2023 RAC TT Celebration full race | Goodwood Revival

11th September 2023

Simon Ostler

As if the RAC TT Celebration, the biggest, and arguably most important race of the Goodwood Revival, needed another layer of spice. Well, after two days of sweltering heat, in the hour building up to the start of the weekend’s blue riband event, the rain inexplicably began to fall. Safe to say, there was a grid full of drivers looking ever so slightly nervously to the skies before they climbed into their Cobras, Corvettes and E-types. Duncan Pittaway looked particularly hesitant in his notoriously tricky Cheetah.

But if one thing’s for sure, there would be nothing that could stop these drivers from getting those booming V8s fired up ready for what is always a spectacular and unforgettable start. The vibration hits you like a shockwave as these cars roar away from the line.

The hour-long showpiece was underway, and we couldn’t be happier to see these cars steaming around the Motor Circuit at full pelt, drivers just barely clinging onto the rear ends of these incredibly lively cars.

Those early laps were dominated by Marino Franchitti in his Cobra, while the snake eyes Cobra recovered quickly from a terrible start. Before anybody could settle into a proper rhythm, the rain began to fall heavier and with that the cars began to slide off the road. It was utter chaos, as even some of the finest historic racing drivers in the world were simply powerless to tame the power of these visceral cars.

There were some unfortunate casualties in the shape of a Cobra and the Bizzarrini 5300GT, which forced a red flag for barrier repairs. But it wasn’t long before we got the action back underway for a truly dramatic finish. The skills on show from every single driver were sublime.