Even the visitors' car parks at the Goodwood Revival Meeting, near Chichester, West Sussex on August 31 to September 2, are worth lingering in, as over 1000 pre-1966 cars are expected to fill the Revival Car Show, hosted by Classic & Sports Car. Prizes will be presented for the best 'equipes', displaying all the right period picnic kit as well as having the best-presented car and crew.
Goodwood Revival Meeting is the most amazing 'period' event, with everything on site pre-1966, not just the race cars. Everywhere you look are cameos of life in the years the circuit was active, 1948-1966, from Dad's Army to Spitfire air displays to steam-powered roundabouts.
Lord March says, "The Revival is the only meeting in the world set entirely to a period theme, with every detail faithful to that golden age of style, grace and glamour; 1948-1966. No other sporting event anywhere takes place in period fashions on such a vast scale: the event is usually attended by over 110,000 visitors, the overwhelming majority of whom are suited, booted and groomed from tips to toe in the finest post-war gear, proving that the Revival is far more than just a historic motor racing meeting."
He continues "We welcome all sartorial styles to the event, from period-style tear-away teddy boys to tarted-up toffs. Mods and rockers mingle with cads and country gents, and the more effort the visitors put into their period outfits, the more fun and effervescent the atmosphere. It's great to see. To me the Revival is pure theatre. The motor circuit is literally dressed up like a huge film set, and that includes the competitors and spectators. Almost everyone is dressed-up to the nines in fantastic 1950s and 1960s creations, and the efforts people go to are amazing."
Every year the Revival pays tribute to a particular aspect of motoring in the time that the circuit was operating: last year it was microcars, this year it is caravans, linked with the 100th birthday of the Caravan Club this year.
A remarkable display of caravans from 1928 to 1966, including some from each decade and several now unique, like the Berkeley Statesman with its upstairs bedroom, will be on display and will parade around the track each day behind towcars of the same era.
The Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy motorcycle race is always one of the most exciting and competitive events at the Goodwood Revival. This is the only historic motorcycle race in the world that regularly attracts Italian exotics such as Benelli, Ducati and Moto Guzzi in significant numbers.
Battling against them will be British Manx Norton and Matchless machinery as well as early Hondas.
Goodwood has lined up a host of famous motorcycle riders to race, including Isle of Man TT hero, John McGuiness, the first rider to break the outright TT lap record at over 130mph. He will compete against Moto GP rider Jeremy McWilliams, and BSB rider and fast man of road racing Michael Rutter, along with legendary champions of the sport Niall MacKenzie and Wayne Gardner. They will be joined by an array of racing heroes of yesteryear, including Stan Woods, Ron Chandler, Trevor Nation, and Eric Saul.
And of course we mustn't forget the car racing, which after all is the raison d'etre of the meeting - and, as usual, it's a superb line-up. Take just one race, the hour-long RAC TT Celebration: many of the race cars are worth more than a million pounds each and the drivers are equally legendary, including: Sir Stirling Moss (Ferrari 250 GTO), Richard Attwood (Aston Martin DB4GT), Jackie Oliver (AC Cobra Le Mans Coup), Derek Bell (Jaguar E-type lightweight) Hurley Haywood (Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray), Rauno Aaltonen (Jaguar E-Type), Sir John Whitmore (Shelby American Cobra Daytona Coup) and Andy Rouse (Jaguar E-Type).
More details on www.goodwood.com. .
Malcolm McKay, Motorbase News Editor
