The
Goodwood Revival is an event with no peers. There are
vintage clothing fairs, and
vintage vehicle shows/races, and there are
concours d'elegance, but
Goodwood is the only place which combines all three, and manages to draw a shockingly high level of participation - ie, dressing for the event in the suggested 1948-66 garb - from over 150,000 people in the 3-day event. Held on the massive estate of
Lord March, the private race track becomes a scene of pitched battles on two and four wheels, while periodic 'buzzing' from historic aircraft has crowds halting and craning their necks to watch, and listen. Not only is it the largest historic motor race meeting in the world,
Goodwood describes itself as "motor racing at its most theatrical..."
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| Outside the Spitfire Café, suitably named |
As 2011 marks the 75th anniversary of the
Supermarine Spitfire, ten of these glorious birds were lined up on the grass airfield, separated from the crowd only by a low picket fence, parked near one of the public 'mess tents'. Grab lunch, sit outside on a bench, and hope to hear a few
Rolls-Royce Merlin 12-cylinder engines fire up nearby. When all 10 Spitfires took off on Sunday afternoon, flying in 2-4-4 formation, 50,000 people stopped what they were doing, and watched, and listened. One could not tire of such moments.
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| Highly modified James 500cc v-twin, converted initially to a Dirt-track racer, then a road racer with the addition of the Norton gearbox and suitably modified rear subframe. A unique machine, which the owner claims goes well... |
This year
Men's File magazine utilized an old army van as a mobile photo studio, and a team of judges (including myself - thanks to
MF for
my first visit to the Revival since 2005!) roamed the crowd, scanning for the Best Outfits of the day amongst men and women, with civilian, military, and sporting categories. It was a fantastic excuse to people watch, and make conversation, and discuss our mutual appreciation for vintage vehicles and clothing. An impromptu fashion show was held at 4pm each day, with those 'tagged' assembling for a bit of champagne and good fun.
The 'expensive' half of the racing paddock requires a special badge for entry (plus a jacket and tie for men!), but the 'other half' bars no one, and fortunately includes the motorcycles and bike-engined racers (the
Cooper-JAPs and -Manxes), plus a lot of very tasty roadster-based racing cars. Plenty of eye candy for everyone, and the technically inclined have much to admire and explore. I wonder if some ticket holders see the racing at all, such is the variety of other tempting venues at which to spend one's time; barber (and beauty) shops, vintage clothing/luggage/gear/bookshops, club displays, a
Bonhams sale, vintage vignettes, taxis, exhibits, food stalls, etc.
Suffice to say, Lord March and his team have solidified the Revival into an extremely popular cult event, a fancy dress party in the open air, with a tang of burnt castor adding piquant perfume to the day. If you have any sense of the fun in throwing on a tweed jacket or wrap dress and mixing it up with a cityscape of people dressed likewise, with the roar of racing machines as background music and plenty of ultra-cool vehicles to ogle, you owe it to yourself to go, man, go.
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| Ready for the off; contact - spin prop - away! |
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| Lining up for the grid; when all the cars light up for their race, its good and loud. |
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| It could almost be 1941...but I'm glad it isn't. Three Spitfires at rest. |
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| Goodwood hires lots of lovely young ladies to roam the grounds, and pose, and be ogled |
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| The McCandless brothers built more than the original Featherbed frame for Norton; they built this 4WD racer in 1953, using a Manx engine, and an ultralight alloy monococque chassis. The central channel hides the driveshaft, the twin inboard rear brakes are between the driver's legs! |
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| Spitfires through the clouds, in 2-4-4 formation... |
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| The barber shop was doing good business... |
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| Static (clearly) display at the Bavarian café...original paint BMW R42 |
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| A boy's first machine gun is an important moment... |
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| Schneider trophy flyer George Stainforth gets a ride |
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| Entertainment for the troops... |
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| The long arm of the Law extends even into the past... |
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| Esther in her grandmother's clothing; it fits! |
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| A Jaguar twin-cam engine with three Weber sidedraught carbs... |
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| The lads in their faux-military workshop; the Matchless G3L was rebuilt over the weekend |
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| An immaculate Matchless G50 |
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| 'Norton' George Cohen where he is most comfortable; at the helm of his own steed. |
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| More lovelies vying for Best Dressed... |
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| Welcome to Goodwood; a Matchless G12 graces the ticket line... |
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| Dig the Ace cloverleaf steering damper knob... |
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| 'Oi, I know this geezer!' |
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| An invasion of hippies into the proceedings. |
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| JAP speedway engines were commonly used in Formula 500 racers; on alcohol, they're very quick |
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| Saloon car racing; howling Minis vs bellowing V8s |
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| Beautiful from every angle; a Lotus 11 back to back with a Spitfire... |
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| Probably the only motorcycle engine stamped 'S.Moss'; Sir Stirling Moss raced this little Cooper... |
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| Long-stroke DOHC Manx engines were popular for Formula 500 racing...hence the availability of Manx rolling chassis for Triumph engines, and the Triton was born... |
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| Beautiful Matchless G11 600cc twin |
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| Adding context; a 'Messerschmitt ME109' watches silently as the Spitfires fly past, all guns silent now. (Contrary to the markings, this is a Spanish HA 1109ML, built ca.1951 under license, with a Rolls Royce Merlin engine! Oh the irony...) |
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| Festive mess tents, with reasonably fast service |
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| The Men's File caravan/photo booth, here in use for magazine-ready portraits of the best outfits of the day |
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| Mod in every aspect, from jacket to paint |
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| Generals MacArthur and Montgomery, together again... |
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| The motorcycle paddock; plenty of Norton Manxes and Matchless G50s |
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| For the first time, a motocross segment was added to the bill, after many years' encouragement from Mike Jackson...try not to tear up the Earl's lawn, eh? |
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| Men's File's Nick Clements addressing the hopefuls who had been 'tapped' during the day to join the competition for the Best Outfit. |
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| Nick Clements discusses vintage clothing, Revivalists, and the Best Outfits of the day...(in this case, Saturday) |
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| The young man was forgiven not standing for a while after this photo was taken... |
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| Lots of bent metal at Goodwood; these machines aren't on show, they're here to race! This little Manx-engined Cooper had a spin... |
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| A deHavilland 'Puss Moth', evolved from the Tiger Moth |
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| Fantastic German radial engine from 1924 |
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| Former World Champion Jim Redman and a Honda 4-cylinder racer of the type he rode in '62 |
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| Fabulous supercharged Riley |
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| Rockers invade the Men's File caravan/photo booth |
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| I remember waiting for Mom at the beauty parlor... |
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| Saloon-car racers added color and brashness to the proceedings; that Ford Galaxy 500 could be heard in the next county! |
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| Two generations of Supermarine planes; the S6 seaplane racer at front, which evolved into the Spitfire prototype at rear |
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| This fellow built his Triton in 1972, with plenty of cool period correct parts, like the John Tickle 2ls front brake |
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| Everyone stops to watch when its air show time |
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| The prototype Supermarine Spitfire, which punters could wriggle into, for a fee |
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| Flying was delayed by a brief rain shower, but clearing skies meant Merlins aloft |
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| Its Ferrari vs. Maserati all over again... |
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| Every detail covered... |
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| Commercial vendors all used period garb for their booths |
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| Triumph T100 engine in a 1952 JBS-bodied racing car...the Norton engine was hors de combat, so a spare Triumph twin was slotted in - convenient! |
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| "Well, someone has to clean up this mess!" |
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| 'Watch the unsprung weight', indeed... |
