Upcoming meetings
- Apr10–11
Members' Meeting
- Sep17–19
Revival
Circuit
Goodwood Motor Circuit is a historic racing circuit near Chichester in West Sussex, built on the perimeter road of the former RAF Westhampnett, a Battle of Britain-era fighter station active from 1940 to 1946. Freddie March, the 9th Duke of Richmond, converted the airfield's perimeter track into a motor circuit, officially opened in September 1948 with a demonstration lap in a Bristol 400; the first race meeting followed shortly after. A chicane was added before the pit straight in 1952 after rising speeds in races such as the Glover Trophy and the Goodwood Nine Hours raised safety concerns. The circuit was the scene of Stirling Moss's career-ending crash at St Mary's in 1962 and of Bruce McLaren's fatal testing accident on the Lavant Straight in 1970, and the Duke closed it to top-level racing in 1966 rather than widen or further modify the track. Racing returned in 1998 when the Goodwood Road Racing Club, founded that year by the Duke of Richmond, launched the Goodwood Revival, a historic meeting for cars and motorcycles that raced before 1966; the invitation-only Members' Meeting followed from 2014. The circuit continues to host the Revival and Members' Meeting alongside track days and driving experiences through the year, with Members' Meeting tickets already on sale for 2027. At 2.4 miles, Goodwood's largely unaltered layout retains well-known corners such as Madgwick, Fordwater, St Mary's, Lavant and Woodcote.
Operated by: Duke of Richmond (Goodwood Estate)
The original, unchanged circuit from 1948. Fast and wide with a smooth surface. Used exclusively for historic racing at the Revival meeting and for track days.
Notable Corners
Goodwood Motor Circuit guide
History
Goodwood has barely changed since the Duke of Richmond closed it to modern racing in 1966, preserving the circuit as it was built on the perimeter road of the wartime RAF Westhampnett airfield. When racing returned in 1998 with the Goodwood Revival, cars and riders were restricted to the kind of machinery that raced there before that 1966 closure, which is why the circuit still feels like a time capsule of 1950s and 1960s motor racing.
The circuit
The lap runs through sweeping, high-speed corners typical of a converted airfield perimeter road, including Madgwick, Fordwater, St Mary's - where Stirling Moss had the crash that ended his career in 1962 - the fast Lavant Straight, and the final Woodcote corner back onto the pit straight. A chicane ahead of the pits, added in 1952, remains the circuit's only tight braking point.
Sources: Goodwood (official site) + Wikipedia