Strakka Racing’s Nick Leventis finished 5th in a rain-soaked Sussex
Trophy at the Goodwood Revival, surviving an entertaining race in a
gorgeous Ferrari 246S Dino that was set-up beautifully for dry
conditions!
The 33-year old double class-winning Le Mans 24 Hour driver qualified
the rare 1960 car 4th (out of 29 cars) in the dry. Recording an
unbeaten 126.3mph through the Sector 1 speed trap, and 140.1mph in
Sector 2’s, Nick’s 1:29.258 best around the 2.4-mile track (96.79mph
average speed) placed him on the second row of the grid.
The final race of the famous Goodwood Revival weekend endured the
very worst of the weather, with heavy rain and gale-like winds making
conditions very hazardous. It wasn’t ideal for the Ferrari’s dry set-up,
yet after an exciting 14 lap race Nick finished 5th – just behind the
Lister-Jaguar driven by ex-Formula 1 and five-time Le Mans 24 Hour race
winner Emanuele Pirro.
The Sussex Trophy was won by Anthony Reid, driving a Jaguar D-type ‘long nose’.
Nick Leventis: “The Goodwood Revival is a fantastic event, and I’m very grateful to be able to compete in it.
“We qualified fourth in the dry, and it was a privilege to line up on
the second row of the grid with only Julian Majzub, Anthony Reid and
Emanuele Pirro ahead of me.
“About an hour before the race started, however, there was a
monsoon-like downpour of rain. We didn’t have time to change the set-up
of the car, so the race was pretty much a fight for survival in the rain
and strong winds. We dropped to fifth after two laps, but managed to
hold onto that position and bring the car home safely. Whilst it wasn’t
the best of conditions, driving the Ferrari in the wet was actually
great fun.
“I’d like to thank Tim Samways at Sporting and Historic Cars for
preparing the Ferrari, which ran faultlessly all weekend, and to
everyone at Goodwood for organising another excellent race weekend. I’m
already counting down the days to next year’s Goodwood Revival.”
Sussex Trophy – top 6 finishers
1. Anthony Reid (Jaguar D-type)….26:05.151
2. Rob Hall (Maserati 300S)….26:07.758
3. Richard Kent (Lister-Jaguar)….26:41.305
4. Emanuele Pirro (Lister-Jaguar)….26:59.608
5. Nick Leventis (Ferrari 246S Dino)….27:18.036
6. Julian Mahzub (Sadler-Chevolet Mk2)….27:25.205
