The Sussex Trophy has been on the schedule for all but one running of the Goodwood Revival. Renowned as one of the prettiest races anywhere on Earth. This year it's charged with getting our Revival race weekend underway.
A race for the sleek world championship sportscars that raced from 1955-1960, it never fails to bring a romantic period of motorsport back to life in stunning fashion, and this year, all of these stunning sportscars are running on sustainable fuel.
Traditionally the final race of the weekend on Sunday evening, this year the Sussex Trophy will morph into the curtain raiser for racing action on Friday, taking the form of a 60-minute, two-driver extravaganza that is sure to deliver plenty of unmissable action on the opening day of the Revival.
It always feels premature when the sun sets on a completed Sussex Trophy on Friday at the Goodwood Revival, but racing waits for no one. And in 2024, it was a tussle to remember.
It should come as a surprise to none that qualifying didn’t really give us a representative order in terms of pace. Yes, the top seven were separated by less than a second but what even we couldn’t see coming, was that Oli Bryant and Andrew Smith would slingshot their Lotus 15 through the pack from ninth, to win the race with a lead of almost a minute.
Willis and Hall, who started at the sharp end, would end up in fourth a full 1:21 behind the winning pair, who had made their way up to third and were sniffing the cross-plies of second and first by the end of lap one.
Unfortunate DNFs included the Wood/Minassian Lotus, the Maeers Cooper and the Majzub/Mccaig Sadler-Chevrolet, with the latter bowing out within the first two minutes.
Official Practice for the Sussex Trophy got the historic motorsport action underway at the 2024 Goodwood Revival, as the stunning 1950s took to the Motor Circuit under foreboding skies. Heavy rain made for challenging conditions for these drivers to contend with as they bid for pole position ahead of Friday evening’s race.
The 30-minute session went mainly incident-free, with only a couple of spins for the Ferrari 250 TR and a Lotus 15 that came away with a slightly rearranged front left corner, and in the rain, we were treated to some brilliant driving skill.
All signs point towards a hugely exciting main event when the Sussex Trophy ends the day’s action on Friday, with the top seven cars all within one second of the eventual pole-sitting pair of Andy Willis and Stephan Joebstl in their Lotus 15.
The Lister ‘Knobbly’ of Gordon Shedden and Saif Assam will line up alongside them in the centre of Row 1, with Nigel Greensall and John Spiers’ Lister ‘Costin on the outside. Nine-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Tom Kristensen and his team-mate Frederic Wakeman took their Cooper T38 to 13th on the grid.
Photography by Nick Wilkinson.
Position |
Drivers |
Car |
Time |
1 |
Andy Willis / Stephan Joebstl |
1959 Lotus-Climax 15 |
1:50.000 |
2 |
Gordon Shedden / Saif Assam |
1958 Lister-Jaguar ‘Knobbly’ |
1:50.172 |
3 |
Nigel Greensall / John Spiers |
1959 Lister-Jaguar ‘Costin’ |
1:50.217 |
4 |
Andre Lotterer / Joe Macari |
1959 Lister-Jaguar ‘Knobbly’ |
1:50.350 |
5 |
James Davison / Roger Wills |
1958 Lotus-Climax 15 |
1:50.451 |
6 |
Nick Jarvis / Scott Malvern |
1959 Lister-Chevrolet ‘Costin’ |
1:50.509 |
7 |
James Cottingham / Richard Cook |
1959 Lister-Jaguar ‘Costin’ |
1:50.872 |
8 |
Maxwell Lynn / Shaun Lynn |
1958 Lister-Jaguar ‘Knobbly’ |
1:52.303 |
9 |
Andrew Smith / Oliver Bryant |
1958 Lotus-Climax 15 |
1:52.433 |
10 |
Alex Brundle / Mark Donnor |
1959 Lister-Jaguar ‘Costin’ |
1:52.625 |
11 |
Marino Franchitti / Nick Padmore |
1955 Lister-Jaguar ‘Flat Iron’ |
1:53.193 |
12 |
Andy Wallace / Chris Ward |
1955 Jaguar D-type ‘long-nose’ |
1:53.269 |
13 |
Tom Kristensen / Frederic Wakeman |
1955 Cooper-Jaguar T38 |
1:54.205 |
14 |
Richard Wilson / Richard Bradley |
1958 Lotus-Climax 15 |
1:55.774 |
15 |
James Wood / Nicolas Minassian |
1959 Lotus-Climax 15 |
1:55.999 |
Beauties everywhere you look, the Sussex Trophy really is a stunning race to watch regardless of whether they’re battling wheel to wheel. The chance to simply see these cars in motion out on the Goodwood Motor Circuit is enough to justify the price of admission.
This year, the entry list features several Lotus 15s, which have won this race on four occasions, alongside stunning examples of Lister Knobblys, a Tojeiro, a pair of Jaguar D-Type long-noses, a Ferrari 250TR and several Coopers. There are two lesser known machines, too, a Sadler MkII and a Kellison J4.
It’s a vast array of cars powered by a mix of engines from manufacturers including Coventry Climax, Jaguar and Chevrolet which makes for one of the most varied grids across the whole Revival weekend.
Over the years, the Sussex Trophy has drawn a mix of owners and professional drivers into action at the Revival. The great and much missed Robert Brooks won the first running in a Lotus 15 back in 1998, and since then the list of winners has been filled with a number of hugely talented racers.
Oliver Bryant took victory last time out, also behind the wheel of a Lotus 15, he'll be looking to retain his crown this year, although he'll have some stiff competition from the likes of Tom Kristensen, Andre Lotterer, Gordon Shedden, Alex Brundle, James Cottingham and Tiff Needell.
As race one on the schedule for this year’s Revival, both Official Practice and the Sussex Trophy race itself will take place on Friday 6th September, with the cars taking the chequered flag as the sun sets on day one. You can find the exact timings for the race in the 2024 Revival timetable.
Year |
Driver(s) |
Car |
2023 |
Oliver Bryant |
Lotus-Climax 15 |
2022 |
James Cottingham |
Tojeiro-Jaguar |
2021 |
James Cottingham |
Tojeiro-Jaguar |
2019 |
Roger Willis |
Lotus-Climax 15 |
2018 |
Phil Keen |
Lister-Jaguar Knobbly |
2017 |
Sam Hancock |
Ferrari 246S Dino |
2016 |
Chris Ward |
Lister-Jaguar Costin |
2015 |
Bobby Verdon-Roe |
Ferrari 246S Dino |
2014 |
Keen/Minshaw |
Lister-Jaguar Knobbly |
2013 |
Anthony Reid |
Jaguar D-Type ‘long-nose’ |
2012 |
Julian Majzub |
Sadler-Chevrolet Mk3 |
2011 |
Alex Buncombe |
Lister-Jaguar Costin |
2010 |
Jamie McIntyre |
Lister-Chevrolet Knobbly |
2008 |
Jamie McIntyre |
Lister-Chevrolet Knobbly |
2007 |
Jean-Marc Gounon |
Aston Martin DBR2 |
2006 |
Gary Pearson |
Jaguar D-Type ‘long-nose’ |
2005 |
Gary Pearson |
Lister-Jaguar Knobbly |
2004 |
Julian Bronson |
Lister-Jaguar Knobbly |
2003 |
Tony Dron |
Ferrari 246S Dino |
2002 |
Tony Dron |
Ferrari 246S Dino |
2001 |
Tony Dron |
Ferrari 246S Dino |
2000 |
Danny Sullivan |
Lotus-Climax 15 |
1999 |
Gary Pearson |
Lister-Jaguar Knobbly |
1998 |
Robert Brooks |
Lotus-Climax 15 |
Photography by Joe Harding.
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