Congratulations on 25 Years of the Goodwood Revival. What are some of the most emotional and memorable moments?
The Revival has given us so many very special moments over the last 25 years. I will never forget the first day of the first one in September 1998, it was a beautiful Autumn day and I opened the track in the same Bristol that my Grandfather had driven back in 1948. As I approached the Chicane, Ray Hanna flew his Spitfire straight towards me at very low level along the pit straight and climbed away into the morning sunshine. An incredibly emotional moment was Barry Sheene racing a bike for the last time in 2002 and now our bike race is named in his memory, which his son, Freddie, raced in this year. Seeing the great Stirling Moss back in action on the circuit was unforgettable, especially as he won his first ever race at Goodwood back in 1948. In 2022 the Revival went ahead just days after the death of the Queen. There was absolute silence all around the circuit as we all stood to pay our respects. An extraordinary and emotional memory.
For the second time ‘Revive & Thrive’ has a special stage – what’s the intention behind it?
The ‘Revive and Thrive’ ethos has always underpinned what we do at Revival, celebrating the iconic cars and fashion that have endured decades of use thanks to diligent, expert care. I am personally very keen that we should promote and underline the importance of reusing, repairing, restoring and even repurposing items, and so the stage and other affiliated areas have become a platform for the modern community of makers, authors and experts to drive the event forward with their highly relevant wisdom. The Revival’s focus on ‘Revive and Thrive’ is simply a reminder of the efforts we can all make to be more sustainable, investing more in second-hand pieces and items that are sustainably produced and made-to-last. I’m delighted that our guests and participants have responded so enthusiastically to this element of the event and it gets bigger, and more interesting, each year.
Why is the Revival such a magical step back in time?
The Revival is the only major sporting event in the world to be staged entirely in period, and offers our visitors a truly magical experience. They feel they are entering a different world – which they are in many ways – but for us it’s not so much about stepping back in time, but rather championing the thoroughly modern ethos of ‘rethink and reflect’; encouraging people to experience life fully, buy the best, make things last and celebrate the skill and craft involved in making and taking care of beautiful things. We want to be a platform for those who exemplify this attitude to life.
Will the races take place with e-fuels in the future?
Yes, absolutely. We were delighted to hold our first-ever all-sustainable fuel race at this year’s Revival. The Fordwater Trophy on the Saturday afternoon of the event saw a grid of 30 pre-1966 Porsche 911s compete using sustainable fuel from a range of suppliers. Competitors needed to comply with the FIA’s advanced sustainable fuel requirements and use a fuel which has a minimum of 70% advance sustainable components. The race followed Sebastian Vettel’s appearance at the Festival of Speed earlier in the year, where he advocated for his ‘Race Without Trace’ campaign, using sustainable fuel to run his ex-Ayrton Senna 1993 McLaren MP4/8 and ex- Nigel Mansell 1992 Williams FW14B Formula One cars. Like all of us, he wants to see motor racing thrive into the future and this means using sustainable fuels.
What are your favourite Revival cars and races?
To choose favourites from such incredible grids as we see at the Revival is tough. As far as the cars are concerned, I’ve always liked the sculpted beauty of sports cars from the 1950s and ‘60s and the slim, lightweight Grand Prix cars that preceded the sophisticated aerodynamics of the modern era. There was a wonderful Ferrari 250 LM in the paddock this year, which came all the way from America. A Revival race I always make time to watch is the RAC TT Celebration, a thrilling one-hour, two-driver race for closed-cockpit GT cars that captures the drama and spectacle of the Tourist Trophy races at Goodwood in the early 1960s. I’ve always enjoyed riding fast motorcycles so I like the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy races – the riders put on a terrific show for the crowd.
