Goodwood Revival: The World’s Greatest Historic Motorsport Weekend
Rain didn’t hamper the spirits, or the racing, at this year’s Revival.
The Goodwood Festival of Speed might be the most popular car event of the British calendar, but the Revival is the most eclectic. Taking place annually in September, it combines motor-racing royalty, priceless classic cars and period, vintage clothing. Celebrating the original era in which the Goodwood Motor Circuit operated, from 1948-1966, only cars from this era can race. Guests are also required to dress in clothes from this time, while marshalls, mechanics and even advertising signs are period-correct also. This gives the weekend a real step-back-in-time feel, that’s bettered only by the intense racing on track.
This year’s event was another success, despite some heavy and persistent rain signalling the imminent arrival of autumn. A series of events took place across the 6th, 7th and 8th September, with machines ranging from 1960s Formula One cars and 500cc motorcycles, to historic sports cars and beach buggies. As always, some of motorsport's biggest names took to the track, including nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, four-time IndyCar Champion Dario Franchitti, seven-time NASCAR Champion Jimmie Johnson and 23-time Isle of Man TT winner John McGuinness. The world of F1 was also well represented, with three-time champion Sir Jackie Stewart, 1997 champion Jacques Villeneuve, and former drivers David Brabham, Derek Bell, Jean-Éric Verne, Karun Chandhok, Jochen Mass and Max Chilton all in attendance. Red Bull Racing’s Christian Horner and soon to be Aston Martin designer Adrian Newey even took their own turns behind the wheel.
Away from the racing on track, one of the more important stories was the official opening of the Tyrrell Shed. This is the original building in which Ken Terrell built all of his Formula One cars, including the Stewart-driven, championship-winning chassis of ‘71 and ‘72. After acquiring the shed from its original location in Surrey and saving it from demolition, the Goodwood team have faithfully restored it to the original period look, even down to the posters on the walls. There is a strong tie between Tyrrell and modern F1, too. After Ken Tyrrell sold his team in 1998, it became BAR. The team then turned into Honda, then Brawn and finally its current iteration, Mercedes, one of the sport’s most successful outfits of all time.
The shed, now located on the Hurricane Lawn at the Goodwood Motor Circuit, was opened with Sir Jackie Stewart himself in attendance. “Ken Tyrrell was a remarkable man and he saw great potential in me”, said Stewart. “We worked together throughout my career and formed a great relationship that saw us win three Formula 1 titles, and we achieved all of this, in this wooden hut. Goodwood Motor Circuit has been a big part of my career and the early moments with Tyrrell, at this track, paved the way for my future achievements.”
Another big story from the weekend was that every vehicle raced using sustainable fuel, making the Revival the world’s first historic motorsport event to do so. Helping to secure the future of combustion engines cars and bikes, this is a big step towards reducing the carbon footprint of historic racing. Goodwood now requires that competitors use fuel that has 70% sustainable components, which is in line with the FIA’s regulations on sustainable fuel. It has proven to work with any vehicle, and no modifications are required to run it. “I've been a very vocal supporter of sustainable fuels alongside electrification of motorsport, and I think it's hugely important to show the public that older high performance cars can run successfully on new fuels”, says Karun Chandhok. “This is an exciting and innovative step to ensure that we can all still enjoy these fantastic cars in a socially responsible way for the future”.
Elsewhere, there was a 75th anniversary celebration of the Jaguar XK straight-six engine, with a huge fleet of classic Jaguars on show. Marking 60 years since his Formula One championship, the legendary career of John Surtees was celebrated, too. He won seven motorcycle World Championships between 1956 and 1960, as well as the 1966 Cam-Am Championship, with a number of his vehicles making their way round the track. Cementing the Revival’s association with fashion and style was the Daniel Arsham and Team Ikuzawa, bespoke-liveried Porsche 904, which launched alongside a capsule collection of clothes and accessories.
As always, the on track action was the true highlight though. Every race had its moments, but a couple stood out. The RAC TT Celebration saw British Touring Car rivals Jake Hill and Tom Ingram battle it out to the very end. After a race-long battle, Ingram managed to sneak by Hill’s 1964 AC Cobra in his own ’64 TVR Griffith 400 on the second to last lap, taking a well earned victory. The St Mary’s Trophy part 2 was another entertaining affair. Won by Bill Shepherd by only 0.6 seconds to a trailing Max Chilton, the race saw huge Ford Galaxie’s race tiny Mini Coopers. At one point Gregor Fisken’s Galaxie powered past Chris Ward’s Jaguar Mk2 and Nick Swift’s Mini. Seeing the three vastly different cars competing for the same stretch of tarmac was at once enthralling and hilarious. It was Goodwood at its best, and we already can’t wait until next year.
