Dan Sexton Gurney

The Great Man

This year’s special guest took to the track on Friday morning along with a few friends. Dan Sexton Gurney’s contribution to motor racing is incalculable, his tally of four World Championship Grands Prix wins and victory in the Le Mans 24 Hour race as a driver being only part of his packed resume. His final points-paying win in Formula One – the 1967 Belgian Grands Prix at Spa - came at the wheel of his Eagle-Weslake; it was constructed by his All American Racers team. As a manufacturer and team owner, his cars excelled in Champ Car racing, with honours in the Indianapolis 500 among others. In sports car racing, his always immaculate Eagles claimed several IMSA titles and outright victory in the Sebring 12 Hours and Daytona 24 Hours.

This weekend, Goodwood is honouring the fiftieth anniversary of the great man’s first Grand Prix at Rouen. A marvelous collection of cars relevant to Gurney’s racing car took to the circuit for the first of the weekend’s demonstrations, including a Ferrari 250 TR59/60 and Max Balchowsky’s immortal Buick-powered Ol’ Yeller II road racing special.