History and heritage
Goodwood is proud to announce ‘Goodwood 75’, a year of celebrations across its motorsport events and venues in 2023. As well as paying tribute to the incredible history and heritage of motorsport at Goodwood, the Goodwood 75 festivities will embrace the future of motorsport, something which Goodwood has continuously championed throughout the years.
The overarching celebration is that of the Motor Circuit, which reaches its 75th anniversary in 2023. It was Squadron Leader Tony Gaze – an Australian fighter pilot who was based at RAF Westhampnett during the Second World War – who first suggested to the 9th Duke of Richmond that the airfield’s perimeter track would make an excellent race circuit. Officially opened on 18 September 1948 by the Duke and Duchess in their Bristol 400, the very first meeting was attended by 15,000 spectators, who gathered to watch the 85 drivers including Stirling Moss, who won his first ever race that day, sparking a life-long association with Goodwood.
Between 1948 and 1966 – the years celebrated by the Goodwood Revival – the Circuit hosted World Champions Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, Juan Manuel Fangio, Giuseppe Farina, Mike Hawthorn, Graham Hill, Phil Hill, Denny Hulme, Jochen Rindt, Jackie Stewart and John Surtees along with a host of other stars, as Goodwood established itself as the spiritual home of British motorsport. Following the cessation of racing in 1966, some of the biggest and best-known racing teams, including Brabham, Eagle, Honda, McLaren, Toleman and Tyrrell, continued to test their cars at Goodwood.
In the early 1990s, the Earl of March (now the 11th Duke of Richmond) began looking into the possibility of reopening the Circuit. Staging an event on private roads in Goodwood Park proved slightly easier, and in 1993, the very first Festival of Speed took place. The two-day event welcomed an estimated 25,000 spectators who watched nearly 100 cars and motorcycles in action on the Hill. Competitors and attendees included Tony Brooks and Roy Salvadori who went up together in an Aston Martin DBS3, George Harrison in his Rocket sports car, Nick Mason in his V16 BRM, Gordon Murray in a McLaren F1, and John Surtees, who was an event patron and organised the motorcycle entry.
In 1998, the dream of reopening the Motor Circuit became a reality, and 50 years to the day since his grandparents had opened the track on 18 September 1948 in their Bristol 400, the Earl of March opened the inaugural Revival meeting in an identical car. 1998 also saw the launch of the Goodwood Road Racing Club – a club which today boasts over 25,000 Members and Fellows, who number among the greatest supporters and advocates of Goodwood motorsport.
In its 75 year-motorsport history, Goodwood has seen some remarkable feats of engineering and derring do: from the trailblazing drivers who raced here in the early years and the cars that tested on the Circuit; to the scintillating record-breaking run from the McMurtry Spéirling at the 2022 Festival of Speed and the pioneering use of synthetic fuels at the Revival.
2023 Celebrations
Motor Circuit
Open year-round, visitors to the Goodwood Motor Circuit will see a series of nods to the 75th anniversary. There will be a number of photo moments across the Circuit from Spring 2023, where visitors will be able to take a photo as part of our #Goodwood75 campaign and create their very own moment in history.
As the Circuit continues to evolve, we will launch our new Driving Simulator Room in spring, featuring 4 Exsim VR5 Simulators that use D Box actuator technology and custom-developed motion profiles, which allow users to take to the track for the ultimate simulator racing experience.
On Sunday 4 June, the Circuit will host the ‘75th Sunday’ Breakfast Club with a specially-curated grid of cars from the last 75 years, showcasing a unique variety of models from 1948 to 2023. Expect everything from post-war classics to the latest and greatest Supercars.
The 75th anniversary of the Circuit and 25th anniversary of the first Goodwood Revival fall on Monday 18 September 2023.
80th Members’ Meeting presented by Audrain Motorsport
Kicking off the motorsport action in 2023, the 80th Members’ Meeting presented by Audrain Motorsport (15-16 April) will honour those who made their names at the Motor Circuit with the likes of the Moss Trophy, Salvadori Cup and Tony Gaze Trophy. Honouring ‘Mr Goodwood’ himself, the Moss Trophy will see closed-cockpit GT cars and prototypes compete in the spirit of the RAC TT races of 1958-1962, while the ‘Godfather of Goodwood’ will be honoured with the Tony Gaze Trophy for GT cars that raced between 1948 and 1954.
Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard
Goodwood 75 will be the theme of the 2023 Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard (13-16 July). A dedicated Goodwood 75 hillclimb batch will showcase cars and bikes from our 75-year history including The Racing Years (1948-1966), The Testing Years (post-1966), 30 Years of the Festival of Speed (1993-2023), Racing Returns (1998-2023) and The Next 75 Years.
Goodwood Revival
Celebrating the Motor Circuit’s heyday as ever, the Revival (8-10 September) will see a wonderful gathering of cars that originally competed in 1948. We have looked to our motorsport heritage when choosing our honoured driver, Carroll Shelby, who would have celebrated his 100th birthday in 2023. Shelby took part in what is arguably the most dramatic race Goodwood has ever seen – the 1959 RAC Tourist Trophy, when Stirling Moss took over Shelby and Jack Fairman’s Aston Martin DBR1/300 after his own car caught fire in the pits, fighting back through the field to win the race and the World Sportscar Championship for Aston Martin. Lotus, which itself celebrates 75 years in 2023, will be the honoured marque at the Goodwood Revival, with a fabulous line-up of cars overseen by company founder Colin Chapman.
