Original Le Mans legends at the 2023 Revival | Rudge-Whitworth Cup

08th September 2023

Adam Wilkins

The spirit of Le Mans was alive at the Goodwood Revival on Saturday as the Rudge-Whitworth Trophy rekindled memories of the original 24-hour race that took place 100 years ago. It wasn’t the fastest race of the weekend, but it was certainly one of the most evocative.

Among the competitors, a Bentley 3 Litre that raced in that original running of the Le Mans 24 Hours, one of a grid of 23 historic Bentleys, Bugattis, Alfa Romeos and more from an era spanning 1922-1931.

We had a traditional Le Mans start, with drivers running across the track to their cars to kick off the green flag lap, then followed by the more modern rolling start as the Tricolore flew to signal the beginning of the race.

From then on it was a wonderful showcase of these enormous artefacts, cars that you can hardly imagine racing, and yet here they are, running much as they would have done 100 years ago. Mid-race driver changes added another element of jeopardy, and a relentless battle for the lead lasted until the final moments, the front two finishing separated by just four tenths of a second.

These are cars from an era when Le Mans was more akin to a rally stage than the wide, sprawling, glass-smooth circuit we know and love today. As the thundering 1920s machines stampede around Goodwood, they bring a slice of pre-war central France to West Sussex.

The Rudge-Whitworth Cup is brand new for the 2023 Goodwood Revival is the Rudge-Whitworth Cup, which makes up part of our celebration for the centenary of the Le Mans 24 Hours this year. The two-driver race is open to cars that competed in the earliest days of the endurance race, with a significant portion of the grid occupied by Bentleys. Other names on entry list include Talbot, Bugatti, Vauxhall, Chrysler, Lea Francis, Sunbeam and Invicta.

The race takes its name from the original Rudge-Whitworth Cup that was awarded to the highest-placed marques in the first three Le Mans 24 Hour races. Rudge-Whitworth was a British manufacturer of bicycles that diversified into making wheels for sportscars and motorcycles. The Le Mans connection came about because Emile Coquille, one of the three founders of the 24-hour race, was the French importer of Rudge-Whitworth.