My Experiences at Goodwood
As a proud member of the Goodwood Road & Racing Club, NMA’s Business of Motorsport Programme Leader, Genevieve Gordon-Thomson, has a front-row seat to everything Goodwood. From the atmosphere at the Members’ Meeting to the spectacle of the Festival of Speed and the vintage magic of the Revival, she’s experienced it all. (We’re totally not jealous!)
In this blog, Gen shares her personal highlights from each event, along with the rich history behind them and the iconic Goodwood Motor Circuit.
Part 1: The History of Goodwood Motor Circuit
The Goodwood Motor Circuit is central to the heritage of the Goodwood Estate and sits at the heart of its continued commitment to motor racing. The Goodwood Motor Circuit has a unique heritage within the motorsport world with an extensive history dating back to September of 1948 when it first opened to the public. Prior to being a racing circuit, the land was donated by the 9th Duke of Richmond to assist with the war effort and became RAF Westhampnett, which served as a Battle of Britain base during the Second World War.
However, on 18th September 1948, the new motor circuit hosted Britain’s first post-war motor race meeting at a permanent venue, which saw over 15,000 spectators crowd the track to watch the first wheel-to-wheel racing that had been staged in Britain since the war had forced Brooklands Circuit to close in 1939.
For 18 years, the circuit was home to contemporary motor racing. However, in 1966 it shut its gates to this racing format and then served as a testing and experience day track and the host circuit of the annual Revival event.
During its time as a contemporary racing circuit, one of the highlights of the track was the Glover Trophy, which ran from 1949 to 1965. It was a non-championship Formula One race, which was often used for testing of new technology and cars. The winning teams of the Glover Trophy included racing royalty in Ferrari, Maserati, and Lotus.
The circuit also hosted the eponymous Goodwood Trophy in 1951, another non-championship F1 event, which saw Stirling Moss race, amongst others. While this track produced some world-class racing over the years, it also was the site of some of the sport’s most tragic moments of this era of open-wheel racing.
It saw the career-ending crash of Stirling Moss in 1962. However, the tragedy of this circuit outlasted its Formula One career, with Bruce McLaren’s fatal crash happening at this circuit in 1970 while he was testing the McLaren M8D Can-Am, which crashed on the Lavant Straight just before the turn into the Woodcote Corner.
Whilst the circuit has a tragic past, it remains to this day a celebration of the motorsport industry throughout its evolution – from the fledgling days of single-seater racing to the current titan of the industry, right up to exploring what the technological advances of the future may be, making it a truly unique circuit.
Beyond the Members’ Meetings, both the Festival of Speed and the Revival, the Goodwood Motor Circuit is now open to the public, and people can book sports car driving experiences around the track. Fans can now experience a piece of motoring history themselves through the events hosted at Goodwood and drive contemporary cars around a circuit which has seen motorsport legends on it for over two decades and has been the site of some truly era-defining moments for both motorsport and the innovation of contemporary automobile technology.
Part 2: Goodwood Members Meeting
The Goodwood Members’ Meeting is a prestigious event that celebrates historic motorsport. It’s an exclusive gathering held annually at the Goodwood Motor Circuit in West Sussex, England.
Founded by the Duke of Richmond, the MM aims to recreate the atmosphere and camaraderie of the original BARC Members’ Meetings held at Goodwood throughout the 1950s and 1960s. You now need to be a member or fellow of the GRRC to be able to purchase the exclusive tickets.
As well as a full programme of racing, the Members’ Meeting features all kinds of cars, from classic tin-tops and GTs to motorcycles and open-wheeled Formula 3 and F1 machines. It offers visitors a friendly and intimate atmosphere with limited but like-minded crowds.
It’s a winning formula of spectacular cars, sidecar shoot-outs, high-speed track demonstrations, fun-packed festivities with a British theme, and great musical entertainment. All of that is matched with food and drink options from the Members’ Market and the Great Hall (which is set out like a medieval eating hall with a school dining hall feel), plus independent stands scattered around the venue. Be warned though, picnics straight from members’ cars feature heavily if you’re lucky enough to be parked on Lavant Bank.
The origins of the Members’ Meeting go back to 1948, when the 9th Duke of Richmond opened the circuit and held the first in a series of meetings for members of the British Automobile Racing Club. There were 71 such meetings, the last one being on 2 July 1966, after which motor racing at Goodwood stopped. The Members’ Meeting was revived in 2014 following demand from members of the Goodwood Road Racing Club. In 2018, it celebrated its 76th edition since the original run.
Members are assigned to a ‘House’ when they join (I was assigned to Torbolton last year) and each year new Captains of the House are unveiled, much to the excitement of members. Dario Franchitti, four-time IndyCar Series Champion, was 2024’s Torbolton captain.
This is a more intimate event than either the Festival of Speed or the Revival. It’s a weekend of pure racing for the dedicated enthusiast.
Spectators and drivers also take part in sporting activities, scoring points for one of four ‘Houses’: Darnley, Torbolton, Aubigny and Methuen. The winner is awarded the Goodwood House Shield.
Held in April, it opens Goodwood’s season of three motorsport events during the year, amongst a sea of yellow daffodils. The event offers a rare chance to stage races and demonstrations for cars that were competing after 1966 (which is when the circuit originally closed).
When the track was revived for the Revival Meeting in 1998, the programme was, and still is, restricted to cars that raced between 1948 and 1966.
Here’s a few great reasons to attend the Goodwood Members Meeting
Overall, the Goodwood Members’ Meeting is a rare chance to experience the thrill of historic motorsport in a relaxed and welcoming setting. It’s a must for any motorsport fan.
Part 3: The Festival of Speed
The Festival of Speed is held at Goodwood House and is a week that celebrates iconic cars, racing teams and the future innovation of the sport, from electric hypercars to cars run on renewable fuels. The weekend was jam-packed, with cars speeding up the hill climb to the paddocks full of some of the most iconic cars in the motoring world’s modern history, as well as appearances by the most recognisable faces in the current motorsport space.
The Festival is not just about showing off current motoring technology but is also a stage at which designers and manufacturers can show off their newest prototypes and the newest cutting-edge technology within the industry, allowing the Festival of Speed to truly look toward the future of motorsport and potential.
The 1.6-mile hill climb in front of Goodwood House is the heart of the Festival. Since the first event in 1993, some truly weird and wonderful cars have taken on the course — from the McMurtry Spéirling and Volkswagen ID.R to Jim Clark’s Lotus Type 25/R6. F1 legend and Indy 500 champion Juan Pablo Montoya once said, “The Goodwood Festival of Speed Hillclimb was the narrowest, bumpiest, least grippy course I’ve ever driven. But I loved it.”
The standout highlight from last year’s Festival was the celebration of 20 years of Red Bull Racing, which demonstrated the biggest celebration of a single F1 team that the Festival had ever seen. It saw Daniel Ricciardo, Sergio Perez, Mark Webber, Christian Klien, Adrian Newey and Christian Horner all race the hill climb in historic Red Bull F1 cars, with Max Verstappen then taking to the hill climb in his 2021 World Championship-winning RB16B.
F1 Academy made its debut last year too, with Hamda Al Qubaisi racing her car up the hill climb. The pièce de résistance of this entire Red Bull display was the unveiling of Adrian Newey’s latest project: the RB17 — the first Red Bull hypercar to have the possibility of being road-legal, all whilst delivering F1-esque lap times. The weekend also saw Ayrton Senna’s World Championship McLaren going up the hill climb in the hands of Bruno Senna.
It’s not only single-seater cars that grace the Festival of Speed, with the Iron Dames driving their 2024 Le Mans Lamborghini up the hill climb. The display of the Le Mans cars is a regular sight at the Festival of Speed, with the Ferrari hypercar that won its category at the 2023 Le Mans making an appearance.
The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an event for true petrolheads, with new technology, championship-winning cars and prototypes on display, representing the present and future of motorsport.
The event is a brilliant demonstration of what the automotive industry can achieve, from full-electric hypercars to renewable fuels, while also displaying the pinnacle of current motoring – from road cars with extreme speed to some of the most innovative racing cars the industry has seen over the last few years. The Festival showcases an exciting glimpse into what the future holds for high-performance cars, both on and off racetracks.
Part 4: The Goodwood Revival
The final highlight of the Goodwood motoring calendar is the Revival Weekend, which takes a step back in time with Goodwood Motor Circuit being transformed into a time capsule through sets, costumes, cars and props. The Revival is one of the most famous historic motorsport events globally, with spectators, staff and drivers all in period dress and strict rules not allowing modern cars on the circuit. This event is not only synonymous with historic racing but also with aviation history, which celebrates the circuit’s RAF heritage. Across the weekend there are displays of ex-military planes such as Spitfires, Hurricanes and Lancaster Bombers, celebrating the role Goodwood played in the Second World War.
It is at this historic venue that Goodwood Revival is held, a classic circuit which is restored to look as it did when it opened. The racing across the Revival weekend features cars from 1930s Grand Prix cars, to pre-1955 Grand Prix motorcycles, to 500cc Formula 3 cars. One of the most popular races of the weekend is the Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy, featuring pre-1963 GTs. It is arguably the most beautiful Revival race, showcasing E-Types, AC Cobras, Ferrari 250 SWBs, Aston Martin DB4 GTs, amongst many others that are legends of the racing world. These iconic cars are always driven by some equally recognisable drivers, such as 2009 F1 World Champion Jenson Button, 2013 British Touring Car Champion Andrew Jordan, and IndyCar legend Dario Franchitti.
The Revival Weekend is truly a celebration of everything vintage – from vintage fashion and sets to the displays of cars both on track and in the paddock – taking a step back into the golden age of car manufacturing. The original cars showcased over the weekend, and the way they have been maintained and restored, shows the endurance of craftsmanship and quality automotive manufacturing, all whilst spectators get to experience these truly unique cars in action.
Written by Genevieve Gordon-Thomson
Programme Leader | MA Business of Motorsport
