Set in the rolling hills of the Earl of March’s beautiful West Sussex estate, the historic Goodwood racing circuit was the setting for a colourful and spectacular start to this year’s Revival meeting on Friday 11th September. Now in its 18th year, the Goodwood Revival has come to mean everything to anyone who loves the tradition, elegance and prestige of classic road and racing cars at their finest, values shared by Rolex. The hugely popular event has benefitted from Rolex support since 2004.

Each staging of what is affectionately called “The Revival”, has been hailed the best so far. Yet Lord March and his remarkable team managed to enhance the experience each year and 2015 looks set to achieve another superlative. But most important of all, the appeal of the Revival embraces all the family, not just the car enthusiast, with total success.

Speaking in the Rolex Driver’s Club after a practice session, the record nine-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner and Rolex Testimonee Tom Kristensen said: “It is a great privilege to be invited here, it is an adventure going into the heritage of these cars. From the perspective of being competitive and experiencing the period of the 50s and 60s, there’s nothing better than this event.”

“Rolex and the Revival are about passion, tradition and innovation. Heritage should be added. These values become more and more important to you because as time goes by – it’s story telling – a way to get you back to that period.”

Action On Track

In addition to official practice sessions for the Revival races, Friday saw a “Track Moment” Tribute parade to mark the extraordinary talents of the late racing driver, team owner and engineer, Bruce McLaren. The Revival crowds were treated to a parade of some thirty racing cars to have been driven or created by the New Zealander. Among the drivers paying homage to McLaren whose legacy lives on in what is now known as McLaren Automotive, was Rolex Testimonee Sir Jackie Stewart OBE.

Official practice sessions for all sixteen races were completed on the first day of the Revival providing an impressive spectacle for the crowds. Notable among the results, 2009 Rolex Driver of the Meeting Award winner Frank Stippler managed to place the 1964 AC Cobra he is sharing with Michael Squire, on pole position for the RAC TT Celebration race to take place on Sunday.

The Spirit of Goodwood

The Freddie March Memorial Trophy, a 90-minute race celebrating the spirit of Goodwood and the only race to be staged on the first day, started at 18.10 hours. This meant the 1950s sports cars taking part ranging from Austin Healey 100S’ to a Mercedes-Benz 300SL via Jaguar C-types and other valuable period historic racers, finished as the sun set over the West Sussex hills. Each car had two drivers so a pit stop was essential, but the race was hit hard by heavy rain and this had a dramatic effect on the order.

At the chequered flag after 52 laps, the result was a decisive victory by the 1954 Cooper-Jaguar T33 driven by Derek Hood and Chris Ward.

The stage is set for a full day of spectacular racing on Saturday with some of the finest race cars of times gone by being driven by some of the foremost racing drivers.