After teammates Duncan Fitchett and Jeremy McWilliams take first place on their Manx 500, some onlookers head into the paddock to celebrate with the riders as they exit the track, while others go for a cup of hot tea or to get a scoop of ice cream served out of a vintage Rolls-Royce. Since this is England, the clouds darken with the threat of rain, but nobody seeks shelter. A chorus of ladies, all wearing pink cardigans and floral-print dresses, stand their ground and sing a flirtatious Cockney tune as the caretaker of a gorgeous dark blue Jaguar D-Type roadster props up an umbrella in the driver’s seat and walks away to have a smoke. Wolfgang, an aviation and racing buff from Stuttgart dressed in a full pilot’s suit, looks positively overwhelmed. “I love this place,” he says, the corners of his mustache darting upward as he speaks. “Just look at all the well-dressed people, the wonderful planes, and such great racing.”
The Goodwood Revival is a fabrication, but it’s a beautiful lie. No, it’s not really 1945, but you can immerse yourself in the era just the same. Let yourself believe it for just one weekend a year, and you’ll soak up every ounce of excitement, flavor, and bliss that this unreal event has to offer.