Tickets sold out!
General admission tickets for 2017
have sold out.
Goodwood Revival 2017 – everything
you need to know about the world's greatest classic car show
Ed Wiseman
5 SEPTEMBER 2017 • 3:01PM
The Goodwood Revival is a weekend of motorsport like nothing
else on the planet. Held on the famous Goodwood Estate – which also hosts the
Festival of Speed in summer and exclusive Members' Meeting in spring – the
Revival is a celebration of classic racing, focused firmly on the era between
1948 and 1966.
It was during this time that the Goodwood Circuit enjoyed
its golden years, beginning when it hosted Britain's first post-war motor race
and ending when racing cars became too fast for the track itself.
Unlike the Festival of Speed, the Revival takes place at the
Circuit rather than in the immediate surrounds of Goodwood House. More
importantly, the event operates a dress code – attendees are expected to come
in period garb. By bringing many hundreds of 1948-66 cars to the circuit, and
many thousands of people dressed to match, the Revival creates a unique
spectacle.
How do I buy Goodwood revival tickets and how much do they
cost?
The short answer to all of these questions is "sorry,
you're too late". The circuit's capacity is limited and tickets sell out
extremely quickly – you can sign up to be alerted when 2018's tickets go on
sale. There are no more general admission tickets available for 2017.
Hospitality packages (costing hundreds of pounds per person) are still
available in limited numbers, and often include other perks.
You cannot buy tickets at the gate. Tickets are only
available in advance. You are extremely unlikely to be able to enter the
Goodwood Revival if you turn up without a valid ticket!
When is the 2017 Goodwood Revival and where does it take
place?
The dates for 2017's Goodwood Revival are Friday 8
September, Saturday 9 September and Sunday 10 September. Most of the racing
takes place on the Saturday and Sunday, though pretty much all the weekend's
competitors will be taking advantage of practice sessions on the track on
Friday. Saturday and Sunday then have seven races each.
The Revival takes place at Goodwood's historic racing
circuit. This is around a mile south of Goodwood House, which is where the
Festival of Speed takes place, and two miles south of Goodwood Racecourse –
home to a different type of racing, using a different sort of horsepower. The
Goodwood Estate itself is located in Westhampnett, near Chichester in West
Sussex, England.
RAF Westhampnett was a Royal Air Force station built as a
satellite airfield for nearby RAF Tangmere. The motor racing circuit is based
on the airfield's perimeter road, which was paved one year after a particularly
wet winter made it difficult to move aircraft. And while Tangmere is now
defunct, Goodwood lives on as an airfield within the circuit.
Goodwood is in one of the prettiest parts of Sussex, known
for its rural beauty, unspoilt woodland and narrow, winding lanes. Several
times a year, however, Lord March invites hundreds of thousands of people to
his enormous garden – and most of them drive.
The result is some of the most spectacular congestion
outside of Shanghai. Despite attempts by the organisers to control the traffic,
attendees can expect to spend a reasonable amount of time stuck in a queue if
they choose to drive. It's nowhere near as bad as the Festival of Speed, but
you should still factor in at least an hour.
Most people will be heading to Goodwood from the broad
direction of the M25. Heading anticlockwise, the most straightforward route
involves the A3; clockwise and you might be better off coming down the M23
through Crawley and Horsham.
Whichever way you arrive will involve traffic but due to the
nature of the Revival, much of the traffic will be delightful. If, however,
you'd rather leave your car at home, you can take a direct coach from towns and
cities in the south of England (go to the 'Goodwood Revival Fanzone' for more
information) or ordinary public transport.
The nearest train station is Chichester, which is around 90
minutes from London Victoria. From here, bus no. 902 will run every half hour
from 0700 to 2200. Taxis could be somewhat expensive if the traffic is bad, but
can drop you off at one of the gates of the Revival.
Alternatively, it's around an hour's tricky walk from
Chichester station to the circuit's main entrance.
What exactly is the Goodwood Revival – what's happening
there?
The atmosphere of the Revival is an attraction in itself –
it's not every day that you see thousands of people merrily dressed in clothes
from 70 years ago.
Goodwood Motor Circuit owes its existence to the airfield,
so it should come as no surprise that there will be some vintage planes
present. In keeping with the estate's traditional vibes, Goodwood Aerodrome
waives landing fees to light aircraft built before 1966.
'Over the Road' is a small event that takes place on the car
park side of Claypit Lane. This used to be free but now is a ticketed event –
attendees will need to have a valid entry ticket to the Goodwood Revival to
access 'Over the Road'. Here, an endless array of classic cars are parked in a
static display (the Revival Car Show in association with Smith &
Williamson) along with shopping and dining options not found in the main
festival.
Expect plenty of retail experiences across the Revival site,
of course, almost all of which will be based on Britain's motorsport heritage.
And every year, the Bonhams classic car auction makes headlines as historic
models change hands for enormous sums. It's impossible to be bored at the
Revival – we've been media partners for the event several years running, and
have yet to cover everything.
Of course the main attraction is the racing. Friday is the
official practice day for the Revival weekend, which means that nearly all the
cars present at the event will be being tested on the circuit at some point. At
the end of the day, in twilight, the first race of Revival 2017 will take
place, with just two closed-cockpit GT cars battling in fading light.
Saturday sees seven races in total. The first is the
Chichester Cup, which involves rear-engined Formula Juniors. The second is the
Madgwick Cup, which is a 20-minute-long race involving prototypes of less than
three litres that raced between 1955 and 1960.
Then comes the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy, Part 1. This is
the first installment of a motorcycle race between two riders, each astride a
machine from the Sixties. Don't worry if you miss this – they'll have another
go on Sunday.
After the motorbikes is the St Mary's Trophy, Part 1, a race
between saloon cars from the Fifties. For many, this is the highlight of the
Revival weekend, and as with the Barry Sheene bikes these cars will be out
again on Sunday.
The Goodwood Trophy follows, as Grand Prix and Voiturette
cars from the Thirties, Forties, and Fifties roar around the track. Then comes
the Whitsun Trophy, the fastest race of the weekend – expect GT40s, Lolas and
McLarens here. Saturday's final race is the Freddie March Memorial Trophy, a
20-minute sample of some of the endurace racing hosted at Goodwood during the
early Fifties.
Sunday sees another seven races. The Brooklands Trophy
starts things off, with cars from before 1939 piercing the silence of a Sussex
Sunday morning. Then, the Grand Prix cars of the late Fifties roar around the
track for the Richmond Trophy, the second race of the day. Both the Barry
Sheene Memorial Trophy and the St Mary's Trophy return for the final time,
followed by an hour-long closed-cockpit GT battle in the form of the Royal
Automobile Club TT Celebration.
As the afternoon draws on, early Sixties Grand Prix cars
race in the Glover Trophy. Then, just as the sun begins to set on another
Goodwood Revival, World Championship sports cars and production racing cars
from 1955 and 1960 take to the track for the Sussex Trophy.
The Goodwood Revival is a unique event and, as such, it
attracts enthusiasts from all walks of life. Previous attendees include Sir
Stirling Moss, David Gandy, Rowan Atkinson, Sir Chris Hoy, Derek Bell, Martin
Brundle, Jay Kay, Nick Mason, Chris Evans – and many more.
How to dress for the Goodwood Revival is a question
best left to our friends on the fashion desk, but if in doubt, pick your
favourite car from 1948 to 1966, and dress as if you're driving it there.
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