As the sun struggled to break through the overcast morning sky, the most unique automotive party on the planet -- the Goodwood Revival -- was already underway. One could easily see that the crowd of people were visibly much more than the opening day and the dewy grass of the parking behind the Royal Enfield marquee, which is reserved for cars made before 1973, was covered with acres of evocative automotive sheet metal from throaty Ferraris to whisper-quiet Rolls Royces, from tiny Motobecane mopeds to the sculpted Bonneville salt speed machines.
Across the road in the racing paddock, racing machinery was being tuned by automotive 'witch doctors' in white overalls emblazoned with famous logos while the fashionistas preened for the camera hoping to be on the Best Dressed list of the day. Gangs of Rockers and Mods mock-snarled at each other around the recreation of the Brighton Pier ambience while Spitfires and Hurricanes flew lower and lower, wingtip to wingtip with each successive fly-by.
The action on the racetrack was fast and furious with most racers vying for starting positions in the Sunday final races. The Manxes were thrashed soundly by a 1950 Vincent Rapide by more than 18 seconds, which makes for an interesting scenario for Sunday's final. The track also saw the cars, ranging from production saloons to exotic supercars giving no quarter, but the highlight was the Goodwood tribute to Sir Jackie Stewart who first stepped into a single seater race car for the first time at this very circuit 50 years ago. Twenty nine cars from his sterling motor racing career took to the circuit for the parade laps, with Sir Jackie in the Tyrrell Cosworth 006, the car in which he won his third and final Formula 1 title in 1973 – before retiring from F1 after competing in 99 grands prix.
As the day drew to a close, the 'Over the Road' part of the venue turned to a fairground in the evening. You could hitch a ride on brightly lit carousels, watch vintage motorcycles whiz around the terrifying Demon Drome Wall of Death, giggle at your reflection in the House of Mirrors, show your skating moves at the Roller Disco, or pick up a brew and head to the open stage for some rock'n'roll. A confession: we did all of them...
