THE RACING COMES FIRST AT GOODWOOD
The beating heart of Revival weekend is always the wheel-to-wheel action on the circuit
Goodwood circuit has earned a special place in the hearts of motor racing fans ever since Freddie March established the venue in 1948 – and has entered a second golden era since his grandson, Charles, Earl of March, revived its fortunes 50 years later.
Britain was languishing in a period of post-war austerity and mourning – of, among other things, the loss of Brooklands – when March, a former Brooklands winner himself and later the 9th Duke of Richmond, created the 2.4-mile circuit on the former perimeter road of RAF Westhampnett airfield in West Sussex.
Stirling Moss won the 500cc race driving a Cooper at the inaugural meeting on 18 September 1948, establishing Goodwood’s links with famous drivers like Juan Manuel Fangio, Mike Hawthorn, Graham Hill, Jim Clark and Jack Sears. Moss retired from professional racing following a crash while driving a Lotus at Goodwood in April 1962.
Several classic races, including the Glover Trophy non-championship race for GP cars and the Tourist Trophy for sports cars, were held at Goodwood, plus the Nine Hour endurance race.
Goodwood was out of step with requirements for faster, modern racing cars by the mid-1960s and would have needed a fortune spending on it to bring it up to date, so the final meeting, in conjunction with the British Automobile Racing Club, was held there on 2 July 1966.
So, rather than undergoing modernisation, Goodwood remained in its 1960s condition; and following the success of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, racing returned to the circuit in 1998.
The three-day Goodwood Revival held every September is now seen as a highlight of the historic motor racing calendar and many of the trophy races associated with the venue’s past are now competed for once again in cars reflecting the 1948-1966 period of the original era.
While thousands of visitors will get into the spirit of the earlier age and dress up in period clothes, make no mistake – this is no dress rehearsal. The race action is for real!