Three stunning Martini-liveried Lancia sports cars from the 1980s took to the Goodwood Hill over the weekend, the LC1 and LC2 which were built to Group C regulations, and the Group 5 'silhouette' Beta Montecarlo. This famous trio of racing machines evoked many fond memories for Festival visitors of the days when Lancia was a force to be reckoned with in international racing circles, an image doubly reinforced by the presence of a beautiful Lancia-Ferrari D50 Formula 1 car in the Cathedral Paddock.

The Lancia brand throughout its century-long history has been synonymous with cutting-edge technology, engineering innovation and international racing success, and each of these three cars ably represented those fundamental ideals. Any car powered by a Ferrari engine, in the case of the LC2, becomes even more mythical and add in the famous full-length Martini Racing 'stripes' and an extra special machine is guaranteed.

Built by the Abarth division in 1981, the 'silhouette' regulation Beta Montecarlo featured a small but very powerful and robust 1.4 litre turbocharged 4-cylinder engine. Running in the Group 5 GT class it was a stunning success, winning three World Championships and regularly beating the bigger Porsche 935 in the class above. Entered in the "DRM Grand Touring Legends" category at Goodwood, alongside cars such as the Ford Capri 'Zakspeed', BMW 2002 Gp5 and Porsche 935 'Baby', it was an evocative sight and sound as it screamed up the famous 'Hill' as well as attracting many admiring onlookers while it rested in the paddock.

Alongside the Montecarlo in the paddock was an LC1 and LC2. These were entered in the "Group C Prototypes" batch and were joined in the category at the Festival by a host of legendary machines from that era including the Porsche 956 which the LC2 went head-to-head with in so many of the world's greatest endurance races, including the Le Mans 24 Hours. The "Group C Prototypes" category saw many famous machines from the 1980s and early 1990s turning out, such as the Porsche 956, 956B and 962, Jaguar XJR6 and XJR9, Aston Martin Nimrod C2B and AMR1, Sauber-Mercedes C11, Mazda 757, Nissan R90 and Peugeot 905B. The LC1 was built in 1982, and in the hands of star Italian drivers Michele Alboreto and Riccardo Patrese these light aluminium-monocoque cars were very fast on the track, although slightly fragile.
 

The example at Goodwood was one of four built, and in the hands of Patrese and Teo Fabi it took pole at Mugello, third at Spa and second at Fuji. The LC2 was built in 1984, and to do battle with the dominant Porsche runners Lancia used an 850 bhp Ferrari engine as a stressed part of the Dallara-built chassis. Ultra quick but somewhat unreliable it came second in the World Championship.

The trio of Lancia sports cars were driven up the 'Hill' at Goodwood over the weekend by Stefano Macaluso a former Italian rally driver who has competed in domestic, Europe and and World Championship-level events, and who is an enthusiastic proponent of these evocative racing cars. Italiaspeed caught up with Stefano after his Sunday afternoon run up the 'Hill' in the LC2, a run when heavy and prolonged rain showers had made the track very wet, dirty and difficult. "The car is very long, designed to be at Le Mans or on a very fast circuit so the feeling is a bit strange for Goodwood. I have driven it three years ago at Vallelunga but at the time I made just two laps. It is an extremely nice experience for sure, the Ferrari engine is extremely powerful and you have big tyres, but at the same time it's not flexible like Formula 1 where the cars are light and have more feeling."

He is becoming a regular at the Festival of Speed now: "It's my third time at Goodwood, normally I drive in the forest stage as I'm a rally driver, but its my second experience up the Hill. I have been twice in the UK before for the RAC Rally and I have very good memories."

Stefano wasn't hanging around as he powered the gorgeous LC2 up the 'Hill', the TV commentators describing it as 'one of the most beautiful' racing cars to be built; while the giant monitors caught his power slide on the wet track. "The track is very slippery I almost went out in the first turn to the right," he recalled, "I didn't have much feeling on the road, I think some cars had brought mud onto the track, and conditions under the trees were different so I was careful," he added.