GOODWOOD REVIVAL RAC TT 2023

The RAC TT Celebration is Goodwood's blue-riband event.

A one-hour race featuring some of the world's most valuable GT cars, shared between professional and owner drivers, it demands outright pace, flawless strategy and no small amount of luck.

For Bill Shepherd Automotive, we once again entered the infamous CSX2212, Green Cobra. Our founder, Bill Shepherd was joined by regular partner-in-crime, Romain Dumas.

Pole Position

Driving the AC Racing Green Cobra, Romain produced a stunning qualifying performance to secure pole position against an exceptionally competitive field. The Bill Shepherd Automotive Cobra had the speed now it simply had to convert that pace into victory.

A Nightmare Start

A less than ideal start was quickly redeemed following a spectacular recovery drive from Bill.

Sunday's conditions could hardly have been worse. The circuit was damp, greasy and offered almost no grip. Drivers who took the first stint described it as feeling more like an ice rink than a race circuit and the carnage that occurred in the opening laps certainly corroborated that view.

The team decided to gamble on set-up though, expecting a dry finish, we opted to go 'full-dry', trusting Bill's decades of experience to survive the conditions, in an attempt to give Romain all the tools he might need in his second stint to win.

Bill Shepherd took the start but in trying to coax the highly-strung beast off the line, suffered a stall off the line, allowing most of the field to surge past.

From starting up front, the Cobra suddenly found itself fighting to recover. What followed was one of Bill's finest drives.

Despite the treacherous conditions and a difficult set-up, he steadily fought back through the pack, reclaiming position after position with committed but measured overtaking to climb all the way back to second place before the mandatory pit stop. A remarkable drive from the 'Snake-tamer' himself.

The race was alive once again.

Winning in the Pit Lane

Jumping into the lead in the pit stop...

The team's pit stop proved decisive.

A perfectly executed stop allowed Bill Shepherd Automotive to leapfrog the leading GPG Cobra, handing the Car over to Romain Dumas with clean air ahead and the race lead. Now the superstar Frenchman could demonstrate exactly why he had qualified on pole.

Flying at the Front

Once released into clear air, Dumas immediately stretched the field. He produced a string of fastest laps, showing the blistering pace of the Cobra and threatening to break the race open. The combination of immaculate preparation from Bill Shepherd Automotive and Dumas' relentless speed looked capable of delivering the long-awaited Goodwood victory.

Then the weather intervened.

Chaos in the Rain

Without warning, torrential rain swept across the circuit. Visibility disappeared. Grip vanished, sending multiple cars on off-track adventures. The sudden deteriation in conditions at Madgwick caught Andrew Jordan's Bizzarrini out, crashing heavily and bringing out the red flag.

Everything the team had built during the opening stint would now be reset.

A Different Race

When the race restarted, the circuit had transformed. Standing water covered large sections of the track and the balance of performance changed completely. The lightweight Jaguar E-types came alive in the soaking conditions, while the powerful Cobras struggled for traction and stability. The advantage the Cobra had enjoyed earlier in the race had disappeared.

Hanging On

Romain taming the Cobra in conditions we hadn't set-up for...

Knowing outright pace was no longer possible, Dumas switched from attacking to defending.

For lap after lap he fought to keep the dry set-up Cobra ahead of faster cars in conditions that simply did not suit the slippery American V8.

It became a race of precision, experience and determination.

Despite relentless pressure, Dumas refused to surrender, eventually bringing the Cobra home in fourth place. A fantastic result considering the circumstances but a soul-crushingly close-shave to finally winning the TT.