The Whitsun Trophy celebrates an iconic era of monstrous machinery, heroic drivers and titanic battles on the track and behind the scenes in manufacturer’s boardrooms. If you’ve seen Le Mans ’66 then you’ll know roughly what the Whitsun is all about and this year it moves from its place at the Revival to Goodwood SpeedWeek.
Goodwood SpeedWeek: Our loudest, fastest race
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What is the Whitsun Trophy?
A 25-minute race for sports prototypes built between 1961 and 1966, which is still regarded as one of the greatest periods of motorsport of any kind. The engines were big and very grunty; the cars were tiny and weighed nothing with very few concessions to safety and the drivers were legends with sizeable cojones.
What cars will race in the Whitsun Trophy?
With racing aerodynamics still in its infancy the name of the game in the 1960s was to design the cars around simply enormous engines and make them as small and slippery as possible. The most famous example is undoubtedly the Ford GT40, several of which will be in contention throughout the race. They will be battling against the Can-Am bruisers from Lola, Cooper and McLaren, all with massive Chevrolet V8 power. A handful of smaller, nimbler Lotus and Porsche racers will be nipping at their heels throughout.
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What drivers will I see in the St. Mary’s Trophy?
One of our most popular entrants in recent years has been entertaining former-F1 racer Karun Chandhok who won the 2019 Whitsun Trophy in the brutal McLaren-Chevrolet M1A. Other notable entrants are Tiff Needell, WTCC champion Rob Huff and the outright lap record holder Nick Padmore. A host of big names from the world of historic and classic racing such as Chris Ward, Mike Whittaker and Oliver Bryant join them in hustling these bruisers around the track.
When and how can I watch the race?
All of our Goodwood SpeedWeek coverage – practice, qualifying and the races themselves – will be available to watch for free on the Goodwood Road & Racing website or on our social media channels over 16th-18th October 2020.
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