What is the Whitsun Trophy?

When the austere 1950s gave way to the swinging ’60s, the Whitsun Trophy evolved into a contest for sports-racing prototypes. It was an era of experimentation for the category and marked the first moves to a mid-engined format.

The powerful machines that emerged led Freddie March, the ninth Duke of Richmond, to believe that racing at the Motor Circuit was becoming too fast. This, in turn, resulted in the circuit being closed in 1966.

In 2001, the Whitsun Trophy picked up where it had left off in ’66 to become the fastest race of the Revival weekend. Today’s interpretation most closely resembles the race held in 1965, in which John Coundley’s McLaren M1A beat Roy Salvadori’s Ford GT40 to victory at the head of a field that included open-cockpit prototypes from Brabham and Lotus. 

The thundering Lola T70 Spyder is often the car to beat, but the nimble Ford GT40 has had plenty of success, too, not to mention the McLaren M1As and M1Bs that are often at the sharp end of things. Every now and then, something comes out of left field, such as Chinook Mk2 that Jay Esterer drove to victory in 2011, or multiple saloon Championship winner Rob Huff’s 2016 win with a Lotus 19.

Other notable entrants over the years have included Indy 500 winner Kenny Brack, Formula 1 driver Karun Chandhok, BTCC Champion Frank Sytner and three-time World Sportscar Champion Ray Bellm. They’ve all tasted victory in the Whitsun Trophy.

In a field of cars where no two look alike, their only similarity is typically being big-block Ford or Chevrolet V8s with no shortage of cubic inches. This race seriously packs a punch, an annual thriller that always delights Revival-goers.

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 Drew Gibson and Toby Whales.