In pictures: backstage at the 72nd Goodwood Members’ Meeting

It was Glorious Goodwood on the last weekend of March, for Lord March’s latest classic motorsport event – the 72nd Goodwood Members’ Meeting. It’s one of only two race weekends to be held at the circuit since it reopened in the late 1990s: Lord March wants it to complement the world-famous September Goodwood Revival and become known as a classic in its own right. The difference here is that, as its name suggests, it’s a members-only event: only Goodwood Road Racing Club (GRRC) members can buy tickets.

Aston Martin's Race plan

By Ben Pulman Motor Shows 17 October 2007 15:36 It’s only just over a week since Aston Martin was sold, but today it confirmed plans to race at Le Mans.The DBR9 will return to the famous La Sarthe circuit in June. Perhaps this was inevitable, since Aston’s new non-executive chairman is David Richards - the chairman of Prodrive, which develops the DBR9 and its FIA GT3-spec sister car, the DBRS9. The team will face a tough challenge, though, as the 24-hour Le Mans is the only race that Aston Martin Racing will compete in this year.

Porsche 918 Spyder laps Nurburgring in under 7 minutes

The Porsche 918 Spyder (pictured) laps the Nurburgring in under 7 minutes When the McLaren P1 was first revealed, Ron Dennis told us it would lap the Nurburgring in under 7 minutes. But it seems the best the McLaren P1 has managed so far is a 7:04, so it’s no surprise McLaren hasn’t officially declared its time as they probably knew it wasn’t enough, but also knew that Porsche has managed to take the new 918 Spyder round the ‘Ring in just 6:57s. That 6:57 by the Porsche 918 Spyder isn’t quite as quick as the Radical, but as the Radical has only single type approval, Porsche are justifiably claiming the 918 Spyder’s time as the quickest by a proper production car, beating the previous record of 7:11s set by the Gumpert Apollo.