Goodbye "Mort"

Sad to say, I just learned that Mortimer Morris-Goodall passed away this week.

Perhaps his name is not as familiar as some, but he was one of the very last of the gentleman amateur racing drivers of the 1930s. "Mort", as he was affectionately known amongst Brooklands devotees and Aston Martin enthusiasts, has been a familiar sight at race meetings in and around Britain and Europe for sixty years.

I saw him a little while back at Brooklands, and while frail, he was obviously eager to take the test hill and banking one more time in an example of his favourite marque - the vintage Aston.

I'll leave the statistics and the details to the formal biographers. Right now I would just like to say goodbye to a fine man whose name has been floating around my entire life, and whose memory will linger for a long time to come.

I was notified yesterday of Harry Cape's passing, a lesser light you would have to say, but he raced for ages, lived in Tamworth.

This lot are not hanging around for much longer, we have to spend some time with them so we can learn more about their era before they're gone.