2024 Goodwood Revival to honour John Surtees
Sixty years after he won the F1 world championship, John Surtees’ unmatched career on two and four wheels will be celebrated at the Goodwood Revival
A cacophony of McLarens and Lolas at 2023’s Revival.
Jayson Fong
The life and career of John Surtees will be the focal point at the Goodwood Revival this year, at what is still considered by many as the yardstick event for all – and not just historic – motor sport.
The 60th anniversary of Surtees’ 1964 Formula 1 world title won for Ferrari is the trigger, although the only man to have won world championships on two and four wheels would also have turned 90 in February this year. Surtees died in 2017.
“John Surtees was not only a huge figure in the history of the Goodwood motor circuit, but also played a big part in the establishment of our modern events,” said Revival founder the Duke of Richmond. “Along with Stirling Moss, John was a patron of the Festival of Speed and was deeply involved from the very beginning. More than anything, he was an exceptional racer and a great friend.”
John Surtees, had much involvement with Goodwood events, including taking to the track – here in a Ferrari in 1998
The Revival on September 6-8 will also mark 75 years of Jaguar’s XK engine, which endured in its various iterations from 1949 until it was finally retired when the Daimler DS420 went out of production in 1992. A cavalcade of up to 75 XK-powered cars will gather, including C- and D-types to represent Jaguar’s five Le Mans wins during the 1950s, plus period Goodwood race winners.
Of the 15 races, the Sussex Trophy for 1955-60 world championship sports cars will open the action this year on the Friday. The usual highlights will all be present and correct over the weekend: the priceless grid for the pre-63 GT Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy and the RAC TT Celebration; twin Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy races for pre-1955 grand prix motorcycles; the St Mary’s Trophy pro-am double header, which this year will cater for 1960s saloon cars; and the Earl of March Trophy on Sunday morning which this time will herald the return of 500cc Formula 3 cars to Goodwood.
The meeting also claims to be the first historic motor sport event to be run solely on sustainable fuel as part of Goodwood’s Revive & Thrive ethos. Competitors will be required to use fuel with a minimum of 70% sustainable components, with a promise from Goodwood of no performance deficit.
