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With all the financial doom and gloom in Britain last week the 10th anniversary of Goodwood Revival couldn’t have come at a better time in the social calendar, and nor could the British weather have been better: graced with sunny skies throughout the weekend, the Revival revellers could make the most of Goodwood.
Competitors and spectators stepped magically back in time, adding to the movie-set feel of the weekend by putting on their retro gear from the 1940s, ’50s and early ’60s. You had hippies, army boys and girls, gentlemen bedecked in tweed and ladies dressed in glamorous vintage frocks with matching accessories, all reliving the glory days of the Sussex circuit.
The meeting began with the traditional Thursday afternoon cricket match at Goodwood House (coincidently this was where the original rules of the game were drawn up in 1727). The game is played between Revival competitors and the 10th Duke of Richmond’s cricket team.
This year Motor Sport’s own Doug Nye and sports car legend Derek Bell put on their whites to try and score some hard-hit boundaries, but the Duke’s team once again kept their heads and won. A drivers’ briefing by the Earl of March over tea and cakes in the marquee followed the match. It was a good chance to see who was attending, and there was a real buzz of excitement, especially when the Veuve Clicquot champagne started to flow.
Included in the weekend highlights was the re-opening of the Earls Court Motor Show exhibition, celebrating the circuit’s 60th anniversary. The Earl of March told the crowd that his family once owned Earls Court and how he wished they had kept it!
A replica of the 1950s building was built at the circuit and inside a Concours d’Elegance presented some of the best cars of the time from Ferrari, Maserati and Mercedes-Benz. ‘Marilyn Monroe’ was also there to pose by the cars and she thought I could have been a Paris Hilton of the ’50s, which I wasn’t quite sure how to take!
Goodwood’s Ladies’ Day was held on Saturday and the hat milliner Cozmo Jenks judged a competition for the most stylish ladies. Each winner received a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne and flowers.
Over at the Veuve Clicquot marquee there was a special Jason Burges photo stand where guests posed for classic black-and-white pictures. It was a great idea as everyone could take a photograph home with him or her to remember the weekend.
On Friday night I was a guest of Maserati at Goodwood House, where I was treated to a sumptuous dinner. Maserati owners talked about their huge collections of racing cars – it really was an event for the company’ top clients!
Believe it or not there was racing going on over the weekend so I went over to the paddock on Saturday to support my friend James Wood, who was competing for the Fordwater Trophy early on Sunday morning in a 1953 Frazer Nash Le Mans Coupé. James came home a very admirable seventh.
It was all champagne and cheers for Jamie McIntyre though, who won the Sussex Trophy driving a 1959 Lister-Chevrolet ‘Knobbly’. We all ran onto the finishing line to congratulate him on his excellent race.
While I was walking around the paddock with my father Alan we bumped into another ’60s drummer Nick Mason and his wife Annette… a good chance for them to try and remember that decade and talk about their shared passion for Ferraris!
Lexus invited Motor Sport editor Damien Smith and his wife Rachel to this year’s Oriental-themed Revival Ball inside the aircraft hangar. Guests had dinner and danced the night away with Chinese dragons and drivers who didn’t have to get up early and race the next day. There were sure to be a few sore heads the next morning (Damien)!
The Motor Sport girls were at our stand to meet existing readers and hopefully entice some new ones. We were also celebrating our 1000th issue, which is due out soon, and we had cup cakes made with Sir Stirling Moss and the C-type Jaguar printed on them. I had the pleasure of presenting a box to Sir Stirling and his wife Susie… he looked a bit perplexed at the thought of eating himself with his afternoon tea.
To finish my weekend I was chauffeured in the latest Maserati GranTurismo to Goodwood House for a Maserati lunch, where I enjoyed some more champagne and a delicious meal inside the ballroom. A collection of Maseratis was lined up outside the house, including the Quattroporte models one, two and three. After our tour of the cars I was whisked back to the circuit in a green 1940s open top bus for the last of the afternoon races. In between all the glamour at this wonderful and romantic event there is also of course some serious motor racing going on!
Dov, September 26th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Wow, chauffeured in the latest Maserati then more champagne… can I come next time!
James H, September 26th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
The whole event looks fantastic, what a brilliant day
Terrance D. Lobzun, September 26th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
It broke my heart that I had to pass on another Goodwood Revival this year, however I was able to live vicariously through Louisa’s wonderful literary adventure. My Chelsea boots and Nehru suit will axiously await next year’s attempt. Kudos to the Motor Sport team for sharing this opportunity with us all….!
Minna Hepburn, September 26th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Can i have your job???
LittleChris, September 27th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
With all due respect, perhaps this pointless, name dropping tosh blog in the MOTOR SPORT website would be better off in Heat magazine or some other celebrity driven pap ?!?! Same with the published in paper version.
duncan freeth, September 28th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
with respect,i am a proud reader of motorsport magazine and a avid fan of louisa skippers’s fantastic blog,she seems to bring a air of class and sophistication to the magazine.Little Chris are we on the same page!!!.i suggest you don the brown mac and go back to a spot of weekend train spotting,full steam ahead!!!!
alan waller, September 29th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Congratulations on great weekend at Goodwood and thanks to Louisa for the informative coverage over the 3 days. She covered all aspects of the events from cricket, fantastic classic racing cars, Derek Bell, Nick Mason, Jamie McIntyre and the Revival Ball and an insight to behind the scenes,afterall where would an event of this kind be without the sponsers.Ive never read Heat mag.but if all this above info is included, I must get my yearly subscription now!
Nick Miller, September 29th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Why is it that sentences which start “With all due respect” invariably follow with everything but?
Timmy Green, October 1st, 2008 at 10:47 am
The top level of motor sport and top level glamour go hand in hand - top money attracts top people. The Goodwood Revival is the top level at what it does, so it makes sense it attracts top end people.
That these events are intrinsically linked should be reflected in their coverage. One of the aspects that most people envisage with top level racing/sport is the glamorous lifestyle associated - indeed that is most certainly a factor in why many of the participants enter into the sport in the first place; the hope of one day BEING the next chapter in the glamorous life story of their beloved sport.
I think that Motor Sport covers the most important aspect of motor racing - the people - and I applaud them for showing these people in all their environments, which very much includes the social side of the industry.
Romila, October 1st, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Who is this little Chris ?? - with all due respect if you don’t like the blog don’t read it. I personally love it !!!
LittleChris, October 1st, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Firstly my apologies to Louisa for the bluntness of my original email which was unfair to her.
Quite obviously there is an audience for those motor sport related events that have sufficient kudos to be recognised as part of the “social calender” ( which I presume means various events such as Goodwood, The Derby, Wimbledon etc).
It would, however, be nice to see some of these people at a rainy club meeting joining those of us ( in our brown macs ) supporting the drivers and teams who form the backbone of motor sport in this and other countries but who aren’t interested in the glamour, just the love of the sport :o)
CasinoSquare, October 1st, 2008 at 10:33 pm
He may be Little, but he has a point.
Amanda Taylor, October 6th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Hi the most fabulous event of the year, Goodwood is certainly unique!….and wouldn’t be the rivival without the presence of Motorsport Magazine Classy Guys!
Timmy Green, October 14th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
The social side of motor sport would be the top events that further push the industry into the mainstream, raising its profile and therefore its value too; by attracing more sponsors and media/commercial interest the industry obtains more money, which filters down (like in all sports) to the grass roots and therefore benefits eveyone connected to the sport (including those that wear broan macs) - such as both Goodwoods, the Monterey Week events, all the international auctions of important race cars, etc…
Tim Harrison, October 31st, 2008 at 11:10 am
Louisa can do what she likes on her blog…thats the whole point of a blog. I slightly object when pages of the actual magazine are taken up by a pointless Cheshire Life spread.