Jackie Stewart leads tributes as motorsport legends converge on Goodwood Revival

The 2025 Goodwood Revival combined wheel-to-wheel racing with period glamour and moving tributes, as Sir Jackie Stewart remembered his late friend Jim Clark and modern champions including Jenson Button and Jacques Villeneuve took their place among a grid of legends, reports Motoring Editor, Mark Whitchurch 

Sir Jackie Stewart stood at the heart of the Goodwood Revival this weekend and called it what so many in the sport already know: “One of the truly great motoring events in the world.”

The three-time Formula 1 World Champion, now the elder statesman of British racing, praised the Duke of Richmond for preserving both the heritage and the glamour of motor sport, and his words set the tone for a meeting that brought together a hall of fame grid and marked one of the sport’s most poignant anniversaries.

For this year’s Revival was also a commemoration of Stewart’s great friend Jim Clark. It is 60 years since Clark’s golden 1965 season, when the quiet Scot won his second Formula 1 World Championship and, in the same summer, conquered the Indianapolis 500. No driver before or since has matched that double, and Clark’s record — 25 grand prix victories, 32 podiums, 33 poles and 28 fastest laps between 1960 and 1968 — has never lost its lustre.

Clark’s career ended with devastating suddenness. In April 1968, while driving a minor Formula 2 race at Hockenheim, his Lotus veered from the track and struck a tree. He was 32 years old. The shock was felt far beyond motor racing; even hardened rivals described him as the most naturally gifted driver they had ever seen. Stewart, who had shared a London flat with Clark in their early years, admitted at Goodwood that more than half a century on he still chokes up at the memory of his friend.

“He was a wonderful friend,” Stewart told the Revival crowds. “As two Scots, to participate in Formula 1 at that time was something new, but Jim was a very, very good friend of Helen and I. We shared in London an apartment together, John Whitmore gave it to us, and Jim and I spent a lot of time there. So even now, I feel sensitive about the whole thing.” His voice caught as he recalled Clark as “the cleanest, best driver that I had ever been playing part of.”

The Revival’s tribute was uniquely Goodwood. Fifty sheep were herded down the pit straight to recall Clark’s upbringing as a farmer’s son in Fife. More than 30 cars associated with his career, from the Lotus 25 to the Indianapolis-winning Lotus 38 and a fleet of Ford Cortinas, lapped the circuit. And in a poignant gesture, Stewart finally received the Freddie March-designed trophy for breaking the 100mph lap barrier at Goodwood, an honour Clark had collected in period, but which Stewart himself had never been awarded until now.

“It’s such a privilege to celebrate Jim Clark at the Goodwood Revival this year,” said the Duke of Richmond. “His achievements in 1965 are the stuff of legend, including uniquely winning the Formula 1 World Championship and the Indy 500 in the same season.”

Button and the living legends

If Clark’s spirit defined the tributes, Jenson Button carried it into the racing. On Friday night he partnered Alex Buncombe to victory in the Freddie March Memorial Trophy, guiding his ex-Fangio Jaguar C-Type through the dusk in a race that evoked the Goodwood Nine Hours. On Sunday he was back in action in his newly acquired Jaguar E-Type CUT 8 for the jewel of the meeting, the RAC TT Celebration. There, he lined up against fellow world champion Jacques Villeneuve in the fearsome AC Cobra “Hairy Canary,” the grid roaring like a cavalry charge as the Sussex crowd braced for an hour-long fight.

And what a grid it was. Nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, five-time winner Derek Bell, endurance ace Darren Turner, IndyCar greats Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti, and NASCAR’s seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson all suited up. Touring car legends Jake Hill, Matt Neal and Andy Priaulx added their weight, while Karun Chandhok and Mark Burnett of Austin Cars Ltd brought fresh stories. On two wheels, Michael Dunlop, John McGuinness and Maria Costello — with 93 Isle of Man TT victories between them — turned the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy into a deafening ballet of 500cc GP machinery, unsilenced Nortons and Matchless G50s snarling as they swapped riders mid-race.

In 2025 the Barry Sheene Trophy ran across both Saturday and Sunday, with all bikes fuelled on 70% mineral-based blends as part of Goodwood’s ‘Revive & Thrive’ sustainability ethos.

Racing theatre across three days

The Revival’s 13 races offered the full sweep of history. The Whitsun Trophy shook the windows with GT40s, Lola T70s and McLarens, Alex Brundle taking victory after Nick Padmore’s late heartbreak. The Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy, billed as “Grace Under Pressure,” staged 45 minutes of pre-’63 GT elegance, Ferrari 250 SWBs and Aston Martin DB4GTs battling Cobras before Andrew Jordan and Matt Holme prevailed in a Cobra 260. The contest was full of drama, with the famous Austin Healey DD100 suffering an engine fire, several E-Types dropping fluids, and a late burst of rain adding extra spice before the flag fell.

Saturday morning’s Goodwood Trophy was perhaps the most atmospheric contest of all: ERAs, Maserati 4CLTs and Alfa Romeo’s Alfetta slithering through torrential rain, Mark Gillies mastering the conditions in ERA R3A. By contrast, the Settrington Cup, with children pedalling restored Austin J40s in Ralph Lauren overalls, charmed as only Goodwood can — Dylan Turner’s frantic pedalling sealing victory. The race was once again orchestrated by Alex and Suzy Kinsman, with Alex restoring an Austin J40 for his niece as a tribute to the ERA Remus that featured in the Goodwood Trophy. The children, dressed in period Ralph Lauren overalls, treated the contest with the same seriousness as their racing parents.

The Madgwick Cup saw Lotus 23Bs, Elva Mk7s and Brabham BT5s dart like dragonflies, Will Nuthall taking honours. The St Mary’s Trophy, for 1950s saloons, put Austin A40s and Alfa Giuliettas alongside two freshly built 1959 Minis, driven by Darren Turner, Karun Chandhok, Nick Swift and others. Kristensen won Saturday’s race in a Ford Thunderbird, his Le Mans-honed racecraft carrying him through.

And then came the RAC TT Celebration, the Revival’s crown jewel, an hour-long contest of Cobras and E-Types that remains the race every driver wants to win. Button and Villeneuve may have stolen the headlines, but the real story was that such names still compete, in priceless machinery, as hard as if a world championship depended on it.

Olly Bryant in his AC Cobra built a commanding lead during the opening laps until a red flag brought proceedings to a halt. When the race resumed the rain had arrived, tilting the balance towards the Jaguar E-Types of Rob Huff and Tom Ingram. Huff looked set for victory, only for a penalty to end his charge, leaving Ingram to inherit the win after a classic edition of the RAC TT Celebration.

Off the track

As ever, the Revival was theatre as much as sport. Friday began with the psychedelic parade of Volkswagen Type 2s — campers, ambulances, even a fire engine — celebrating 75 years of the model in a riot of colour that looked closer to Woodstock than West Sussex.

The Revival Style Stage, curated with typical panache, was fronted by Dita Von Teese, joined by Paula Sutton and Frankie Rowan-Plowden. From Dior to Downton Abbey, conversations linked fashion, film and heritage. Sophie Tea Art transformed second-hand garments into wearable masterpieces, while Oxfam’s pop-up boutique proved sustainable fashion can be chic. Workshops also showcased heritage crafts such as bookbinding and leatherwork, underlining the Revival’s wider ‘Revive & Thrive’ movement which this year extended into every corner of the event, from sustainable fashion to alternative fuels on track.

The Freddie March Spirit of Aviation concours, honouring Goodwood’s wartime history, displayed Spitfires, Hurricanes and pre-1966 aircraft. Apprentices from the Heritage Skills Academy demonstrated live engine rebuilds and panel beating, while Britain’s first female fast-jet pilot Jo Salter judged the concours.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars used the Revival to mark a century of the Phantom, displaying five landmark models including the Phantom of Love and the ultra-rare Phantom IV Landaulette once reserved for royalty. Andrew Ball, Head of Corporate Relations at Rolls-Royce, said: “No motor car has played such a pivotal role in shaping automotive and cultural history.”

Alfa Romeo staged parades to honour both the P2’s centenary and the 33TT12’s half-century, with 8Cs and Monzas adding Italian brio.

“Over the Road” visitors found a vintage fairground, open-air cinema and dozens of stalls. Bonhams’ auction was a highlight in itself: a £1.79m Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato Sanction III, a £483k Maserati A6G/54 and a £309k Ferrari Daytona changed hands, while a 1966 AC Cobra Competition Coupé, estimated at £1.5–2m, went unsold.

Rolex, which has supported the Revival for more than two decades, again underscored its partnership by presenting the Driver of the Meeting with a specially engraved Perpetual 1908. Since 2004 the Swiss watchmaker has been the Official Timepiece of the event and Title Partner of the Rolex Drivers’ Club, its presence now woven into the fabric of the weekend.

Jenson Button, a Rolex Testimonee, said: “The racing at Goodwood is so pure, so mechanical – and that’s what I love about motor sport, becoming at one with the car. The Goodwood Revival is one of my favourite weekends of the year and I’m so glad to be back, particularly with my ‘new’ Jaguar E-Type.

“Rolex brings a sense of timeless elegance to the Goodwood Revival. Their long-standing support of classic automotive events around the world – from California to West Sussex – has been instrumental in their continued success. The Revival is a truly unique celebration where motor sport and lifestyle come together. Rolex’s involvement is a testament to their enduring commitment to excellence and their deep-rooted love for the sport.”

Fellow Rolex Testimonee Sir Jackie Stewart added: “The Goodwood Revival is one of the truly great motoring events in the world. Originally an airfield in the South of England, the Goodwood Motor Circuit now stages an extraordinary celebration that honours the heritage of motor sport. The Duke of Richmond’s dedication to the pre-1966 era makes style an exciting part of the experience and preserves the glamour of the past. It is an ever-growing occasion that brings people together from all over the world.”

The weather played its role, with torrential downpours punctuating bright autumn sunshine. Cars twitched on standing water, clothes clung one hour and shimmered in sun the next. Yet nothing, as ever, dampened the atmosphere. “Glorious Goodwood,” first coined for the estate’s horse racing, has rarely felt more apt.

Until next year.

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 of The Guild of Motoring Writers.

Main image: Rolex Testimonee Sir Jackie Stewart. Credit: Rolex/Adam Warner. Other images, Mark Whitchurch.