Quite simply the greatest spectacle on the historic racing calendar. 

The Goodwood Circuit Revival takes place each September at the Goodwood Motor Circuit near Chichester England. This three-day, 14 race event is in a league of it’s own.

The circuit was opened in 1948 and was closed in 1966 when the speeds of the cars of the era made them to dangerous to continue racing there. The first Revival Meeting took place on September 18, 1998, fifty years to the day of it originally opening.

The group of cars in this field is valued at somewhere in the neighborhood of $250 million…

The level of detail the organizers go to, making everything look period correct is quite phenomenal. Whether you are shopping on the “High Street” or checking out the Earl’s Court Motor Show you feel as if you are walking around on a movie set. Most of the people attending the event also get into the spirit of things and dress in period clothing. It is not required to dress up but you will definitely look out of place should you choose not to. There are a few different venues around the grounds with live music playing tunes of the era with dancers and singers. There is also a very large vendor village for all your automobilia needs. If this isn’t enough for you, you can go “Over the Road” to just outside the circuit where there is plenty more to see. They have a drive-in movie theatre, carnival rides, food vendors and the car park for period vehicles is also worth checking out.

The Revival kicks off on Friday giving guests their first chance to see all the cars, bikes and aircraft on show, as well as all the other action taking place across the circuit grounds.

There is one full race on Friday, but all the other competitors are out for practice and qualifying so visitors get to see every car and bike in action.

The first race of the weekend was the Kinrara Trophy. This is a 60-minute two-driver race into the dusk featuring pre-1963 GT cars. It was great to see Dario Franchitti make his return to racing in a Ferrari 250 SWB. The group of cars in this field is valued at somewhere in the neighborhood of $250 million dollars and included Ferrari’s, Aston Martins, Jaguars and Cobras. It was a wonderful sight watching these cars drifting through the corners with headlights ablaze in the glow of the setting sun. The Ferrari GTO of Gary Pearson and Andrew Smith took a flag to flag victory.

Saturday’s track activities began with a parade celebrating the 60 years of the Mini with over 100 of the iconic little cars circling the track. There were six races on Saturday including part 1 of the Barry Sheene Memorial for motorcycles. There was also part one of the Settrington Cup which is a pedal car race for those up and coming racers.

The first race of the day was for road-going sports and GT cars from 1960-1966. The grid was comprised of many TVR’s, Porsches, Lotuses and TVR’s. Pole position man Josh Files had an early off-road excursion which let The Lotus Elan of Robert Barrie into the lead. Barrie had an epic race-long battle with the bizarre-looking Mini Marcos of the always competitive Nick Swift which lasted most of the race with Swift taking the lead a couple of times. In the end, Barrie was able to take the checkered flag over Swift by a half-second.

The second race of the day was part one of The Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy. The field was filled with star riders including 14 Isle of Man TT winners. This is a two-rider race with a Le Mans-style start where the riders footrace across the track to mount their rides. Victory went to the MV Augusta of Lee Johnston and Jon-Boy Lee.

Race three was part two of the St. Mary’s Trophy for saloon cars raced between 2950-1959. This was a very diverse group of cars from the tiny little Austin A35’s to the big V8 Ford Thunderbird and Studebaker Silver Hawk. The Studebaker of Karl Wendlinger took the checkered flag first but was later disqualified for a technical infringement. The victory was then given to the Alfa Romeo of Le Mans veteran Emanuele Pirro followed by the Austin A40’s of Nicolas Minassian and Marcel Fassler.

Race four was for Grand Prix and Voiturrete cars raced between 1930-1951. This race is normally dominated by ERA’s but surprisingly this year the 2 liter Alta of Gareth Burnett took pole position and cruised to an easy victory followed home by four ERA’s.

The fifth race of the day was the Glover Trophy for 1.5 liter Grand Prix cars that raced from 1961-1965. Revival regular Andy Middlehurst got off to an early lead followed by Timothy Da Silva and Joe Colasacco. After the retirement of the Colasacco Ferrari and Lotus of Da Silva, second and third places went to the Lotus 20/22 of Simon Diffey and Ben Mitchell in a Lola T60 with Middlehurst taking yet another Revival win.

The sixth race was the Sussex Trophy for sports cars that raced between 1955-1960. The grid was filled with Lister-Jaguar’s, Jaguar D-Types and the always quick Ferrari Dino 246s. Pole position went to Roger Wills in a Lotus 15. Wills was able to take home the victory followed by the Ferrari 246s Dino and the Jaguar powered Lister “Knobbly” of Jon Minshaw.

Sunday’s racing kicked off with the Earl of March Trophy for 500cc Formula three cars that raced between 1948-1959. These cars are usually powered by 500cc single-cylinder motorcycle engines and chain driven. There was a wide variety of cars in this field with Coopers being the most popular. Pole man Peter da la Roche took victory after the race had to be red-flagged due to an accident at the chicane.

This is a bucket-list must-do event for anyone that has a passion for historic racing.

The second race of the day was The Richmond and Gordon Trophies for 2.5 liter cars that raced between 1954-1960. There was a mix of front engine and rear engine cars in this field. Qualifying was dominated by the rear-engined Coopers and Lotuses. Victory went to the Lotus 18 of Sam Wilson with the Cooper T53 of Gary Pearson coming home in second.

The third race of the day was part two of The Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy. The MV Augusta that won on Saturday repeated with a win on Sunday followed home by the Manx Norton’s of Sam Clews and Steve Parish.

The next race up was the Brooklands Trophy for pre-war Bentleys. This race started with the cars having their tops up with them having a mandatory pit stop to put the top down. Martin Overington scored an easy victory in his 1929 4 ½ liter supercharged car.

The atmosphere around the circuit is incredible…

The next race was the flagship RAC TT Celebration for closed GT and prototype cars from 1960-1964. This is a one hour 2 driver race. Ford-powered cars lead the way in qualifying with the front two cars being 427 Cobras alongside them was a 427 powered Tojiero. In the end, it was the Cobra of Christopher Wilson and Andre Lotterer that took the victory. There were some great battles throughout the race with one of the front running Cobras having an unfortunate meeting with one of the track barriers.

The sixth race of the day was Part two of the St Mary’s Trophy. The big Studebaker was back and jumped out to an early lead that was not last. The Jaguar MKI of Grant Williams was able to overtake the ailing Studebaker of Patrick Watts as was the Austin A40 of Mike Jordan. Williams missed a gear in the last corner and was just able to beat Jordan to the finish by a half-second.

The seventh race of the day was The Whitsun Trophy for unlimited prototype cars up to 1966. The field was comprised of many Ford GT-40’s, Lola’s and McLaren’s. Victory went to the Lola T70 of Mike Whitaker with ex-F1 racer Karun Chandock taking second in a McLaren-Chevrolet MKIA .

The final race of the weekend was the Freddie March Memorial Trophy for sports cars raced between 1952-1955. There was a wide variety of cars including Jaguar D-types, Aston Martins and Fraser-Nash’s. The top two places went to the Pearson brothers with Gary taking first place in his BRG painted car while brother John took second in his white D-type. Third place went to the very pretty Maserati 250S of Richard Wilson.

Sunday’s racing came to a close and it was time for the prize-giving at the start-finish straight, where spectators and drivers gathered to enjoy a glass of complimentary champagne while the awards were given out. At this point, it started to sink in that the weekend had come to a close and I would have to leave this fantasy and return to reality.

I have been to many historic car races all around the world and this is by far the best event out there. The atmosphere around the circuit is incredible, Nowhere else will you see a driver lineup racing historic cars at their limit like you will see here. This is a bucket-list must-do event for anyone that has a passion for historic racing. I can’t wait for next year!

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