Video: 2025 Freddie March Memorial Trophy highlights | Goodwood Revival

Freddie March Memorial Trophy highlights

The first race of the 2025 Goodwood Revival capped a dramatic and unpredictable day of historic motorsport on the Motor Circuit. We were expecting a chaotic affair as the changeable conditions of the day promised to throw in plenty of surprises during this hour-long race.

Jenson Button’s Jaguar C-Type, shared with Alex Buncombe, had dominated Official Practice to start from pole position alongside the C-Type of Nigel Webb and Chris Ward, and the HWM of Sam Hancock and Theo Hunt, but the it was the Ford Thunderbird ‘Battlebird’ that made the best start from the second row.

Bill Shepherd got a storming getaway to squeeze between the two C-Types and take a brilliant lead into the first corner, followed closely by a fired up Button desperate to finally claim his first Goodwood victory.

Shepherd led for two laps before Button saw his opportunity to strike. He dipped his nose in at Madgwick which caused the ‘Battlebird’ to drift wide on the exit and compromise his run down to St. Mary’s. The result was a wonderfully executed move under braking as Button expertly placed his C-Type inside Shepherd, who left just enough space to keep things clean, and Button was away.

His progress from that point on was similar to that of Practice, as he quickly began to stretch out a lead over the Hunt/Hancock C-Type which had also got ahead of the ‘Battlebird’. It was a decisive stint from Button, who peeled off into the pits with 37 minutes remaining to hand over control to Buncombe, and it looked set to be a straight-forward run to victory from there, reliability permitting.

That was until the inevitable rain arrived with fifteen minutes to go, and suddenly each lap became a dangerous new adventure as the light faded quickly. Buncombe appeared unflustered as he continued on his way and continued to lap quicker than the rest of the field.

Not even a scare at St. Mary’s as he battled through traffic could scupper his progress as he proceeded to lap almost the entire field, eventually winning by more than a minute ahead of the pairings of Hancock and Hunt in their HWM, and Jake Hill and Jake Rawles in the Austin-Healey 100S.

Photography by Pete Summers, Joe Harding, Charlie Brenninkmeijer.

Freddie March Memorial Trophy Official Practice

The historic motorsport at the 2025 Goodwood Revival got underway with Official Practice for the weekend’s opening race, the Freddie March Memorial Trophy. Under the early morning sunshine, the field of early-1950s sportscars that filled the air with the sound of engines for the first time.

It was the Jaguar C-Type of Jenson Button that made the brightest start, as he took just three laps to break the 90-second barrier and pull out a huge gap over the rest of the field.

It took 20 minutes, but the HWM-Jaguar of Sam Hancock and Theo Hunt managed to pull back much of that deficit, though remained around one second back on the provisional pole sitter.

Then, out of nowhere with six minutes left in the session, Chris Ward set a blistering lap time in the #24 C-Type to come within two thousandths of a second of Alex Buncombe’s benchmark time. Buncombe responded in kind with a 1:27.824 to build an eight-tenth of a second cushion.

The quick times continued to come flying in, but no-one had an answer for Buncombe, who went even quicker on his final tour to set pole position by almost 1.5 seconds.

Photography by Charlie Brenninkmeijer.

Freddie March Memorial Trophy grid (Top 15)

What is the Freddie March Memorial Trophy?

The Goodwood Nine Hour races brought night events to Britain in the early 1950s. These headlining fixtures were run as sportscar endurance competitions in 1952, ’53 and ’55. The first edition was won by Peter Collins and Pat Griffith in an Aston Martin DB3, with the likes of Roy Salvadori, Reg Parnell and Stirling Moss all on the grid. Parnell, joined by Eric Thompson, won the following year’s race again in a DB3, while Aston Martin’s dominance continued in ’55 with Peter Walker and Dennis Poore taking the chequered flag.

Named in honour of the Duke of Richmond’s grandfather, who founded the Goodwood Motor Circuit, the Freddie March Memorial Trophy boasts a grid of cars much the same as in the 1950s races. Marques that endure today — Jaguar, Aston Martin, Ferrari and Maserati all make regular appearances on entry lists, while teams from the past are also represented by cars such as Coopers, Frazer Nashes and HWMs.

And, just like the racers in the day, headlights are obligatory as the two-driver pairings compete into the early evening light over the hour-long race.

There are no foregone conclusions here. Over the last five years we’ve seen just as many different models claiming victory. Namely, in reverse order, HWM-Jaguar, Maserati 250S, Jaguar C-Type, Maserati 300S and Jaguar D-Type. Different drivers have taken to the top spot of the podium each time, too. Let’s see what transpires in 2025.

When is the Freddie March Memorial Trophy?

The Freddie March Memorial Trophy bookends the first day of the 2025 Revival. Official Practice to determine the grid opens the competitive proceedings on track, following on from the VW Type 2 Campervan track parade, at 09:30. Then, this grid of ‘50s sportscars closes out the day as the first race of the event, the hour-long endurance contest getting underway at 18:30.

Previous winners of the Freddie March Memorial Trophy 

The 2025 Goodwood Revival is underway! You can watch every moment of the action by watching our live stream.

Photography by Toby Whales.