Goodwood Revival 2005

The picturesque Chichester countryside provided the stunning backdrop for an event that is proud to be described as one of a kind – The Goodwood Revival. Now in its eighth year, this motorsport event well known for its 1950s period theme delivered not only edge of your seat racing but the fashion glitz and glamour that is perhaps more associated with Ladies Day at Ascot.

Passing through the main gates of the race circuit leaving all post 1966 cars behind you, the Goodwood Revival transports the world back to a time of vintage Britain, a time un-dictated to by technology, where people took time to stop, chat and take in the atmosphere. Gents dressed in dapper tweed suits and ladies in stunning 1950s attire filled the grounds of the Goodwood Circuit browsing vintage settings, stalls and tea rooms before lining the bank of a challenging and lovingly restored race track. Live music from the forties, fifties and sixties aided the nostalgic journey with the mood enhancing sounds of swing and blues blended with the energetic vibes of rock and roll.

This year’s Goodwood Revival weekend was tributed to Sir Jackie Stewart, with the year 2005 marking the 40th Anniversary of his first motor racing victory. Stewart’s talent discovered at Goodwood 42 years ago by Ken Tyrrell enabled him to become the most successful ever British Formula One driver, winning three World Championships. A fantastic selection of Stewart’s ex competition cars could be seen in and around the paddock where mechanics and drivers in starched white overalls were tinkering with already pristine classic race cars in preparation for participation in one of a possible 15 races.

Stunning race grid line ups, with gleaming paint work and the rumble of highly tuned engines completed the scene with enough raw horsepower to make any motoring enthusiast weak at the knees. An astounding race programme provided spectators with dramatic heart thumping racing including the Ford Water Trophy this year hosting an array of MGAs and MGBs, and an unforgettable 1960s closed cockpit GT TT race with its £30,000,000 grid line up of AC Cobras, Shelby Cobra Daytonas, Aston Martins, Ferraris, Jaguars and Chevrolets.

Exceptional VIP driver line ups included Vitantonio Liuzzi well known for his racing in Formula One and Narain Karthikeyan from Jordan, not forgetting two of the greatest women in motorsport Desire Wilson who holds the honour of being the only woman to ever win a contemporary Formula 1 race, the Aurora F1 Series Brands Hatch Round in 1980, and Lyn St James who ran her first Indianapolis 500 race in 1992 when she was 42 years old.

A special parade and display of Chrysler Letter cars celebrated 50 years of the Chrysler 300, arguably one of Chrysler’s most famous muscle cars. Each car was accessorised by a glamorous model dressed in the matching fashion for the year of production. The high fashion of knee length skirts, hats and gloves from the fifties through to the miniskirts of the 1960s added that extra touch of style to the parade.

The 2005 Revival promised and delivered an action packed weekend of international motor racing, with over 110,000 visitors attending the event. Nostalgic Goodwood has certainly become a must attend event in the motor enthusiasts calendar.

St Mary’s Trophy, John Rhodes in Shaun Rainford’s 1966 MG 1100

Whitsun Trophy – Leo Voyazides runs a little wide in the 1965 Ford GT40 at Woodcote

Babs the 1923 Thomas Land Speed Record holding special disinterred from Pendine Sands, restored by Owen Wyn Owen and driven by Geraint Owen. This Brooklands Trophy was Babs’ first race in nearly eighty years

Peter Green’s 1933 K3 in the Brooklands Trophy

AC Cobra workshop display

Anthony Binnington 1958 ex John Gott MGA Twin Cam in the Fordwater Trophy

Tom Dark in the collecting area with the MG Q Type

Come fly with us

Steve Dixon chats with Rauno Aaltonen before the Fordwater Trophy gets underway

Gentlemen of the press?

Tea and sympathy

Trainee racing pilote

Goodwood glamour

AC display

Arresting pair

Sebring MGB driven by Stuart Graham in the Fordwater Trophy

Spitfire, Lancaster and Hurricane display

Sunday’s Royal Automobile Club TT Celebration race gets underway

Dario Franchitti and Emanuele Pirrro – winners Royal Automobile Club TT Celebration in a 1962 Jaguar E-type lightweight

Young Indian F1 driver Narain Karthinkeyan drove a 1963 Lotus Cortina in the St Mary’s Trophy and took to it ‘like a Bombay duck to water’

Chrysler Letter cars celebrated 50 years of the Chrysler 300. This is a 1960 Chrsler 300 F powered by a V8 engine giving a 0-60mph time of 7.2 seconds and the first in the series to use unitary body construction

Marianne Howard (Photos by Richard Hampson and Marianne Howard)