What is the Brooklands Trophy?

When we say old, we’re talking cars that have existed for close to a century. The Brooklands Trophy is a race that’s open to post-vintage and pre-war sportscars, thoroughbreds from 1920s and ‘30s that competed during the earliest years of motorsport.

Before the Goodwood Motor Circuit opened in 1948, it was Brooklands that was the home of motorsport in Britain when these cars were new, and it’s from the famous circuit in Surrey that the race takes its name.

Prior to World War I, half of all cars made were built in France, so Brooklands was conceived to give British carmakers a facility for high-speed testing. When it opened in 1907 it was the world’s first purpose-made banked motor circuit and played host to a number of record-setting attempts.

Brooklands closed in 1939 at the outbreak of World War II and while sections of the track remain today it has never re-opened.

These pre-1939 machines were built to compete in races like the Le Mans 24 Hours, where such feats of endurance helped establish the motor car as a dependable form of transportation. In period, manufacturers would use success in long-distance competition to market their machines as durable and reliable, fit for public use.

Such heritage suggests that the 25-minute Brooklands Trophy should be a walk in the park for these capable cars. We’ll see the likes of Aston Martins, Frazer Nashs, Talbot-Lagos, Bentleys and Alfa Romeos take to the circuit — a host of esteemed marques, some of which continue to build cars today.

But that’s not to say that the drivers take a leisurely approach to this race, far from it. With an absence of seatbelts, they grapple with large diameter steering wheels and work with low levels of grip from skinny tyres in a hugely impressive display of skill and control, even in challenging conditions such as those that confronted the line-up of the 2021 fixture.  

The Brookland’s Trophy isn’t a contest that appears every year in the Revival calendar; that 2021 race was the last time it was held. That means that, half a decade on, we’re chomping at the bit to see these vintage racers return to battle at the Goodwood Motor Circuit, bringing back to life cars from that magical, pioneering era of motorsport.

Tickets for the 2026 Goodwood Revival are now on sale. If you’re not already part of the GRRC, you can sign up to the Fellowship today and save ten per cent on your 2026 tickets and grandstand passes, as well as enjoying a whole host of other on-event perks.  

Photography by Jayson Fong, Jordan Butters and Toby Whales.