Revelling in the twentieth anniversary Goodwood Revival. Around £500 million worth of exquisite craftsmanship took to the track for the 20th anniversary edition of the UKs most extravagant historic motor sport meeting. You might think the value of cars involved and the celebrity drivers, that racing would be on the gentle side, but it certainly wasn’t the case. All the drivers pushed themselves and the classics to the absolute limit! This unbridled celebration of history and lifestyle that surrounds it is what makes the Goodwood Revival such an intoxicating weekend for all attendees. It’s no wonder that from the incredible attractions around the circuit to the unique dress code, the Goodwood Revival is labelled the world’s premier vintage event.
The first race of the weekend, the Kinrara Trophy accounted for £200 million worth of machinery alone. Thirty pre-1963 GT cars made up the hour-long race, fighting it out into the sunset of Friday evening. The Ferrari “Breadvan”, driven by 5-time Le Mans winner Emanuele Pirro and co-driver Niklas Halusa fought off numerous attacks from a pair of Jaguar E-Types, taking the win from pole position.
In honour of the 70th anniversary of the Jaguar XK, the Fordwater Trophy displayed, a spectacular field of XK powered Jaguars including five XK120s and two XK140s. However, it was British GT and Le Mans ace Darren Turner who took the win in a gorgeous ex-works Aston Martin DB2 VMF 65, Sam Tordoff of BTCC fame took second in a Porsche 356, paying homage and celebrating the cars 70 years since its launch.
The St Mary’s Trophy saw its fair share of mishaps this year including a Plymouth Barracuda destroying the chicane atop the pit-straight and a Lotus Cortina which barrel rolled off the circuit at St Mary’s corner (don’t worry – both drivers were unhurt!). Andy Priaulx took the win in the first round on Saturday and 19-year old Oliver Hart took the second round the following day in an Alfa Romeo 1600GTA.
The hour-long Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy is one of the showpieces of the Goodwood Revival, it represents the leviathans of the 60s sports car era with the added tension of a compulsory driver change thrown in for good measure. This year saw the debut of Audi LMP1 and Formula E superstar Andre Lotterer sharing a 1964 AC Cobra with Joe Twyman. The pair started in 9th reaching a peak of 3rd place until BTCCs Mike Jordan out-braked in his TVR Griffith 400 into Madgwick to take the 3rd. The excitement was such that the TVR managed to lose its rear window, an issue that did not have much effect on Jordan’s blistering pace; however, it was Oliver and David Hart who took the win in another AC Cobra.
The 20th anniversary of the start of the Goodwood Revival also saw the Duke of Richmond deliver a moving speech recollecting the struggles, effort and opposition he faced around bringing about the inaugural Revival back in 1998. This was then followed by a parade of past winners allowing a moment for all attendees to reminisce. In the ‘Over the Road’ field, more than 3,000 classic cars were displayed in the pre-66 and MOT exempt parking areas. A period funfair kept revellers entertained, alongside live music and various food and drink outlets.
Other highlights of the weekend included the following
- Andrew Hibberd in a Lotus 22 winning the formula juniors’ pre-1963
- The Richmond and Gordon Trophies for 1954-1960 Grand Prix cars being taken by Will Nuthall in aCooper T53
- Joe Colassacco in a Ferrari 1512 winning the Glover Trophy for Grand Prix cars 1961-63
- The Whitsun Trophy for pre-1966 sports prototypes being won by Mike Whittaker in his Lola T70Spyder
- The Goodwood Trophy with a truly vintage field of 1930- 1951 Grand Prix cars being won by CalumLockie in a Maserati 6CM
- The Freddie March Memorial Trophy for 1952-1955 vehicles top honour being taken by MartinHunts HWM Jaguar
The two stand out races for the Bank included the thrilling Jack Sears Trophy and the spellbinding display of grit, talent and determination from the winner of the Sussex Trophy, both of which are covered in more detail here.
It must be said, the attention to detail at the Goodwood Revival is simply phenomenal, nothing post-1966 is allowed on display past the gates. Even the hospitality area that provided the base for the Banks team for the weekend was decorated to resemble a WWII officer’s mess sitting adjacent to the airfield and aircraft display. The enthusiastic crowds go to great lengths to look the part and contribute to the incredible atmosphere and lifestyle that only classic cars can bring.
The late Roy Salvadori once said, “Give me Goodwood on a sunny day and you can forget the rest” and we couldn’t agree more!
