[Jeff Higgins]

It's important to understand that there are two distinctly different events held at different times and different places at Goodwood. The Festival of Speed is held in the spring, where the the Revival is held in the fall. The former is not held at the racing circuit, but rather at Goodwood House. The hillclimb runs up its driveway. Entirely different cars are featured at these events as well.

The Festival of Speed features cars right up to the modern era, where the Revival is restricted to cars of the period during which Goodwood was an active racing circuit, 1948-1965.

Goodwood began as an RAF Spitfire base during the war. It sat unused after the war until 1948, when the 9th Duke of Richmond, one Freddie March, purchased it. He was a racer, and noticed that the perimeter road might make a wonderful circuit. So he started holding races there, right up to and including Formula One.

By 1965, however, the cars were beginning to outpace the circuit. Goodwood is a very open, flowing circuit, like the old Monza, where the relatively slow cars of the day could stretch their legs a bit. By 1965 the pace of development concerned Freddie, and he closed the circuit for racing. It sat unused as a racing circuit (F1 teams, and others continued to test there) until 1998 when his grandson, the 11th Duke of Richmond, had a brilliant idea...

Why not reopen the track, but simply restrict it to the cars that originally ran there? A "revival" of sorts? And, while we're at it, keep the old atmosphere alive, with period dress and all of that. And thus was born the Goodwood Revival as we know it today. The cutoff for participation is 1965, and will never change. There is a dress code to get in. It's just one huge step back in time carnival, with vendors hawking everything from brand new restored bespoke E-Types to the finest tweed jackets to period clothing for the ladies.

Like I said, too much, really, to see and do in only three days. The racing is spectacular, and intense. And very, very accessible to the spectators, with great viewing all around the circuit. I would highly recommend going to anyone even remotely interested.