The Whitsun Trophy presented by Sky is a staple race of the Goodwood Revival, having run every year since 2001. For the 24th edition of the race very little changes, with the race catering as it always has to sports-racing prototypes from 1960-1966. It’s famed as the fastest race at Goodwood, featuring the fastest cars we allow to race at our Motor Circuit, as they always were.
The big banger prototypes typically take to the track on the Saturday, as a half-hour flat-out one-driver sprint to the finish, and this year will join all the races at the Revival by running exclusively on sustainable fuel.
The Whitsun Trophy’s typical lineup is filled out by open-top sports prototypes from Lola and McLaren, with examples of from Lotus, Crossle, Chinuk, and Cooper smattered throughout. Last year, a rare Bizzarrini-Chevrolet partook. These are all of course joined by an arsenal of Ford GT40s.
The battle for the win however, is typically fought for by the McLaren M1s and Lola T70s. The whole grid is by and large powered by big American V8s from Ford and Chevrolet, so on top of being the Revival’s fastest race, it’s also one of the loudest.
Star drivers in the Whitsun include Goodwood and historic racing legend Nick Padmore, who continues to hold the race lap record at Goodwood, as set during the Whitsun Trophy. He’s often joined in a battle for the win by Oli Bryant and Stuart Hall. Being a race primarily for big gargling American V8s, it should come as no surprise that Bill Shepherd has been taking an interest of late, albeit with a special roofless 427 Cobra prototype.
Last year the Whitsun Trophy was the Saturday closer, though we expect that honour to go to the Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy this year. So, the Whitsun Trophy should take place earlier in the day but still in the afternoon with practice, as ever, taking place on the Friday of the Goodwood Revival. You can find the exact timings for the race in the 2024 Revival timetable.
Year |
Driver(s) |
Car |
2023 |
James Davison |
McLaren-Chevrolet M1B |
2022 |
Oliver Bryant |
Lola-Chevrolet T70 Spyder |
2021 |
Phil Keen |
Lotus-Ford 30 |
2020 |
Mike Whitaker |
Lola-Chevrolet T70 Spyder |
2019 |
Karun Chandhok |
McLaren-Chevrolet M1A |
2018 |
Mike Whitaker |
Lola-Chevrolet T70 Spyder |
2017 |
Chris Ward |
Ford GT40 |
2016 |
Rob Huff |
Lotus-Oldsmobile 19 |
2015 |
Nick Padmore |
Lola-Chevrolet T70 Spyder |
2014 |
Chris Goodwin |
McLaren-Chevrolet M1B |
2013 |
Brack/Newey |
Ford GT40 |
2012 |
Gary Pearson |
Lola-Chevrolet T70 Spyder |
2011 |
Jay Esterer |
Chinook-Chevrolet Mk2 |
2010 |
Andrew Smith |
Lola-Chevrolet T70 Spyder |
2009 |
Julian Bronson |
McLaren-Chevrolet M1B |
2008 |
Simon Hadfield |
Lola-Chevrolet T70 Spyder |
2007 |
Ray Bellm |
Ford GT40 |
2006 |
Frank Sytner |
Lola-Chevrolet T70 Spyder |
2005 |
Sam Hancock |
Ford GT40 |
2004 |
Frank Sytner |
Lola-Chevrolet T70 Spyder |
2003 |
Frank Sytner |
Lola-Chevrolet T70 Spyder |
2002 |
Darren Manning |
Ford GT40 |
2001 |
Frank Sytner |
Cooper-Chevrolet T61 ‘Monaco’ |
Photography by Pete Summers
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