"Extraordinary" year of celebrations concludes as Goodwood Motor Circuit turns 75

The Goodwood Motor Circuit celebrates its 75th anniversary this week and looks back on three quarters of a century of unique motorsport history and heritage.

Following the conversion of the perimeter road of RAF Westhampnett, the 9th Duke and Duchess of Richmond opened the Goodwood Motor Circuit on Saturday 18 September 1948, in their Bristol 400. It was the very first race meeting to be held at Goodwood, and it proved an auspicious day, as Stirling Moss claimed his first race win, establishing Goodwood as the spiritual home of British motor racing.

Between 1948 and 1966, the Circuit hosted World Champions Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, Juan Manuel Fangio, Giuseppe Farina, Mike Hawthorn, Phil Hill, Graham Hill, Denny Hulme, Jochen Rindt, John Surtees and Sir Jackie Stewart, along with a host of other stars. Following the cessation of racing in 1966, some of the biggest and best-known racing teams, including Brabham, Eagle, Ford, Honda, Lotus, McLaren and Tyrrell, continued to test their cars at Goodwood.

When the Earl of March (now 11th Duke of Richmond) returned to Goodwood in the early 1990s he set about bringing motorsport back to Goodwood, succeeding first with the Festival of Speed in the parkland surrounding Goodwood House in 1993, and following this five years later with the Goodwood Revival at the Goodwood Motor Circuit.

Surrey's Future Biogas partners with AstraZeneca to create biomethane energy facility 

On Friday 18 September 1998, 50 years to the day since the inaugural meeting, The Duke of Richmond followed in his grandfather’s wheel tracks by opening the very first Goodwood Revival in a Bristol 400. Continuing the tradition, The Duke opened the 2023 event last weekend in a Bristol 400.

The Duke of Richmond, founder of the Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival, said: “Today sees the culmination of a year of celebrations at Goodwood, with 2023 marking not only 75 years of the Goodwood Motor Circuit, but also 30 years of the Festival of Speed and 25 years of the Goodwood Revival and Goodwood Road Racing Club. I’d like to thank everyone who has joined us at Goodwood throughout the year to celebrate our anniversaries - it has been fantastic to share the occasion with you all. I’m not sure my grandfather could have ever envisaged that we would still be racing here at Goodwood 75 years later, but it's wonderful to see how much joy it brings to people. Here’s to the next 75 years!”

The ‘Goodwood 75’ celebrations have seen the track celebrate 30 years of the Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard, 25 years of the Goodwood Revival and Goodwood Road Racing Club and now 75 years of the Motor Circuit.

As the Circuit continues to evolve, it opened a new Race Simulator Suite in June that features 4 Exsim VR5 Simulators that use D Box actuator technology and custom-developed motion profiles, which allow users to drive some of the most iconic cars that have driven on track over the years for the ultimate race simulator experience.

Goodwood’s 75-year motorsport history has now been immortalised in a new publication: 75 Years of Motorsport at Goodwood. The hardback features photographs and stories from across the years. Available from the Goodwood Shop.