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2005 Goodwood Revival
By: Tim Scott
Photos by Tim Scott, www.fluidimages.co.uk
October 31, 2005

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The Goodwood Revival is an annual celebration of a bygone age, a nostalgia-soaked trip down memory lane, where Mods and Rockers, gentlemen in tweeds and plus fours, ladies in Greta Garbo glasses and ermine mingle effortlessly.

Nestled in a beautiful corner of the Sussex countryside, the Earl of March’s Goodwood estate reverberates to the roar of vintage machinery for three days every September. The weather is usually glorious and the atmosphere truly unique.

The people and the setting are merely a backdrop, however, to the real stars of the show, because ultimately Goodwood is about the cars, bikes and planes. Stars of yesteryear such as Sir Stirling Moss, 1987 World Motorcycle Champion Wayne Gardner, and three-time Formula 1 World Champion Jackie Stewart flock from all over the world for the opportunity to display and race the cars again.

Cars with such evocative names as GTO, Monza, Cobra, and D-Type lap the Goodwood circuit, virtually unchanged since its heyday in the 1950's. All exotic, rapid and hugely valuable, and all raced with spine-tingling urgency.

The Royal Automobile Club TT Celebration race - the jewel in the Revival's crown – proved no exception with a fantastic array of cars lining up for the race. With an all-lady team consisting of Lyn St James and Desiré Wilson in the Shelby Cobra Daytona, it was another action-packed and very close race, with never more than a couple of seconds separating the leaders throughout the race. First time entrant Dario Franchitti teamed up with Emanuele Pirro, and both were the worthy winners of the race with a time of 1:28.592s driving Bernie Carl's magnificent Jaguar E-type Lightweight.

The Whitsun Trophy provided yet another epic tussle, with Ford GT40s taking on the Ferraris, Lolas and McLarens. The eventual winner was Sam Hancock in a bright yellow Ford GT40 – Sam was also won the Unisys Fastest Lap of the Meeting Award with a time of 1:23.720.

The Earl of March has gone to extraordinary lengths to achieve authenticity in every detail, from period-attired policemen and marshalls, to fly-bys by Spifires and P-51 Mustangs. The result is the largest historic race meeting in the world with the atmosphere of a giant celebratory tea party.