Goodwood

The 9th Duke and Duchess of Richmond formally opened the Goodwood Motor Circuit on 18 September 1948, with a lap in their Bristol 400. 15,000 spectators turned up for that first event, which was the first race meeting on British soil since World War II, and it was broadcast on the BBC. Stirling Moss won his first ever race in a Cooper-Norton, and Reg Parnell won the headline Goodwood Trophy in his Maserati 4CLT – the first Formula 1 race ever held in Britain, a fortnight before the British Grand Prix.

The Sports Car World Championship first came to Goodwood in 1958, when the Tourist Trophy was the final race of the season. A year later, it produced one of the circuit's most dramatic moments. After his Aston Martin caught fire in the pits, Stirling Moss took over the sister car of American legend Carroll Shelby and drove it to victory, securing the Sports Car World Championship for Aston Martin. It was also a landmark race for American drivers, with Shelby, Dan Gurney and Phil Hill all playing starring roles.

Innes Ireland and Stirling Moss set the first 100mph laps at Goodwood. To mark the achievement, they were presented with a ‘Goodwood Ton’ – a special trophy, designed by The Duke of Richmond and cast in silver, which was awarded to drivers who completed a 100mph lap. Sixty years later, this tradition was revived with the creation of the exclusive Ton Club.

The first Festival of Speed was held on 19-20 June 1993. 25,000 spectators (ten times the expected number!) watched nearly 100 cars and motorcycles in action on a hillclimb using the front drive of Goodwood House. McLaren and Arrows brought F1 cars, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason drove a V16 BRM, Beatle George Harrison drove his Rocket, and Gordon Murray brought the prototype McLaren F1 road car. Initially held as a test event, to gauge the public’s interest in the return of motorsport to Goodwood, it was a sensation, and immediately became a fixture on the sporting and social calendars.

The American invasion of Goodwood began! Phil Hill and Dan Gurney (both of whom had raced at Goodwood in period) attended the Festival of Speed in 1995, followed by Jim Hall with his Chaparrals in 1997, and Mario Andretti in 1998. Thereafter, the floodgates opened, and in the years since, so many more have been regular attendees at Goodwood’s events.

The Indy 500 Centenary was celebrated at Festival of Speed. A yard of original Indy bricks, donated by the Speedway, was installed at the startline of the hillclimb, as a permanent reminder of the occasion.

The 72nd Goodwood Members’ Meeting was held in March 2014, reviving a tradition established by the 71 events held at Goodwood between 1949 and 1966, for members of the British Automobile Racing Club. The new Members’ Meetings are run exclusively for members of the Goodwood Road Racing Club.

Three-time 500cc World Champion Wayne Rainey chose the Festival of Speed as the venue to get back on his 1992-championship-winning Yamaha YZR500 bike for the first time since his career-ending accident in 1993. Nigel Mansell celebrated his 1992 World Championship in the legendary Williams FW14B, and a new Hill record of 39.08 seconds was set by Max Chilton in the McMurtry Spéirling, beating Nick Heidfeld’s record which had stood for 23 years.

Goodwood announced the Goodwood Road Racing Club of America.