on the last lap ended
up seven still it was proper fun
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the most important thing is we qualified
for the final started 11th got to 7th so
I'm hoping that means that we're in good
close races it was a bit Larry and I had
to get a bit racier than I wanted to it
honest with you but managed to hold on
at the end I got mugged by two guys in
two would good but who cares
the toe effect is really big here so I
need to remember that for tomorrow
that's something I learned today was
that you have to drive about Cajun
racing to get in the tow but that was
really good fun there is nothing better
than blue sky I entered a good booth
having a good bit of wheel to wheel
racing so I'm I'm happy that my gonna
point out of a blackcurrant lemonade
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I started to file in 14th place no
chance of a podium but time to settle in
and enjoy some close racing here's some
of the best dicing I enjoy it's actually
quite difficult to be hard-nosed and
racy
when you're laughing so much
so how do you drive a mini fast around
Goodwood well let me talk you throw a
lap so you come over the start/finish
line in 4th gear in a mini at Goodwood
and then would you believe it term one
magic you don't break or repeat you
don't break you move to the outside of
the circuit lift off and use that
rotation to get the car through and then
just smash the throttle open use the
locking differential to get yourself
down to four water as soon as possible
it's a ridiculous feeling it never feels
quite right to me then you power down
through four water and on towards
no-name the cars getting loose
everywhere like in the steering
Corrections into no-name again you just
lift you don't break you carry the
momentum through treated as a king into
third gear and then through some Mary's
and you get a lovely sense of the car
running into that bowl using the grip
stay in third and then all the way outs
the left-hand side second gear will
happen for me smash the throttle open
use that locking differential to drag
you out the corner
into third and eighth trying to make the
circuit as short as possible not always
the same lines you take in a big fast
Jaguar or a Ferrari now firing down the
backstraight the speeds are outrageous
its turn 120 miles an hour in a mini
and you break 100 meters maybe 150 I'm
sure next risk breaking later and then
it's just managing a bit of liftoff over
steer if it would cut the two apex is
there bang bang and then breaking hard
down into the chicane second gear get as
close as you can bit of rotation waggle
the hips to help wiggle the thing back
out in the correct direction and over
the line again
it's a dog gearbox but you use the
clutch there's a lot of mini
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the racing was close but once I lost the
gaggle of cars I was enjoying some
mutual slipstreaming with I had to
settle for eleventh after a last corner
over take out at the front and frankly
in the class of their own were Nick Pat
Moore and Nick Swift they diced all race
and then Swift saw his chance and took
the victory the Betty Richmond was
supposed to be a one-off for this year's
members meeting but the racing was so
good and the minis were so popular I
somehow think we might be seeing the
same again at next year's members
meeting
that was interesting I didn't quite have
the grunt I needed I'll take my brother
Carver off what an experience though
they slide around so much really good
fun enjoyed every second of it
need to do some more mini racing means a
proper little racing cars I'm gonna miss
this thought about the interior trim
falling off the devil had a good dice
and it was lots of fun lots of fun these
things are mega 130 horsepower 600
kilograms do the maths
maybe next time hey maybe next time
you