PERSONAL BESTS

As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of motorsport at Goodwood, The Duke of Richmond shares his personal reflections on some of the most memorable, and thrilling, moments in its motor circuit history

1958

HEROES WELCOME

“I remember meeting all the great drivers of that era”

HEROES’ RETURN

“Many of those who came had raced at the circuit”

1993

THE AMERICANS ARE COMING

“‘We drive ’em like we stole ’em,’ they said”

2006

The chicane

One of my very early memories is of watching the racing at the circuit with my grandfather, Freddie March, who had his little caravan at the chicane, where there was always lots of action. I remember Jean Behra crashing there – the chicane was brickwork back then, and his car ended up U-shaped.

Heroes welcome

There was always a party at the House on the Saturday evening of the Easter Weekend. I remember meeting all the great drivers of that era – Jackie Stewart, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Roy Salvadori, Carroll Shelby – and sitting on the sofa in the library with Jo Bonnier. In 1965, in the last ever Formula One race at Goodwood, Jim and Jackie both broke the lap record, which they share to this day. My grandfather told me one day Jackie would be world champion.

Heroes’ return

In 1993, when we started Festival of Speed, I realised that lots of people still felt a deep connection with Goodwood from its earlier motorsport years. Many of those who came that year had raced at the circuit. Looking back over the past 30 years, I think of great drivers like Dan Gurney, who drove his Eagle-Weslake in 1997, Dan himself working on the engine in the paddock to cure a misfire.

Silver Arrows

A huge moment for all of us was when I finally persuaded Mercedes-Benz to bring their sensational Silver Arrows Grand Prix cars to Goodwood in 2019. A real coup was getting the Mercedes W165, which hadn’t turned a wheel since winning its only race, the Tripoli Grand Prix, in 1939.

The Americans are coming

As the Festival gained in stature we started to get great cars and drivers from America, where word of what we were doing at Goodwood was spreading fast. The NASCAR boys, led by the legendary “King” Richard Petty, who first came in 2006, really understood how to put on a show. “We drive ’em like we stole ’em,” the veteran drivers said, referring to the bootlegging days in America.

A tale of two wheels

Motorcycles and bikers have always been a part of Goodwood’s racing history and in particular Valentino Rossi, who came in 2015 and was the ultimate showman. “The Doctor” rode his bike into the front hall of the House before greeting his fans from the balcony. Last year Wayne Rainey was back aboard his Grand Prix bike for the first time since the crash in 1993 that left him paralysed and ended his career, riding the Hill flanked by friends and rivals Kenny Roberts, Kevin Schwantz and Mick Doohan.

“The start of the first Revival was simply electrifying”

The

The cars are the stars

It has been a privilege to drive some of the sport’s greatest cars. I have driven the Festival Hill in Jacky Ickx’s Le Mans-winning Porsche Spyder 936/77, the Lotus 56 gas turbine car, Jim Hall’s incredible Chaparral 2F and the fabulous-looking Porsche 908/3. I was also trusted with the world’s most expensive car, the Uhlenhaut Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR, which sold at auction for… 135 million euros!

Spitfire salute

The first few minutes of the first Revival in 1998 were simply electrifying. As I drove my grandfather’s Bristol round the track to open the event, I saw a Spitfire heading straight at me as I approached the chicane. Flying just a few feet above the ground, Ray Hanna streaked past the pits and climbed steeply into the early morning sunshine.

Past master

A perennial hero of those early Revivals was John Surtees, champion on two wheels and four. He gave us a maestro’s masterclass in how to race a Ferrari 275 LM in the RAC TT Celebration in 2000. Starting from pole, “Big John” just drove into the distance, building a huge lead before handing over to owner David Piper. Watching him drift through St Mary’s corner, inchperfect every lap, was every enthusiast’s dream.

Winning in the rain

I treasure, too, the memory of Kenny Brack winning the Whitsun Trophy in pouring rain in Adrian Newey’s Ford GT40 in 2013, Kenny having also won the RAC TT Celebration race two years earlier.

Farewell to a legend

The motorcycle racers have written their own chapters in our history, notably the great Barry Sheene, who rode his last-ever race at the Revival in 2002. We remember him every year with the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy bike race.

Mister Goodwood

Then, of course, there is Mister Goodwood himself, Sir Stirling Moss, who gave so much to both the Revival and the Festival. To see Stirling in 1994, back racing at Goodwood, where he won his first-ever race in 1948, was a truly magical moment. “Stirl” was in top form, as Le Mans winner and former F1 driver Martin Brundle observed at close quarters. “Out of Lavant corner he just drove round the outside of me,” he told us. “I thought, ‘That’s Stirling Moss.’”

The Duke of Richmond was interviewed by Rob Widdows.