The 6 best places to watch the racing at the Goodwood Revival

Woodcote grandstand

If it’s audacious overtaking manoeuvres that get your heart racing, there are few corners better suited to an all or nothing move than the double apex right-hander at Woodcote corner.

Cars approach the heaviest braking zone on the Motor Circuit at more than 100mph after flying down the Lavant Straight, often two or even three wide. It’s a recipe that nearly always results in spectacular sideways action, locked brakes and swapped paint.

The Woodcote grandstand offers the perfect view of Goodwood’s prime overtaking spot, you’ll have no shortage of excitement once the racing gets underway.

Startline grandstand

There are few sounds more astonishing than that of 30 historic racing cars reacting to the drop of the flag at Goodwood, and you can experience that several times over during a single day at the Revival.

Come Saturday and Sunday, the startline grandstand is the perfect place to have your ear drums assaulted on an hourly basis as race after race gets underway. While you won’t necessarily get the kind of action spectators will enjoy at Woodcote, you will be subjected to a full-body experience as a field of historic racers thunder away from the line.

If nothing else, you should get yourself in prime position for the start of the Whitsun Trophy and the RAC TT Celebration, as thousands of horsepower gets unleashed in front of your eyes.

Madgwick corner

It’s similarly exciting to have those same 30 cars flying towards you as they steam into Madgwick corner for the first time. Race starts at Goodwood are always fraught, and there’s no place better to watch the action unfold than the outside of the first corner.

The grandstands we’ve mentioned already are great, but if the weather’s good the alternative is to set up a deck chair, or even lay out on the grass bank, and enjoy the racing in a more relaxed environment.

We’ve started with Madgwick because it’s the first corner, but it’s also a great place to watch drivers and riders push their machines to their limits around such a high-speed curve. You have to spend some time here during the Revival weekend.

St. Mary’s corner

This is where the more adventurous spectators at the Revival reap their rewards. Things can get a little crowded around the front of the Motor Circuit, but if you take the time to venture around to St. Mary’s you’ll find yourself a bit more breathing room.

Aside from getting your steps in, the journey to the back of the circuit rewards you with one of the more personal vantage points. You won’t get any closer to the cars than at the apex of Goodwood’s only left hander, and you can almost look down on them as they slither through the compression and back up towards Lavant.

There’s rarely a shortage of action through here either, with drivers and riders regularly hurling their way into the entry and just barely clinging on, often side-by-side, through the exit. We thoroughly recommend stopping by.

Lavant Straight

Continue your forays around the back of the Motor Circuit and you’ll end up on the Lavant Straight. Straight it is not, but it is incredibly fast, and this is where you will see the cars reaching their highest speeds over the course of a lap.

In the case of the Whitsun Trophy, the Revival’s fastest race, cars will be pushing on towards 160mph before throwing out the anchors on the way in the Woodcote, so if you need to get your fix of speed, this is the place to do it.

The Lavant Straight is also one of those places where you’ll never struggle to get a decent view of the action, and you’ll get plenty of time to see the cars as they emerge completely sideways through Lavant corner and make their way through the kink and down towards Woodcote.

Chicane Infield grandstand (GRRC only)

The Chicane Infield grandstand is in prime position to see all of the action unfold as the cars dive into the ever-narrowing Chicane before setting off past the pits to begin another lap.

It’s without doubt one of the best places to enjoy watching historic cars teasing a drift or two out of Goodwood’s slowest corner, and such a vantage point is of course subject to an element of exclusivity; it’s accessible only to GRRC Members.

Any GRRC Member with a roving grandstand pass will be able to enjoy the view on Friday, but places are bookable for all Members on Saturday and Sunday.

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 Lou Johnson, Steven Stringer, Chris Ison, Jochen van Cauwenberg, Nick Dungan and Jayson Fong.