Video: 2025 Richmond & Gordon Trophies highlights | Goodwood Revival

Richmond & Gordon Trophies highlights

Leaden skies were depositing their load over the Goodwood Motor Circuit when the cars formed up for the Richmond & Gordon Trophies, and it would stay that way for the entire race. Because of the unforgiving conditions, the race began under the safety car, effectively making for a rolling start.  Sam Wilson started from pole in his Lotus 18 but he soon came under pressure from Rudi Friedrich’s Cooper T53 ‘Lowline’. 

Wilson succumbed on the first lap and would never regain his lead. In fact, he fell to fourth position as he struggled find grip in the visibly skittish Lola. Not that grip was in abundance for any of the drivers. They were clearly being circumspect with every turn of the wheel and touch of the throttle. For all that, number of cars going off was minimal.

Will Nuthall (in another Cooper T53 ‘Lowline’) took the lead for a time but in the end it was Andy Willis who got out in front and made it stick. He guided his BRM P48 to a substantial lead, eventually crossing the line 7.4 seconds ahead of Nuthall. The gap had actually reduced while Willis made his way through traffic, occasionally making his frustration known. Friedrich completed the top three.

Richmond & Gordon Trophies Official Practice

The highest moment of drama in Official Practice for the 2025 Richmond & Gordon Trophies race came right at the closing stages, when Dean Baker’s Cooper-Climax T45/51 slithered onto the grass on the way out of Woodcote. As he worked to gather it up – fruitlessly, as it would transpire – he almost collected the Cooper-Climax T53 of the passing Geoff Underwood. They avoided contact and Baker eventually came to a halt just short of the chicane. He may have nudged it, but either way he escaped any damage.

Prior to that, the field of 2.5-litre Grand Prix cars had made their way around the circuit without notable incident. William Nuthall had things his own way with his Cooper-Climax T53 ‘Lowline’ and secured pole with a comfortable margin of more than a second. The following pack were more evenly matched so it may be that the most hotly contested positions in the race are from further down the field.

2025 Richmond & Gordon Trophy Grid (Top 15) 

What are the Richmond & Gordon Trophies?

The first Richmond Trophy took place in 1949 and was won by Reg Parnell aboard a Maserati 4CLT, a feat he repeated the following year. The 4CLT continued to dominate the race in 1951, this time with B Bira at the wheel, but Maserati’s hold on the trophy finally came to an end in the final running in ’52, when Jose Froilan Gonzales prevailed aboard a Ferrari 375.

Reimagined for the Revival, the race is named after the ninth Duke of Richmond, Freddie March, who established the Goodwood Motor Circuit on the site of the former RAF Westhampnett in 1948. The Dukedom of Richmond is held alongside that of Gordon, hence both names lending themselves to this regular Revival fixture.

A 25-minute race for 2.5-litre Grand Prix cars that raced between 1952-60, the Richmond & Gordon Trophies bring back to life a golden era of Formula 1 racing, resulting in a mixed grid of differing approaches to the business of Grand Prix racing. And in this, the 75^th anniversary year of the Formula 1 World Championship, it's bound to be more evocative than ever.

Machines hail from a variety of manufacturers. The heavier Maserati 250Fs and Ferrari 246s will do battle against the forward-thinking BRMs and Lotuses, though the Cooper-Climax T53 ‘lowline’ has been the car to beat in recent years. We can’t wait to see if its string of success continues in 2025.

When are the Richmond & Gordon Trophies?

Friday afternoon is the first opportunity for this varied grid to get out on track, with the 20-minute Official Practice session at 15:45. This will determine the starting order for the race, which is the penultimate event on the Revival’s motorsport calendar. The Richmond & Gordon Trophies will get underway on Sunday, with a start time of 17:10.  

Previous winners of the Richmond & Gordon Trophies

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