If there is a heaven for car enthusiasts, it will look very much like the Goodwood Revival. It’s a perfect alchemy of history, performance, variety and good beer. Plus, you might bump into Sir Jackie Stewart, and who doesn’t dream about that? The truth is, if you’ve been a gearhead for any length of time, you certainly have friends who have attended the Revival and then raved about it. They’re not exaggerating, and there are many good reasons to start planning your trip to Goodwood today — primarily because if you don’t get on it right now, it’s going to be […]
If there is a heaven for car enthusiasts, it will look very much like the Goodwood Revival. It’s a perfect alchemy of history, performance, variety and good beer. Plus, you might bump into Sir Jackie Stewart, and who doesn’t dream about that?
The truth is, if you’ve been a gearhead for any length of time, you certainly have friends who have attended the Revival and then raved about it. They’re not exaggerating, and there are many good reasons to start planning your trip to Goodwood today — primarily because if you don’t get on it right now, it’s going to be sold out.
What is this, anyway?
The Goodwood Revival is nominally a vintage race held at the Duke of Richmond’s south-coast estate near Chichester, U.K. There’s a racetrack there, but to call the Revival a “vintage race” is like calling Monterey Car Week a used-car sale. The Goodwood paddock will give you whiplash from snapping your neck around as you look at everything from 1920s Alfa Romeo GP cars to a row of perfect Ferrari 250s. You might see the second Lotus ever made, or the MG K3 Magnette that won the Irish Tourist Trophy in 1933. Each car, seemingly, is more impressive than the last.
Mind you, the racing at Goodwood is not the genteel parade of some American vintage events. No matter what you’re driving, it’s full send all the time.
As you might imagine, the Revival has an extensive shopping area for clothing, cars, and anything related. Many classic-car dealers bring their inventory to Goodwood. Bonhams Cars’ auction is held in conjunction with the event (see p. 74), and it has the biggest tent in the marketplace.
Military reenactment
The origins of the racecourse date to the late 1930s, when the estate was used to set up an RAF base to guard the English Channel during the Battle of Britain. The airstrip is still there, and the Revival hosts one of the biggest World War II fly-ins in the world.
If you’ve never been up close to a Supermarine Spitfire or a Hawker Hurricane, this is your chance. If it doesn’t give you goosebumps to stand by those planes and look out on the Channel, I can’t help you.
It doesn’t end with planes, however. There are Jeeps, half-tracks, tanks, motorcycles and the most dazzling array of military stuff, much of it sold as surplus after the war.
Heavy-metal parking lot
If you never actually entered the Goodwood facility, it would still count as one of the best car shows in the world. The pre-1966 parking lot is the closest field to the event. When you park your modern car, you’ll walk through it to reach the gate. You’ll find people getting out of their Ferrari Lusso in that field, right next to a Mini or a Triumph Herald, or anything else you can think of. I believe I saw more Daimler SP250s this year in the parking lot than I’d seen cumulatively in my life. (Of course, that’s just three, but you get where I’m going.)
It’s always fun to see someone dressed in vintage clothing at a vintage event. But mostly it’s rare — just a quirky person who likes to look retro. But at the Revival, it’s de rigueur to dress up. People will look at you funny if you’re not wearing greasy mechanic’s coveralls with a Riley patch, or a shagadelic ’60s purple suit. Take a look at any racing photographs from before 1970, and you’ll have an idea of what to wear.
Just do it
Here’s a funny thing: You could go to the Goodwood Revival and never watch a minute of racing and still have a great time. There are tents with rockabilly, swing and other mid-20th century music and dancing going on all day and into the evening, as well as roving bands of singers performing 40s-era songs.
The environs of the track are a bit like Disneyland, in that you might round a corner and find yourself in a replica Mini workshop/dealership circa 1963, or at a tiki bar on a beach, complete with dune buggy and surfboards. Additionally, there are ticketed hospitality areas that serve excellent food and drinks, and which offer some of the best race viewing.
Mark Gillies is a retired former Volkswagen executive who races his 1934 ERA R3A Grand Prix car in the Revival. He has won the coveted Goodwood Trophy a total of eight times. In addition to racing, he drives to the event from his home in Shropshire in a 1930s Riley Gamecock Works rally car.
“For me, it’s a combination of many things,” Gillies says. “I love the racing and the cars and the track. You get grids that are truly representative of their various eras, a lot of really good drivers, and the track is fast and flowing.
“You get treated very well as a competitor, too. There is no entry fee, you get great hospitality in the officers’ mess, and you’re invited to the ball. End of the day, it should be on every race fan’s bucket list, along with Monaco, Le Mans and Indy.”