The Goodwood name is synonymous with legendary motorsport events. From the thrill and buzz of the Festival of Speed to the nostalgia of Goodwood Revival, featuring hundreds of historic cars in all their glory, these events draw enthusiasts from across the world.
Goodwood Revival and Members Meeting
Recreating the glamour of motor racing as it used to be, the Motor Circuit comes alive for the Revival, both on and off the historic track. The only historic race meeting to be staged entirely in period dress, you’ll return to the halcyon days of Goodwood as the spiritual home of British motor racing. It’s a celebration of bygone days, vintage fashion and wheel-to-wheel racing around this classic circuit, which remains unchanged since its heyday.
The Members’ Meeting, presented by Audrain Motorsport, is a thrilling weekend of epic motor racing, high speed track demonstrations and fun-packed festivities. Uncrowded, intimate and access all areas, it is exclusively open to members of the Goodwood Road Racing Club community.
Track Days and driving experiences
If you are looking to hone your performance driving technique, a Goodwood Track Day is what you’re looking for. Bring your own car and push it to its limits on one of the UK’s most challenging circuits.
Or, if you are dreaming of becoming a racing driver, a Goodwood driving experience is the thing for you. You can take your entry-level test, the Novice Driver training course commonly known as the ARDS test at Goodwood Motor Circuit. Passing this course is a requirement for those wishing to apply for their first race licence.
History of Goodwood Motor Circuit
As if the events and experiences on offer at Goodwood Motor Circuit aren’t enough, the track is steeped in history. The circuit originally opened its gates to the public on September 1948, to host Britain’s very first post-war motor race meeting at a permanent venue. Twelve years earlier, Goodwood’s very first motorsport event was staged when a Goodwood hillclimb meeting was held for a small group of pre-war Lancia enthusiasts, hosted by the 9th Duke of Richmond, Freddie March.
The origins of the Goodwood track derive from an ex-military airfield. RAF Westhampnett, named after the village bordering Goodwood, served as a Battle of Britain base during the War and was the station from which RAF legend Sir Douglas Bader flew his last sortie. The Airfield was created on land that formed part of the Goodwood Estate – home to the Dukes of Richmond for over 300 years – and was donated by the 9th Duke in order to assist with the War effort.
UKs first post-war motor racing event
The 1948 opening of the Circuit was met with a rapturous response, as the British public had been deprived of motor racing the Second World War forced Brooklands to close its doors in 1939. The huge demand for wheel-to-wheel competition saw 85 drivers and over 15,00 spectators turning up to Goodwood on 18th September 1948 to support the UK’s first professionally-organised post-war motor racing event. In August 1966, after 18 years of memorable competition, Goodwood closed its gates to contemporary motor racing, although the Circuit remained in continuous use as a testing and track day venue. It was the end of a chapter in Goodwood history, but not the end of the story.
Freddie March
The 9th Duke of Richmond, known as Freddie March, was a renowned amateur racer. Having won the Brooklands Double 12 in 1930 he went on to design both March sports car bodies and aircraft in his capacity as an engineer. When the 9th Duke was approached by his friend, Squadron Leader Tony Gaze, who suggested using the perimeter road that bordered the Aerodrome as a motor racing circuit, he seized upon the idea. The 9th Duke and Duchess of Richmond and Gordon officially opened the track in 1948 by driving around the Circuit in a Bristol 400, then Britain’s state-of-the-art sporting saloon.
The Earl of March
On 18th September 1998, exactly 50 years to the day since the Goodwood Circuit first opened, the 9th Duke’s grandson, the present Earl of March, re-enacted the opening of the track at the very first Goodwood Revival meeting in the same Bristol 400 that his grandfather had used half a century earlier on the same track, untouched by the modern world.
Prior to the first Revival meeting in 1998, the Circuit was painstakingly restored to look exactly as it did in its heyday, down to the very last detail.
