Synthetic fuels to power first Goodwood Revival grid

| 21 Apr 2023
Classic & Sports Car – Synthetic fuels to power first Goodwood Revival grid

There will be a world first in historic motorsport at the 2023 Goodwood Revival.

All 30 of the pre-’66 Porsche 911s contesting the Fordwater Trophy will race using synthetic fuels.

Two cars used such fuels at the 2022 edition and so, as the Duke of Richmond revealed to us recently, the next stage is to roll this out across an entire grid.

Synthetic fuels to power first Goodwood Revival grid

A smoky start to the Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy at the 2022 Goodwood Revival for the Hugenholtz/Pastorelli Ferrari 250GT SWB

This announcement comes as Goodwood unveils its races for the Revival’s 25th-anniversary running, on 8-10 September, in an important year for the Motor Circuit which is 75 in 2023.

The aforementioned all-911 line-up for the Fordwater Trophy recognises the model’s 60th birthday, continuing a theme established at last weekend’s 80th Members’ Meeting.

The new Rudge Whitworth Cup joins the schedule and will mark the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

It will run as a two-driver race with cars from the early years of Le Mans such as Bugattis, Alfa Romeos and Bentleys vying for glory in a scaled-down test of endurance.

Synthetic fuels to power first Goodwood Revival grid

The Wakeman/Hancock Jaguar C-type powers into the dusk and on to victory at the Goodwood Revival in 2022

Another celebration will be in the Freddie March Memorial Trophy, which this year will pay tribute to the 1953 Goodwood Nine Hours, taking the driver pairings into the Friday-night sunset.

And 60 years since Graham Hill won the RAC TT at Goodwood driving a Ferrari 250GTO will be remembered in the Lavant Cup which, for 2023, will be exclusively for ’60s Ferrari GTs, having been a memorable, all-MGB affair in 2022.

The ever-popular St Mary’s Trophy will this year be for ’50s saloons, the Goodwood Trophy for Grand Prix and voiturette cars of the ’30s and ’40s returns, while the Glover Trophy for 1.5-litre Formula One cars of 1961-’65 promises more close racing.

Synthetic fuels to power first Goodwood Revival grid

Osca chases Kieft-Climax during the Madgwick Cup at the 2022 Revival

Also in the line-up for 2023 are the Formula Junior-focused Chichester Cup and the Richmond & Gordon Trophies for 2.5-litre Grand Prix cars from 1952-’60.

Three of the Goodwood Revival’s biggest races return, too, the RAC TT Celebration, the Sussex Trophy and the meeting’s fastest contest, the Whitsun Trophy.

These join the event’s already-confirmed showcases for the 75th-anniversary of Lotus and the centenary of Carroll Shelby’s birth, as well as the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy for ’60s Grand Prix ’bikes.

Images: James Mann


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