Written by Ollie Lewis, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
The Goodwood Revival is a fascinating event in the UK, where strict attention to detail is key. The Revival takes place over 3 days where vintage cars of all kinds are driven to the ragged edge and motorbikes are pushed to the absolute limit.
The racing is spectacular. Vehicles worth upwards of a million dollars trade paint through precise side-by-side racing to win one of the 15 trophies on offer.
So, we will keep you updated on all the action across all 15 races.
Friday, however, is dominated by ‘special practice’ sessions. Although officially labelled as practice sessions, they can be referred to as qualifying sessions. The faster you are, the higher up the grid you start.
Therefore, instead of race descriptions, there will be an overview of each race and a summary of the practice sessions throughout the day.
The Circuit
The Goodwood Circuit is a track constructed from the taxi and service roads of the Goodwood Aerodrome, an airport which is still currently active.
Nestled in the English countryside, just North of Chichester, the circuit provides spectacular scenery, and was the hub of motorsport in Britain from 1948 - 1966, when drivers such as Jim Clark and Stirling Moss competed for various championships.
The Sussex Trophy
The Sussex Trophy is certainly not one to miss, featuring stunning machinery such as the Ferrari 246S Dino, Lotus 15, and other World Championship Sportscars from 1955-1960.
For the first time, the Sussex Trophy will be opening the racing at Goodwood Revival as it is the only race event taking place on Friday.
Another change that was made is the timing, as the race has now been extended to 60 minutes of racing, featuring two-driver lineups who must swap during the race.
Madgwick Cup
Having been omitted from the 2023 Revival timetable, the Madgwick Cup returns this year featuring more purpose-built machines from 1955 to 1960.
This event is the first to take place on Saturday morning and promises just as spectacular racing as the Sussex Cup but with proper race machines such as the Lotus 17 and Lola MK1.
Goodwood Trophy
The Goodwood Trophy features cars that competed at Goodwood in the track's earliest days. Competing will be Grand Prix cars from the 1930s, 40s and 1950s.
Amongst these are championship-winning Maseratis and Alfa Romeos that were produced before and after the Second World War.
These cars were remarkably advanced for their time, and the drivers did not hesitate to fling them around the track with supreme confidence.
Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy
The Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy is the first motorcycle racing event of the weekend, featuring a two-driver pairing who share a Grand Prix bike built before 1955.
This event is unique in two ways. Firstly, the riders have a Le Mans-style start, sprinting to their bikes before riding onto the track.
Secondly, the race takes place in two parts, with one driver competing in each part. The results from both races are combined to achieve an overall result.
The Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy never fails to deliver thrilling action and promises to be an exciting watch.
Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy
First introduced as the Kinrara Trophy in 2016, this race has quickly become one of the best at the Revival. Much like the Madgwick Cup, this race was also omitted from the 2023 timetable but returns this year, bringing Pre-1963 GT Cars back to the event.
These include Jaguar E-Types, AC Cobras and Ferrari 250 SWBs, whose stunning looks promise to make the race a beautiful one whether there is plenty of action or not.
Whitsun Trophy
The Whitsun Trophy consists of Sports-racing Prototypes that competed between 1960 and 1966. These were some of the last cars to compete at Goodwood before 1966 and were some of the most powerful and quickest machines of the era.
The cars competing here include Le Mans winners such as the Ford GT40, and other hugely successful cars of the age, like the Lola T70 Spyder and the Lotus 30.
Fordwater Trophy
While the Fordwater Trophy features sports and GT cars from the same era as the Sussex and Madgwick events, these cars are much more accessible as they are production-based, so they were mostly designed for the road.
Particular highlights in this event are Triumph TR4s, Lotus Elans and Turner MK1s.
St Mary’s Trophy
Perhaps one of the most exhilarating events, the St Mary’s Trophy features 1960s saloon cars that range extensively from the ship-like Ford Galaxie 500 to the mighty Mini Cooper.
Despite the comical difference in size, these cars are always side-by-side as the thunderous Fords fly down the straight, and the pesky Mini Coopers skate around the bends they are always passing each other, which leads to thrilling racing.
Like the Barry Sheene Memorial race, this event is also split into two parts where VIP drivers compete on the Saturday event, and the owners compete on the Sunday to bring home the glory.
Earl of March Trophy
500cc might seem rather small for the engine of a racecar, but when placed in a dainty Formula 3 chassis, the result can be amazing.
The racing is usually fantastic and features cars like the Cooper-JAP, Cooper Norton and the Emeryson JAP.
Despite their somewhat strange looks, it’ll surely be difficult to keep an eeyeon these cars during the race.
Richmond & Gordon Trophies
This event highlights one of the biggest changes in F1 history, when some teams began putting the engines behind the driver, like Lotus with the Lotus 16.
However, between 1952 and 1960 some teams like Ferrari chose to continue with front-engined machines on Enzo Ferrari’s insistence that ‘the cart does not pull the horse.’
It will be an exciting mix of front and rear-engined machines battling it out on track.
RAC TT Celebration
The RAC TT celebration harks back to a time when the event took place at Goodwood between 1960 and 1964, where GT cars of the same era competed against one another.
Amongst these will likely be Jaguar E-Types, AC Cobras and Corvette Stingrays.
Glover Trophy
From 1961 to 1965, cars with engines over 1.5 litres were banned from the championship, a stark contrast to the mighty engines that came just a few years before.
What came were Lotus 25s and BRM P261s which were powered by high-revving V8s and V12s.
These cars boast sleek designs and skinny tyres, meaning they rarely drive in a fully straight line without a slight slide.
Freddie March Memorial Trophy
This event seems to have swapped places with the Sussex Trophy, since it used to be an hour-long opener of the weekend but has now become a 25-minute sprint on Sunday evening.
The cars here are picked from the previous nine-hour endurance events held at Goodwood in the 1950s, including cars such as the Jaguar C-types and the Aston Martin DB3S.
Amongst all these events are various demonstration runs such as a John Surtees tribute, promising constant on-track action.
The event is being live-streamed on YouTube for free, with full commentary.
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