Goodwood gets revved up for a fabulous 75-year anniversary
which reaches its 75th anniversary in 2023.
It was Squadron Leader Tony Gaze - an Australian fighter pilot who was based at RAF Westhampnett during the Second World War – who first suggested to the 9th Duke of Richmond that the airfield’s perimeter track would make an excellent race circuit. Officially opened on 18 September 1948 by the Duke and Duchess in their Bristol 400, the very first meeting was attended by 15,000 spectators, who gathered to watch the 85 drivers, including Stirling Moss, who won his first ever race that day, sparking a life-long association with Goodwood.
Between 1948 and 1966 the years celebrated by the Goodwood Revival - the Circuit hosted World Champions Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, Juan Manuel Fangio, Giuseppe Farina, Mike Hawthorn, Graham Hill, Phil Hill, Denny Hulme, Jochen Rindt, Jackie Stewart and John Surtees, along with a host of other stars, as Goodwood established itself as the spiritual home of British motorsport. Following the cessation of racing in 1966, some of the biggest and best-known racing teams, including Brabham, Eagle, Honda, McLaren, Toleman and Tyrrell, continued to test their cars at Goodwood.
In the early 1990s, the Earl of March (now the 11th Duke of Richmond) began looking into the possibility of reopening the Circuit. Staging an event on private roads in Goodwood Park proved slightly easier, and in 1993, the very first Festival of Speed took place.
In 1998, the dream of reopening the Motor Circuit became a reality, and 50 years to the day since his grandparents had opened the track on 18 September 1948 in their Bristol 400, the Earl of March opened the inaugural Revival meeting in an identical car. 1998 also saw the launch of the Goodwood Road Racing Club – a club which today boasts over 25,000 Members and Fellows, who number among the greatest supporters and advocates of Goodwood motorsport. In its 75 year-motorsport history, Goodwood has seen some remarkable feats of engineering and derring do: from the trailblazing drivers who raced here in the early years and the cars that tested on the Circuit; to the scintillating record-breaking run from the McMurtry Spéirling at the 2022 Festival of Speed and the pioneering use of synthetic fuels at the Revival. The 75th anniversary of the Circuit and 25th anniversary of the first Goodwood Revival fall on September 18 – and lots of exciting celebrations are planned.