Lord March obituary to Carroll Shelby

From all of us at Goodwood I would like to express my deep sadness on hearing of the death of motor sport legend Carroll Shelby after a long illness. He was 89. Carroll enjoyed a diverse career in motor sport, briefly competing in Grand Prix racing, and famously winning the 1959 Le Mans 24 hours with team mate Roy Salvadori in an Aston Martin DBR1. He went on to contribute to Aston Martin winning the 1959 GT Championship at Goodwood later that season.

Carroll will perhaps best be remembered though as a team owner, car-maker and creator of the immortal AC Cobra, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. We will be marking this with an all-Cobra race at the Goodwood Revival this September (an event Carroll had planned to attend). The race is named the Shelby Cup in his honour.

Carroll was a larger-than-life character who will be sorely missed. My deepest sympathies go to his wife, family and friends.