The Last, Real Race Track

In September, I had the good fortune to be able to attend this year’s Goodwood Rev­ival. I had never been before but, like many people, have followed the hype for several years. Now that I’ve been, I can categorically say that it is one of those “automotive wonders of the world” that you have to see, at least once, before you grid up for that big race in the sky.

I think one of the things that makes the Goodwood Revival so special is that it is much more than a race, it is an enormous automotive drama, staged by tens of thousands of like-minded actors and extras over three days on England’s Sussex coast. Step onto the Goodwood grounds during Revival weekend and you step back in time to 1948. Warbirds are parked on the grassy airfield in the center of the track. Soldiers are bivouacked next to the paddock. Marilyn Monroe saunters by and blows you a kiss. And everywhere you look, spectators, competitors and mechanics are dressed in period clothing. The experience is surreal.