Players Classic 2018
Published July 1st, 2018
Words and Photography: Michal Fidowicz
Please note: You can download all images in this article by turning your device side ways and holding them down. Alternatively, you can download them from my Flick album which is linked at the bottom.
Out of all the shows I attend during the year, Players Classic is my favourite. Without a doubt. The sheer size of it, location and the variation of cars on show are three ingredients which not all shows have, and as with every year the Players guys nailed all three.
For 2018, the show expanded into a two day event which allowed individuals to hit the track on Saturday – hooning their motors around the historic Goodwood race track, and Sunday where show cars took over part of the track and created a whole new depth to the amount of cars on show.
As every year, the weather was perfect. Two days in the sun with my friends, surrounded by the best show cars in the UK and Monster Energy giving out free drinks. The food available for purchase was great too, and I found myself at the Oven Pizza stand both days for lunch.
Recently at shows, I’ve tried to be as conservative with my photos as possible. Only snapping up the cars that genuinely grabbed my attention. This time round, I’ve got 130+ photos to share with you.
Let’s hop into the photos I took on Saturday.
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This is my fourth year at Players Classic, and as every time I start my way over in the Players Paddock parking area. As I was progressing along Goodwood with my camera, I realised that Players Classic is without a doubt the best introduction someone could possibly have to the car scene. There is everything here car wise, the atmosphere is spot on and there were many genres of cars on show.
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Plenty of cars with Candy stickers knocking about too. I’m very humbled and thankful to everyone who has purchased one, your support is unparalleled. Plenty of interesting things on the horizon that’s for sure!
Back to the show – the shadowy treed area around the food stands provided for some awesome lighting.
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Olli’s static E91 – first time I’ve seen the car and I was blown away. It takes a very special type of person (a dumb one maybe) to decide that they want to ruin a fairly modern BMW like this. And I’m all behind it – being someone who’s also static I have a certain interest in anything with a stiff damper and spring combo.
Let’s head over to the Paddock area. I’ve got plenty more to show you.
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Plenty of 90s era BMWs knocking about. Very lovely stuff.
Of course though there is more to it. Like I said, Players Classic is the show when it comes to variety – further reinforcing my point that this is the event to bring someone to if they know nothing about the car community.
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The KEEN Suspension guys arrived in full force to do a few things:
- Showcase what their team are capable of
- Win all the awards
- Make us all incredibly envious of a fully restored and bagged Ferrari
Didn’t manage to get a picture of that RWB… probably because the constant crowd around it was just too big. You really do have to appreciate these cars though, although they’re not the bare knuckle motors built by a single car enthusiast in his shed, they do showcase the pinnacle of what is possible at the moment and turn genuine fantasies into reality. It still takes a certain type of person to pull something like this together and make it happen.
Meanwhile on the left of the Ferrari, was a car which couldn’t possibly be more “Goodwood.” I definitely geeked out over this as much as over the Ferrari.
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You can tell by the photos that I’m not over-exaggerating. There was cool metal EVERYWHERE.
I decided to grab some shots of the crowd at the award ceremony on Saturday just to put into perspective how many people were at Players Classic. Do keep in mind that this was the quieter of the two days…
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Olli with that static E91 and my pal Troy with the hydro’d blue Benz both walked away with awards on the day. Well done chaps!
I lingered around and continued to take some photos.
Absolutely love MK3 Supras. I remember hooning the life out of them on Gran Turismo when I was younger. Shame they’re not so common these days!
Below we have Jordan’s static Clio running 1 of 3 large light blue banners. These won’t be getting re-stocked, so it’s nice to see it go to a good home! Thanks you Jordan.
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Finally got a chance to see Harvey’s new look on his E82. Absolutely flawless motor, and exactly how I’d build one.
As the day went on people started to leave, meaning I had the chance to browse around and take pics of the stuff that I missed earlier on in the day. A group of cars that always stand out to me is the Japanese builds. The longer you spend around them the more you see, from stickers and vinyl to other aesthetic touches like scuffed bumper from drift days and the classic Tsurikawas (metro handle.)
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Another modern Static BMW. Props to you sir!
And that about wraps up my photos from Saturday.
Naturally, a large chunk of the cars showing on Saturday re-appeared on Sunday. However, on Sunday the Players chaps opened the doors to more cars and lined them up on the race track. Have a look…
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Loving the livery Ed, the Passat suits the whole big BTCC wing surprisingly well.
Another example of what I mean by the Japanese aesthetic is this brilliant early model S14. Bold, happy sparkling pink paint, serious static lows and abuse from what I presume is drift use. I carried on down the track and took some more shots.
And that wraps up my coverage from Players Classic 2018. I had the best time, and I’m already excited to do it again. Big thanks to Tristan who let myself and a few other crash at his (I didn’t take a picture of the Jag. Sorry.)
So, what did you think? Did you enjoy the show? Let us know over on our Instagram.
Thank you for reading, and I’ll catch you in the next one! (And there’ll be a lot – we have a busy few months coming up.)
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Click here to view all the photos over on my Flickr.
Click here to view my VW Days coverage.
