Chichester, UK, April 10 — After more than a year of hard work, planning, and testing, Era Motorsport ecstatic to showcase not one, but seven different Shadow Can-Am cars at this weekend's 81st Goodwood Members’ Meeting.
The Shadows will be joined on-track by their period counterparts from brands such as Porsche and McLaren. The 24-car Can-Am Celebration and Exhibition will take to the track twice during the weekend, as an array of the most monstrous machines to ever grace the Goodwood Circuit shake the hallowed motorsport grounds.
The exclusive Goodwood Members Meeting event will be graced with an unprecedented line-up of cars including at least one of every Shadow Can-Am model all the way from the Mk. I Prototype to the Dodge-Powered DN4b.
Most notably, Jackie Oliver will be reunited with the Shadow DN4 that he drove to the 1974 Can-Am Championship win for the first time in 50 years.
The rest of the driver lineup includes many faces, from long-time US historic racers Jason Miller and Kirt Bennett, to endurance racing champions Tom Kristensen, Marino Franchitti and Kyle TIlley.
Era Motorsport has worked with the Shadow line-up many times at US-based historic racing events, and has been honored to be trusted with storage, transportation, testing, and trackside support services on the legendary fleet as they take their trip across the pond.
If you’re unfamiliar, Shadow was a short-lived race-car manufacturer most well known for some of the most off-the-wall cars of the 1970’s.
Jim Bartell owns six of the seven Shadow models hitting the track this weekend, and in his words, “In 1970 the Mysterious Don Nichols burst upon the Unlimited Can-Am Racing scene with the most radical car imagined in the minimal rules of the day, the MKI Shadow.”
“It was knee high with a big block racing motor powering it. It shocked the racing world and was as spectacular of a car as it was a spectacular failure.”
“So spectacular,” said Bartell, “that it is still remembered 50 years later.”
After their debut in 1970, Shadow wasted no time improving on their product, with seemingly a new car every year for the remainder of their Can-Am career. After just four years, they had the Shadow DN4, which was used by Jackie Oliver to win the Can-Am Championship in 1974.
From there, Most of Shadow’s effort went into Formula 5000 and Formula 1 cars, but that’s a story for later this year.
This event is the first of two in 2024 where the Shadows will take on famed Goodwood events, with Shadow Formula cars joining their Can-Am brethren at the Festival of Speed later this year.
“I’m absolutely elated for this weekend,” said team-owner Kyle Tilley. “I’ve been around these cars a lot, and been given the opportunity to drive quite a few of them in America, but to have them all in the same place at once, taking the track at the same time, that’s something special. Especially when it’s somewhere like Goodwood!”
“We’ve had the cars in the UK shop for the past month or so making sure they’re all ready to go, and we also had the opportunity to take a few to Donington a few weeks ago to test and finalize for the event.”
“Every single one is completely mental! They’re some of the most physically and mentally taxing cars I’ve ever driven, but the experience is incredible. I think the Goodwood fans are in for a real treat this weekend, I strongly encourage coming to see the cars on initial start up; bring ear plugs!.”
In addition to the Shadows, Era Motorsport will be running a client’s TVR Griffith in the Graham Hill Trophy, where two-time Spa Six Hours winner & and prolific historic racer Miles Griffith will be taking on the field on pre-1966 closed-cockpit GT cars.
The Goodwood Members’ Meeting takes place this weekend, April 13-14, and is set to be one of the most exciting historic racing events of the year worldwide.
All of the action will be livestreamed on the Goodwood Road & Racing YouTube Channel, so clear out your weekend schedule to follow along, or check the times below to see when we’ll be on track!
Era Motorsport at the 81st Goodwood Members’ Meeting Timetable
Saturday, April 13
1:40 PM - Can-Am Exhibition
2:05 PM - Graham Hill Trophy Practice
Sunday, April 14
1:50 PM - Can-Am Exhibition
3:15 PM - Graham Hill Trophy Race