Goodwood Revival 2005: Planes, Cars, Motorcycles

Goodwood Revival; if you’re a fan of old cars, planes, motorcycles, people in period dress, great photo ops, a Veuve Clicquot tent, bespoke tweed suits (special ‘Goodwood’ weave) by Lord March’s personal tailor, or having a shave and haircut while watching the races in an old leather barber chair…this is the place!  The mega-estate of Lord March encompasses within its vastness a full racetrack, a sprint course, a castle, an airfield, numerous houses and private drives, restaurants, etc.  The 12,000 acre estate is well situated in the south of England, with easy access from London, and has become a magnet for Revivalists and fans of vintage vehicles of all types. 

Cars, planes, motorcycles, people in period dress, great photo ops, a Veuve Clicquot tent, you can even buy a bespoke tweed suit (special ‘Goodwood’ weave) by Lord March’s personal tailor, or get a haircut and shave while watching the races in an old leather barber chair. Top pic shows a Spitfire and attending crew, listening to a gramophone, before scrambling and taking off in the plane! Center pic shows a Rolls ‘howdah’ (maharajah’s hunting jitney) with prey, pardon the paper bag in my hand but if you buy a program, you get a lot of goodies, including a single-earpiece radio to listen to the commentary (otherwise inaudible due to the racing). I think the bag also held my lunch, which was brought to me by Peter Miles (thanks Peter!). Third photo is a random shot by the race staging area; everyone looks the part. The cars are Formula 2, with Ford 4-cyl engines. The video shows these cars taking off for the race – if the film had been in black and white, it might be 1964!

Car and motorcycle races from specific eras and competition types (Grand Prix, F1, F500, prewar, postwar) run on the track all day, while the grass airfield is abuzz with regular takeoffs, landings, and flyovers of vintage aircraft, including the Spitfire above, and B17 Flying Fortress, B24 Liberator, plus truly ancient biplanes and more modern jets. The Spitfire and attending crew (above) listened to a gramophone, before the pilots in WW2 gear ‘scrambled’ and took off!