Goodwood 2025 shakes up historic motorsport in style

For fans of historic racing, there are few venues on earth that match the visceral charm of Goodwood. Cut from the grassland of a former RAF base, the circuit near Chichester isn’t just preserved — it’s actively celebrated, its wartime roots and mid-century heyday shaping every event held there. And at the 82nd Members’ Meeting, history was very much alive — and very, very loud.

While the Revival in September draws the bigger crowds and stricter rules (only cars built before 1966 are eligible), the Members’ Meeting, held this year on the 12th and 13th of April, allows a more liberated approach.

There’s a visual language to Goodwood that you recognise instantly. Flat-caps and full skirts, driving gloves and sheepskin coats, timeless sunglasses and vintage team jackets. It’s part style, part homage, and the setting — with its manicured lawns, tree-lined paddocks, and perfectly preserved pitlane — invites full immersion. The scent of high-octane fuel mingles with the smell of sizzling food from boutique stalls, while priceless cars thunder past a few feet away, sometimes close enough to spray gravel onto your shoes.

We began our day at the track courtesy of LGT Wealth Management, whose discreetly excellent hospitality gave us a calm oasis amid a sensory storm. From there, it was off into the paddocks — an area opened up far more generously than during the Revival — where you could get nose-to-nose with machinery worth millions. You’re just as likely to overhear Le Mans legends discussing gear ratios as you are to spot families sharing a cone of chips. That’s the magic of Goodwood — elite, but never aloof.

Full throttle from the start

Racing began with an almighty roar. The shoot-out event — essentially a time trial for near-modern GT3 racers — was a chance for drivers to test their nerve and the limits of some serious machinery. The Ferrari 458 Italia GT3, the Audi R8 LMS, and the Chevrolet Corvette Z06R GT3 all made appearances, with touring car ace Andrew Jordan taking the win in the latter, clocking a blistering 1:13.618 lap.

If that was cutting-edge, what followed was anything but. The first proper race of the weekend featured pre-1919 Edwardian monsters — huge, snorting, fire-belching machines with chain drives and drivers more akin to Edwardian fighter pilots than modern racers. Julian Majzub won in a 1916 Sunbeam ‘Indianapolis’ after an intense battle with Mark Walker in a 1905 Darracq 200hp, who was closing in rapidly before a spectacular incident saw him launched from the car. Miraculously, both man and machine survived, and it’s almost certain we’ll see them again next year.

The Members’ Meeting may be a refined affair, but the racing is anything but. Whether it’s 1930s Bentleys in the Earl Howe Trophy or 1970s Ford Escorts in the Win Percy Trophy, every race was hotly contested and driven with unfiltered passion. Jake Hill and André Lotterer, two stars of modern racing, went head-to-head in a hard-fought finale, Hill narrowly claiming victory in a Ford Escort Mk2 RS2000, while Lotterer — grappling with a missing fifth gear in his VW Golf GTi — was a constant threat. Hill’s car control drew loud applause from the packed grandstands.

Machines, memories and mid-race mingling

One of the weekend’s most striking contrasts was the presence of the 2025 Jota Cadillac V-Series R — the very car the British team will take to Le Mans this summer. With its thunderous 5.5-litre V8 paired to a hybrid system, the Cadillac looked — and sounded — every inch the future of endurance racing. Around Goodwood’s tight, flowing circuit, it felt almost oversized — a hulking spaceship on a post-war airfield.

In between races, we wandered the paddocks again — this time past motorbikes from the 1970s and 1980s, endurance legends, touring car classics and open-wheel specials. It’s the kind of access modern race meetings simply don’t offer anymore. Here, nothing is hidden behind a corporate wall.

A particularly poignant moment came under the cherry blossom trees, where a pop-up Guinness bar paid tribute to the late Eddie Jordan. The Irish F1 team boss and broadcaster passed away in March, and the celebration of his life was tasteful and warm — just like the man himself.

As always, conversations were interrupted by sound. The unmistakable blare of a V10? Not quite — it was the T.50 hypercar by Gordon Murray Automotive, making a few demonstration laps and sounding every bit the high-revving tribute to F1’s golden era. With its naturally aspirated V12 and fan-assisted downforce, the T.50 left a lasting impression. The company brought several to the event, and their parade was an audible highlight.

Women at the wheel

This year, my two teenage daughters joined me — and I was quietly proud to see how many women were racing, wrenching, and spectating with the same intensity as the men. Guinness World Record holder Maria Costello rode Chris Wilson’s Honda CB750R in the Hailwood Trophy, while Aimee Watts — daughter of 1980s touring car star Patrick Watts — took on the Mini Cooper S grid in the Whitmore Cup. Though still learning the circuit, Aimee pushed hard and enjoyed a tight battle with Henry Mann in a Lotus Cortina.

That race, won by Guy Smith (Le Mans winner) in another Cortina, was a classic ‘giant vs. mouse’ affair. The Minis swarmed the corners; the Cortinas punched down the straights. Tactics, bravery and sheer aggression made it an absolute barnstormer.

And then came Bonhams. The auction always draws a crowd, and this year’s catalogue was packed. Some lots sold well over estimate: a 1986 Ferrari Testarossa soared from £70,000 to nearly £150,000. An ex-Eric Clapton 1975 Ferrari 365 GT4 Berlinetta Boxer drew plenty of attention at £178,250. But it wasn’t all champagne and six-figure bids — a tidy 1932 MG Midget J2 Sports sold for just £15,525. I hesitated. I regret it.

The Brad Pitt lane

Star power isn’t rare at Goodwood, but 2025 saw a very deliberate dose of Hollywood thanks to IWC’s promotion of the upcoming Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt. While Goodwood wasn’t used directly in the film, the F1 movie crew recreated some of the trackside action for the Members’ Meeting audience — demonstrating camera car techniques and giving fans a rare peek behind the scenes of a big-budget motorsport production.

But the most spine-tingling moment of the weekend came when Bruno Senna climbed into his late uncle Ayrton’s Lotus 97T from 1985. As the jet-black machine roared to life and tore around the circuit, time seemed to pause. The engine note rose above the crowd noise; nobody moved, nobody spoke. You didn’t need to be a motorsport fan to feel it — you just had to be there.

Legends and last laps

As the weekend drew to a close, the final races brought more fireworks. The Earl Howe Trophy saw pre-war Bentleys and nimble Frazer Nashes battling for supremacy, with the 1938 Alta Sports — the most modern car on the grid — taking the win.

But the Moss Trophy stole the show. Dario Franchitti and Harrison Newey, in near-matching Aston Martin DB4 GTs, staged a duel that felt more like ballet than racing. Every slide, every drift, every switchback looked choreographed. In the end, Dario took the flag, but everyone watching knew they’d seen something special.

We packed up just as the clouds began to roll in, and even the car park turned into a show — rows of Alfa Romeos, Porsche 911s, vintage Land Rovers and one immaculate Audi Quattro Sport rally car.

Back at the car, one of my daughters looked at me.

“Have you booked Festival of Speed tickets yet?”

I hadn’t. But I will.

Mark G. Whitchurch is a seasoned motoring journalist whose work—covering road tests, launch reports, scenic drives, major races, and event reviews—has appeared in The Observer, Daily Telegraph, Bristol Evening Post, Classic & Sports Car Magazine, Mini Magazine, Classic Car Weekly, AutoCar Magazine, and the Western Daily Press, among others. He won the Tourism Malaysia Regional Travel Writer of the Year in 2003 and is a member The Guild of Motoring Writers.

Story by Mark G. Whitchurch, edited by Anthony Harvison (Belters News)

Main image: Courtesy, Mark G. Whitchurch