Monday, September 30
At first glance, Pauline Goodwin is just like any other attendee in the paddock of Prescott, with a spot in the highest point, centred between an array of Porsche Spyders proudly presented amongst the neighbouring club. Rightfully so, Goodwin along with her Ferrari 328 received a handful of attention from photographers, visitors, and fellow motorsport enthusiasts, intrigued by Goodwin who attended the club day alone. One giveaway that Goodwin had a story to tell and a career to honour was the stickers placed on either side of her Ferrari, including one for the British Women Racing Drivers Club.
Sharing the experiences and achievements of her time, Goodwin recognised the peak of her career being “last year, I won the Pirelli Ferrari Hill Climb championship as it was known back then. It was the first time a woman has ever won it since the late 80’s, back in 1987 it started.”
Goodwin has her own tradition, for every birthday ending in a zero, she would set herself a personal challenge. For example, when Goodwin turned 50, she “entered the Midlands Super Series of mountain biking races”, which she claimed to be “good fun.”
It was for her 60th that Goodwin took up motorsport and became a competitor, making it twenty years of competing, twenty years to reach the level of becoming the Ferrari Hill Climb champion. Reflecting on her award, Goodwin explained how “it was a long time coming but I always felt as though I won it by default because there are other drivers we have who I’m sure are better than me, but I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. But that is a typical answer from me.”
With new sponsors starting from this year, the Pirelli Ferrari Hill Climb Championship has now become the CSA service group championship; Goodwin intends to continue competing as she would “like to go into the 21st year.”
Motorsport isn’t the only sport Goodwin has endorsed as she revealed her previous Olympian title whilst sharing an insight into her motivation as a competitor. “I’ve competed all my life, I’m a twice Olympian in canoeing, that was a long time ago now. I was a canoe slalom paddler in 1972. It was in Munich then, the Canadians with their fabulous waters they have over there, they dropped slalom because they had a weak team.”
Alongside her back in the 1972 summer Olympics was her husband Jon Goodwin who has also made a name for himself as a retired slalom canoer, a regular and leading competitor in the Ferrari Hill Climb Championship, having won in 2002 and 2008, and most recently he was onboard Virgin Galactic’s first spaceflight for tourists. Jon notably was the first ever Olympian to make the journey and the second person with Parkinson’s to fly to space, he used the opportunity to inspire others diagnosed with the disease to show “it doesn’t stop you doing things that are out of the normal if you got some illnesses that’s inflicted.” (1)
Both Pauline and Jon Goodwin hold the record for the only husband and wife to both be victorious as hill climb champions, as well as an incredible inspiration to show anything you put your mind to, you can achieve, regardless of age and for those with Parkinson’s.
“Just make the most of every day.”
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