Sir Stirling Moss to be celebrated at FOS, Revival and 78MM

Over the 14 years that followed, Moss raced here a further 56 times, winning 21 of them and finishing on the podium a further 13 times. Goodwood was the scene of four of Moss’ seven Tourist Trophy victories; two for Ferrari and two for Aston Martin, including clinching the British marque’s world championship title in 1959. Goodwood was also the scene of Moss’ career-ending accident on 23^rd April 1962. 

One of the founding patrons of the Festival of Speed and a regular competitor at the Revival, it’s little wonder that Moss became a favourite of the fans who christened him ‘Mr Goodwood’. As his racing record shows – Moss won over half of the races he completed – it is fitting that Moss should be remembered at the 2021 Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard which takes the theme ‘The Maestros - Motorsport’s Great All-Rounders’. 

This weekend (1^st May) marks the anniversary of the 1955 Mille Miglia which Moss won with the invaluable help of co-driver Denis ‘Jenks’ Jenkinson. The daring duo completed the immense challenge at an epic average speed of 99mph, helped immeasurably by the pace notes Jenks had created to cover the entire 1,000-mile route. Honouring this achievement at the Festival of Speed, Mercedes-Benz will be displaying its fearsome 300 SLR ‘722’ in which the pair competed and which is rarely seen outside Stuttgart today. Mercedes-Benz will also be bringing along a W196 Grand Prix car of the type Moss used to win his first Formula 1 race, at Aintree in 1955.

The Goodwood Revival in September will host a parade of perhaps the largest collection of Moss’ competition cars ever gathered together, bidding farewell to, and celebrating, the extraordinary Mr Goodwood in a way that wasn’t possible in 2020. Returning for the parade will be ‘722’ in what may be one of its last public outings for many years. Assembling on the track with it will be the Lotus 18 in which Moss defeated the mighty Sharknose Ferraris at both Monaco and the Nürburgring. Returning to Goodwood will also be the Rob Walker Ferrari 250 SWB which Moss drove to his last Goodwood win, at the Tourist Trophy in 1961.

Many of the Moss parade cars will also be racing in earnest again during the Revival including the Aston Martin DB3S in which he finished second at Le Mans (Freddie March Memorial Trophy), and the Nürburgring 1,000km-winning DBR1 (Sussex Trophy). Also invited to compete in those two races respectively will be his Reims-winning Jaguar C-type and Cooper T49, while a real rarity, the Ferguson P99 four-wheel-drive Grand Prix car which Moss piloted to victory in the International Gold Cup in 1961, will join the grid for the Richmond Trophy.

The Revival will of course be the setting for the second running of the Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy. Formerly the Kinrara Trophy, this was renamed for Goodwood SpeedWeek presented by Mastercard in 2020 and will now become a permanent fixture on the Goodwood calendar. Competed by Jaguar E-types, Ferrari 250s, Aston Martin DB4 GTs and AC Cobra, this has been described as ‘the most beautiful race in the world’, taking place as the sun falls on the Saturday night of the Revival weekend. 

The commemorations and celebrations will culminate at the 78th Members’ Meeting in October which will see the third running of the Moss Trophy for GT cars of a type which raced between 1960 and 1962, a fitting way to keep the Moss name alive at Goodwood’s most exclusive race meeting. 

The Duke of Richmond said: “Stirling and his wife Susie were such an important part of the Goodwood family for so many years. All of us here felt his loss especially keenly as we weren’t able to mark his passing and commemorate his incredible life as we should last year. We hope that fans at our events and around the world will join us in celebrating his racing career and bidding farewell to Mr Goodwood in 2021. Stirling’s supreme skill and love for his sport will continue to be remembered at Goodwood for many years to come.”

Photography courtesy of Motorsport images.