Goodwood is one of the biggest events on the car calendar, and it’s gearing up for a return this summer after least year’s COVID-mandated cancellation. While manufacturers have pulled away from traditional static car shows like Geneva and Frankfurt, there’s still plenty of interest in events like the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which is run in front of Goodwood House.
But as this video reveals, the Duke of Richmond, the car-loving landed gent who lives in the big house, initially only put on the better known Festival of Speed so he could fund the return of real racing to the Goodwood circuit across the road. And that very nearly didn’t happen.
Goodwood had been one of the UK’s premier motorsport venues in the 1950s and 1960s, but the current Duke’s grandfather decided to close the venue in 1966 – which is why the current Revival is limited to pre-’67 cars.
While the track didn’t host any competitive racing after 1966, it was still used for testing by all manner of racing teams, and locals got used to the sound of 1960s Honda F1 cars and McLaren Can Am machines going full bore.
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However, as the video explains, when those locals heard of the current Duke’s plans to bring proper racing back to the track in the 1990s, not all of them were happy, and some tried to block the project. Fortunately, it didn’t work. The first Goodwood Revival took place in 1998, and interest hasn’t dimmed.
Take a look at clips like the one above and it’s not hard to see why it’s so popular. The annual Revival is where you’ll see some of the best racing on the planet, much of it involving priceless cars like the 250 GTO and Shelby Cobra, though watching an original Mini Cooper four-wheel drifting through a 90 mph curve glued to the tail of an Alfa Romeo GTA is even more exciting.