The rain came down at the 2024 Goodwood Revival but failed to dampen the spirits of those attending this important, international festival of historic motorsport here in the heart of Sussex. The weekend featured a packed program of exciting racing, made more so by the wet conditions. Unperturbed almost everyone attending were dressed-to-the nines in period dress with many of the ladies rocking this year’s glamorous dress with wellies look.
There are few engines as iconic as Jaguar’s straight six XK engine. It powered their racing cars to five Le Mans 24 Hours victories in just seven years. Sir William Lyons tasked his chief engineer William Heynes and his team to design an engine to push the company forward after the Second World War. The engine was so successful it was raced from 1949 to 1966 and remained in use in Jaguars road cars until 1986.
A moving parade of Second World War vehicles and a moment of reflection marked the 80th Anniversary of the D-day landings in the presence of a number of courageous veterans.
On the Sunday afternoon the sun finally broke through just in time for the Royal Automobile Club TT Celebration. The power, scale and noise from the AC Cobras, Bizarrani 5300GT and Corvette Sting Rays were almost elemental but the handling of the E-type Jaguars held them to account. The TT Celebration is always amongst the highlights of the weekend. Two cars were in a class of their own and duelled throughout the race. They were driven by two current stars of the British Touring Car Championships. Jake Hill drove Grahame Bryant’s 1964 AC Cobra and was harried by Tom Ingram in Mike Whitaker’s ever popular 1964 TVR Griffith 400. A cheer went up around the track in the closing laps as Tom Ingram passed his opponent and narrowly hung on to the lead for the win.
As the exuberant sound of the racing cars and bikes at Goodwood ended the cacophony of sound, the smell of racing oil and tyres and the spectacle of speed and colour faded to memory. I am already looking forward to next year’s Goodwood Member’s Meeting with more historic racing. The GRRC Spring Members’ Meeting is always an exciting celebration of motor racing which is exclusively for GRRC and GRRC Fellowship members here in the heart of Sussex To find out more about the benefits of membership, how to join, and to book tickets for this year’s Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival go to www.goodwood.com/sports/motorsport.
