The OUMF team’s Goodwood Revival adventure 2025 with the 1959 Riley 1.5 in the St Mary’s Trophy, Parts 1 and 2

​​On a wet Wednesday afternoon, the OUMF team departed for the Goodwood Motor Circuit, with the Riley 1.5 trailered securely behind Ollie’s dad’s Land Rover Defender. The journey was made in persistent rain, which seemed to be following us down south. Upon arrival, the team established their base at the campsite, marking out the OUMF area before erecting the Le Mans tent. This task was made more difficult by frequent heavy downpours, leaving most of the team drenched by the time camp was fully set up. The paddocks were then organised into a functional workshop space, with tools, equipment, and spares arranged for use over the coming days. With the essentials in place, the team headed to a nearby country pub for a well-earned dinner, which provided a chance to dry off, warm up, and discuss the plans for the weekend ahead.

The next day we got up at 9am and enjoyed some bacon and egg sandwiches made by Ollie, before heading over to the motor circuit at 11. Our first task was to give the car a thorough spanner check in preparation for the two qualifying sessions scheduled for the following day. In the afternoon, we were introduced to our VIP driver, British Touring Car Championship competitor Charles Rainford, whose infectious energy and enthusiasm quickly won the team over. He was highly impressed by both the Riley 1.5 and the collective effort that had gone into preparing it for competition. Adding to the day’s momentum, Suresh, representative for Sustain Fuels, came to say hello and spoke with Ding, Charles, and the rest of the team about the fuel he kindly gave to us specifically for Goodwood. To round off a productive day, Mickey Dunlop generously provided us with four brand-new Dunlop tyres, which were immediately sent off to be fitted in place of the worn set.

That evening, everyone put on their smartest outfits, polished their shoes, and headed over to the Goodwood House for the Drivers’ Briefing and Champagne Party. Plenty of Pimms was drunk whilst we watched 2 spitfires perform tricks in the (luckily now blue) skies. After listening to the dos and don’ts of the weekend, everyone made their way into the Duke’s garden, passing plenty of recognisable faces on the way. We indulged in the champagne (which helped to mask the pain that my high-heeled shoes were now beginning to cause me) and expressed our excitement for the upcoming days with Charles Rainford and Ding.

A comforting dinner of Shepard’s Pie was prepared by the lovely Jenny and Stuart Reid and we all sat around the kitchen table laughing and chatting loudly. Sadly the blue skies did not continue into the next day and Friday started with a torrential downpour and we were trudging through the soggy fields to the motor circuit. Our first qualifying session took place at 12:35 with Charles Rainford behind the wheel, and despite his desire for a wet race, the sun had come out. What a fantastic drive he had, really putting the Riley through its paces and placing us at P13 on the grid for Part One of the St Mary’s Trophy.

There were 5 hours until Ding’s qualifying session at 17:50, the time was spent doing a spanner check and watching a bit of the racing in between the sudden deluges. Ding and Charles spent some valuable time together at the Drivers’ Club, reviewing the circuit and discussing techniques that could help us achieve quicker lap times. The time came for Ding to go out and yet again, the weather was on our side and it remained dry. Another brilliant drive to watch, the much smaller Riley battling its way through the chicane alongside the giant Jaguars and Ford Falcons. Ding secured P24 for Part Two of the St Mary’s Trophy which was due to take place as the final race of the weekend, Sunday 18:00. It was all looking good...

Until!

​Once back in the paddock, Ding expressed his concern that the shifter was not going into second gear nicely, Charles had made an earlier comment about something similar which was ruled out in the post-qualifying spanner checking(?). After some inspecting and oil draining, it was decided the best option was to remove the faulty gearbox and replace it with the spare one. At 9pm.

The boys worked incredibly hard to get the gearbox and the engine bolted back in before it got to the early hours of Saturday morning. They were successful, with the help of a hoist kindly lent to us by Westbourne Motors a few rows down the paddock, and were greeted with a much welcomed BBQ of chicken, burgers and slightly wet sausages when they returned at 23:30.

Saturday. The first day of racing was upon us and Charles was set to take the Riley out at 14:30, another spanner check was done and everything looked in good shape, including the newly fitted gearbox. The time came and everyone looked on eagerly, excited to see how he would do. However, once out on the formation lap, things started to turn in another direction and lots of smoke appeared.

At first we thought it was the wheels locking up as it seemed to billow out on corners, however this was not the case as it began to get worse and continued down the straights. Despite this, Charles pushed on for 4 laps, the pressures and temperatures were all reading normal and the car was handling perfectly fine. Unfortunately, clouds soon engulfed the cabin, obscuring his view through the windscreen and leaving him with no choice but to pit.

Once the bonnet was lifted it was obvious what had caused the plumes of smoke; oil leaking from the rocker cover on to the hot exhaust manifold, due to a lack of a spacer washer under one of the covers two securing bolts. This was something that had been removed during the late night swapping of the gearbox, and overlooked when bolting the engine back in. A very frustrating, but easy mistake that lost us the fight in Part 1 of the St Mary’s Trophy.

Despite the early retirement caused by the mechanical issue, Charles remained composed and understanding of the situation. His positive attitude helped maintain team morale and encouraged us to quickly refocus after a disappointing result. The rocker cover from the spare engine was fitted that evening, with the team triple checking that the washer, and any other small and easily misplaceable parts were all in place.

That night Ollie Raja-Brown and Ding attended the spectacular ‘Alice in Wonderland’ themed Drivers’ Ball. The rest of the team regrouped over a kebab from one of the host of eateries ‘Across the Road’ that Tom Reid recommended, and with plenty of beers and ciders, we put the troubles of the day behind us.

Sunday morning was spent disassembling the Le Mans tent and campsite ahead of our departure that evening, and the predictions of non-stop rain from 11am. As the second part of the St Mary’s Trophy, Ding’s race, wasn’t until 18:00 we spent a lot of the day experiencing the Revival, looking around all the amazing, in-period stalls and entertainment, and watching the races in the typical British weather.

At 5pm, the car was given a final and thorough inspection before Ding headed to assembly. Conditions were extremely wet, with no sign of the rain easing throughout the race, making it a challenge for all competitors. Despite the poor visibility and treacherous track surface, Ding ensured the Riley was driven competitively and, most importantly, brought it home safely, much to the team’s relief and satisfaction. 

As the rain continued, getting heavier by the minute, we began carting the final tools and equipment from the paddock to the Sprinter that was parked at the campsite. Charlie Stratton and Ding stayed back at the motor circuit and joined the already very long queue for the exit in the Riley in order for us to get it on the trailer, ready to be taken back to Oxford.

This went amazingly smoothly, and once back at the barn, the Sprinter was swiftly unpacked, and the Riley rolled from the trailer and settled back into its usual spot, ready for its post-race leak-down test. With everything back in place, the team took a moment to look back and reflect on an unforgettable weekend and some fantastic racing- and pledged to make attendance at future Revival’s an unmissable date in the calendar!!

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the Duke of Richmond and the Goodwood team, and all of our sponsors, whose continued support makes our attendance and success at events like these possible.

​It is a privilege to be a part of the OUMF team, and the sense of pride and camaraderie felt at Goodwood was second only to the fantastic experience of being there - ‘in the thick of it’!

Sophie Rugg. 3rd Year Oxford Brookes