Great Goodwood Revival races: 1998 Sussex Trophy

The first Goodwood Revival was the first opportunity for a new generation to take a step back in time and enjoy history’s most beautiful racing cars renewing classic battles on a circuit that was unchanged from its original run. There were no new run off areas, no chicanes to slow the cars down, just the same circuit that was there more than 30 years ago, albeit refurbished to return the site to its original glory. Driver skill would be rewarded, mistakes punished, but above all the memories of Goodwood’s golden era would be faithfully recreated.

The 1998 Sussex Trophy was remarkable, and laid the foundations for the kind of on track drama the Goodwood Revival has become famous for. Only, this race had a twist in the tail, the likes of which we'll probably never see again.

Frank Sytner, former two-time British Touring Car Champion and founder of the Sytner Group, and the late Robert Brooks, the man behind Brooks Auctioneers, which later acquired Bonhams, lined up on the grid to reprise their duel which had defined that year’s historic motorsport season.

At the wheel of cars with genuine history, these two were set to deliver a memorable spectacle around the Goodwood Motor Circuit. Brooks' Lotus 15, once raced by Graham Hill, is the kind of nimble British machine the Revival is famed for, but with 200PS (149kW) pushing along a mere 500kg, it was also lightning fast around the flowing track layout, a beautifully sculpted rocket capable of nudging past 140mph down the Lavant Straight.

That said, the Lotus' boosters were wound down ever so slightly next to Sytner's 300PS (224kW) Lister-Jaguar. It was set to be a classic battle between two historic motorsport heavyweights.

Sytner, ever the racer, sharpened his competitive edge before a wheel even turned in anger, pointing the nose of his Lister directly at Brooks as he sat in his grid position. As the flag dropped, Sytner's intent came to fruition as he swept across the track, squeezing Brooks into the path of another Lotus 15.

As far as Murray Walker and Simon Taylor were concerned, from their view in the commentary box, Sytner had skillfully guided Brooks out of contention before using every one of his car's 300 horses to blast into the lead of the race. 

What had actually happened became clear after closer examination of the Goodyear blimp's overhead view. The two cars had collided, with Sytner's rear wheel spinner making a mess of the Lotus’ paintwork before dislodging the spring clip on the rear clam shell, causing the bodywork to arch up behind Brook's head like a hooded cobra.

Brooks was immediately shown a black and orange flag; his damaged car posed a risk to himself and his competitors. But, spurred on by the hair-raising moment off the line, with red mist likely forming, Brooks didn't see the flag and raced on with the sole intent of reeling in his rivals. Brooks later admitted the marshals would have had to lie across the track to stop him racing. 

Thankfully for the watching crowds, they didn't, and the following laps went down in Goodwood folklore. Rather than slowing Brooks down, the battle with Sytner supercharged his race as he started to gain on John Harper, nudging him wide on the entry to the chicane. Third place was his. 

Brooks started to catch second-placed racer Stuart Graham, in another Lister-Jaguar, despite having the aerodynamic equivalent of a parachute dragging behind his car.

"I remember the race best of all for an amazing dice with Stuart Graham," said Brooks.

"Stuart, [was] a much better driver than I, but he was in a car that is you know very heavy and is a handful around here [Goodwood] with that big 5.0-litre Chevrolet engine and I just remember having this fabulous motor racing lesson from Stuart [a former Isle of Man TT winner and touring car racer] as we went round and round the circuit and every time I looked to get past he'd close it."

The duel between the pair continued for lap after lap, Brooks nipping past his rival in the corners only for the Lister-Jaguar's power to send it flying past on the straights. With Brooks ahead, engine trouble would eventually ruin Graham's race as he raised his hand from a cloud of steam, indicating his V8 had indeed expired. 

Brooks had now climbed from fifth to second place, and there were no signs of him slowing down. Driven by a sense of injustice he'd carried from the start of the race, he began to reel Sytner in.

In the dying stages of the race, as Sytner's Lister Knobbly gnawed through its tyres, Brooks' more considerate Lotus came into its own, but it was a moment of pure brilliance that decided the result.

Focusing on the road ahead is hard enough with a rival permanently nibbling your back bumper. Still, it must have been doubly difficult for Sytner to focus as Brooks motored along with an enormous piece of bodywork hanging off the back of his car. Brooks' opportunity came as the pair began to navigate some traffic. Sytner was at a disadvantage as the first driver to alert the stragglers to his presence while Brooks sailed past with little to no friction. 

As the frontrunners closed up on Robbie Mackenzie's Elva with two laps to go, Brooks performed a textbook switchback underneath Sytner through Lavant corner, and somehow managed to hang on to the lead around the outside of Woodcote as the more powerful Lister fought back.

From there, Brooks had the speed to hold on and stormed away to take the chequered flag to claim what remains to this day one of Goodwood’s most famous victories. Brooks hadn't just won the race, he'd had the drive of his life, sending commentators Murray Walker and Simon Taylor into a frenzy of enthusiasm as he did it.

But had he won? Brooks' failure to acknowledge the black-and-orange flag left the stewards with a predicament: should they follow the letter of the law and penalise him, or recognise the fantastic racing and the spectacle and let the result stand? 

In the end, there could be only one answer; the result stood, permanently etching the race into Goodwood folklore. 

The 1998 Sussex Trophy perfectly encapsulated everything we’ve grown to love about the Goodwood Revival – the history, the nostalgia, the fabulous machines, the fantastic spectacle and, above all else, the hard racing. 

While Robert Brooks died far too young at the age of 64, the Lotus 15 that carried him to victory returned to Goodwood and the Sussex Trophy in 2021 in the hands of James Wood. It’s a car that will be forever remembered for treating us to one of the most dramatic performances Goodwood has ever seen, setting the tone for every Revival since.

Tickets for the Goodwood Revival are limited! Saturday tickets have sold out, so secure your Friday and Sunday tickets to avoid missing out on the world's best historic motorsport event.

Photography by Simon Hildrew, Peter Darley, Graham Piggott and James Mann.