Unmissable Goodwood motorsport moments in 2026

James Hunt celebrations at 83MM

The 83^rd Members’ Meeting will echo to the sound of Ford-Cosworth DFV engines as we celebrate 50 years since James Hunt won the Formula 1 World Championship. Expect to see the Heskeths and McLarens that Hunt himself drove in the top rung of motorsport from 1973 to ’76, as well as those machines he found himself competing with. The full roster of cars is yet to be confirmed, but F1 cars from Ferrari, Brabham, Lotus, Tyrrell and March will all feature as part of this unforgettable celebration.

Hunt made his name not just on track, but also for his off-track antics. In an era when F1 was starting to become more corporate with money arriving via sponsors, Hunt wore his heart on his sleeve in a way that endeared him to fans. In later years, he became a commentator alongside Murray Walker before being cruelly taken at just 45 years old in 1993, bringing to an end his two decades in and around F1. Nobody played F1 quite like he did, and his legend will be celebrated at the Motor Circuit this April.

New races (and some old favourites return) at 83MM

There are two new fixtures on the race card for 83MM. The Protheroe Cup is a single-make grid for Jaguar E-types built before 1963, and we can’t wait to see these svelte sportscars take to the circuit. The race takes its name from Dick Protheroe, who famously raced a series of E-types in period, all with ‘CUT’ registration numbers.

Another new race for this year is the Phil Hill Cup. Hill was famously the first American (of only two so far) to win the F1 World Championship, having taken the title to a tragic backdrop in 1961. But the Phil Hill Cup celebrates a different part of his career: his time in endurance racing. Hill was the first winner of the ‘endurance triple crown’ with wins at Sebring, Daytona and Le Mans. The Phil Hill Cup is in the spirit of the Sebring 12 Hour, bringing together a grid of sports and GT cars from 1964 to ’66.

Finally, the Derek Bell Cup makes a return after a hiatus in 2025. Like Hill, Bell is best known for his endurance racing success, not least five Le Mans wins, but prior to that he made his name in single-seaters. The Derek Bell Cup draws a field of 1,000cc Formula 3 cars to Goodwood, where these high-revving screamers go wheel to wheel, their diminutive dimensions and nimble handling making two or three abreast racing possible pretty much from flag to flag.

Super Touring Shoot-Out

Undoubtedly, touring car racing peaked in the 1990s. A whole host of manufacturers entered the British Touring Car Championship that decade and regulations allowed huge technical innovation. John Cleland’s Vauxhall Cavalier and Paul Radisich’s Ford Mondeo may have looked like the ones driven by photocopier salesmen on the M1, but under the familiar skin they were full-house racing cars. The BTCC Renault Laguna was the work of Williams, which gives an idea of the level we’re talking about.

As well as serious machinery, there was serious action. No driver gave an inch, contact was frequent and the driving was uncompromising and bordering on aggressive. It was a sensational spectacle sound-tracked by Murray Walker commentary. In the end, budgets got out of control and the Super Touring era came to an end, but for a hot few years it was unmissable.

At 83MM, we’ll be honouring this era with the biggest collection of Super Touring cars ever at the circuit. At least 40 cars will be in the paddocks, and 20 will take place in the Shoot-Out. The format will follow that of last year’s GT3 Shoot-Out, with Practice and Qualifying on the Saturday and the Final on the Sunday. It will be the first time Super Tourers have been driven at full pace at the Goodwood Motor Circuit, and we can’t wait to see it.

Jenson Button reunited with Championship winning Brawn

The 2009 F1 season is arguably the most memorable of this century. Ross Brawn had bought the remains of the Honda team for £1, turned up late to pre-season testing and had a car that was almost bereft of sponsors’ logos. From this inauspicious start, the BGP001 was lapping 1.5 seconds faster than anyone else. The reason? An inventive interpretation of the rules to fit a double diffuser, giving the car unrivalled downforce.

Jenson Button capitalised on his advantage early in the season and built a healthy points lead. By the time other, better funded, teams caught up, the Brawn was no longer capable of such dominance, but wins in the latter part of the season were shared between several rivals. Brawn and Button maintained their lead, and in Brazil took both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships.

The fairytale result lives prominently in the memory of those who witnessed it. There will probably never be such an underdog victory in F1 ever again. Now, just a few months after Button announced his retirement from professional motorsport, he will be back in the cockpit of his Championship-winning Brawn at 83MM for a pinch-yourself reunion of man and machine.

Dynamic duels celebrated at Festival of Speed

Over the decades, motorsport has sparked countless rivalries — some bitter, some friendly, and some more nuanced. The 2026 Festival of Speed will celebrate those rivalries from all forms of motorsport, with the theme ‘The Rivals – Epic Racing Duels.’

Two rivalries in particular will be spotlighted. First, 60 years after Ford famously beat Ferrari at Le Mans, we’ll be marking Henry Ford’s rivalry with Enzo Ferrari that gave us one of history’s most famous 24-hour battles. Then, ten years later, James Hunt went toe to toe with Niki Lauda for the F1 World Championship, the British driver eventually coming out on top. Those and other duels, whether on the track, the rally stage and on two wheels as well as four, will take centre stage at this year’s event.

Scooter celebration to open Revival

The Goodwood Revival will be opened each morning with a parade of Italian scooters, kicking off the day in the spirit of the theme that will seep through the entire event: ‘La Dolce Vita’ (which translates to the sweet life). This year marks the 80^th anniversary of the Vespa, Piaggio’s styling scooter that helped mobilise post-war Italy before becoming an export smash-hit. The Vespa has been through many iterations over the years, but the style of the original 1945 MP6 remains just as evocative today.

Expect to see around 300 scooters taking to the circuit for each Track Opening parade, all dating from before 1967. A host of Vespas will be joined by other contemporary Italian scooters from makers including Lambretta, Italjet and Iso, for a taste of Rome or Milan in our corner of West Sussex.

Two races return to Revival

There are two races making a comeback at this year’s Goodwood Revival, the first being the Lavant Cup which last took place in 2023. It returns in a special guise for 2026; in keeping with the La Dolce Vita theme of the weekend, it will be an all-Italian grid of Ferraris and Maseratis from the 1950s. This battle of Modena will pitch the likes of Ferrari 500TRs against cars such as the Maserati 300S, and a host of other Italian machines from the era. We can’t wait to see how it unfolds.

The Brooklands Trophy is another race we’re welcoming back this year, and for the first time in half a decade. We’ll see pre-war and vintage sportscars from the 1920s and ’30s fighting it out on track, which means plenty of Frazer Nashes, but also Aston Martins, Bentleys, MGs, BMW and Talbot-Lagos going wheel-to-wheel.

There’s so much already to look forward to in 2026, and with plenty more announcements still to come be sure to grab your tickets to secure your chance to witness these unmissable moments in person.

Tickets for 83MM are on sale now, exclusively for Members and Fellowship members of the GRRC. You can sign up for the Fellowship today to access tickets.

Tickets for the Festival of Speed and Revival are also now on sale. If you’re not already part of the GRRC, joining the Fellowship means you can save ten per cent on your 2026 tickets and grandstand passes, as well as enjoy a whole host of other on-event perks.

Goodwood photography by Jayson Fong, Tom Baigent, Nick Dungan, Tom Shaxson, Pete Summers and Joe Harding.

Other images courtesy of Getty Images.