Goodwood's greatest days

Sir,

Your editorial in the November issue rightly gives credit to the Goodwood Revival meeting. However, your comment that you felt robbed by fate and time is very succinct. Good as the Revival is, it cannot and does not come near to recreating the atmosphere and camaraderie of the original Easter bank holiday or other national meetings, let alone the BARC and club meetings held frequently at the track until its closure.

The sheer diversity of the machinery, amateur enthusiasm and skill of both drivers and entrants was a joy to behold. Look at some video footage of, for instance, the BARC marque sports car races and you will see what I mean.

There is a preponderance of professional drivers and perhaps ‘over restored’ machinery competing at the Revival, which due to modern technical advances doesn’t really recreate what happened back in the ’50s and ’60s. Perhaps it doesn’t matter, but I know where my heart lies – back in those more carefree days, when post-meeting you could easily rub shoulders with well-known drivers in the local pubs.

Michael Holt-Chasteauneuf, Lincoln