Video: 2025 St. Mary’s Trophy highlights | Goodwood Revival

St. Mary's Trophy Part 1 highlights

We had high hopes for a fierce battle in the St. Mary’s Trophy Part 1, and we weren’t disappointed. Things always get spicy when you put a bunch of professional drivers into 30 1950s saloon cars. It was clean racing, too, despite the drivers giving little more than an inch at times. Gordon Shedden got a great start from the front row of the grid in his Jaguar Mark 1, while pole-sitter Steve Soper fell back through the pack in his bulky Ford Fairlane. Tom Kristensen was another man in an over-sized Ford, and found himself in fourth place in the Thunderbird. Nor for long, though. He used all the track and a bit extra to get past Tom Ingram’s hard-charging Austin A40.

As the laps progressed, the big Fords progressed to the sharp end of things. In this battle of battleships, Soper led his one time Le Mans team-mate Kristensen. There were fights throughout the field, and the A40 drivers Andrew Jordan and Ingram collaborated to make a move on Shedden’s Jaguar on the Lavant Straight. Up front, the American Fords had traffic to negotiate and Soper succumbed to his fading brakes. Running wide at Woodcote, he gifted Kristensen the lead – and, as it was the final lap, to race win too. And relax...

St. Mary’s Trophy Part 1 Official Practice

The Goodwood assembly area becomes a who’s who of motorsport when it’s time to form up for Part 1 of the St. Mary’s Trophy. We have Formula 1 drivers, Le Mans winners, Indianapolis 500 winners and British Touring Car Champions all here to see who will come out on top in a field of 1950s saloon cars. You really do have to pinch yourself to check you’re not dreaming.

The circuit was damp and the rain was falling lightly for most of the Official Practice. For an idea of how limited grip was, you only needed to witness Steve Soper wrestling the long and wide Ford Fairlane. When he applied throttle on the start/finish straight, the car responded by squirming up the road while Soper worked to keep it pointing the right way. His efforts paid off as he topped the leader board for most of the session.

Elsewhere, nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen was taming a Ford Thunderbird, while Andrew Jordan had a more deft Austin A40 at his disposal. The latter was being hunted by Gordon Shedden in a Jaguar Mk1.

As the clock ticked down, Shedden knocked Soper off the top spot with a little more than two minutes to go, but the Fairlane driver did what he needed to do and claimed back pole position. The scene is set for a thrilling St. Mary’s Trophy race.

Photography by Charlie Brenninkmeijer and Joe Harding.

St. Mary’s Trophy Part 1 grid (Top 15)

What is the St. Mary’s Trophy?

Saloon car contests at Goodwood are rooted in the British Saloon Car Championship. The Motor Circuit first hosted a non-Championship race in the inaugural 1958 season, but it became a staple of the calendar, opening the ’59 campaign, until the final race here in 1966.

The likes of Graham Hill (Jaguar Mk2) and Jim Clark (Lotus Cortina) were class winners in that time, the latter achieving three class wins at Goodwood over a three-year spell, including the year he claimed the overall Championship in 1964.

At the Revival the St. Mary’s Trophy has been a permanent fixture ever since 1998. On a yearly basis the race alternates between showcasing saloon cars from the 1950s to those of the ‘60s, and for the 2025 Goodwood Revival it’s the turn of the earlier models. You’ll see upright and austere Austins battling cars like the Jaguar Mk1 and Alfa Romeo Giuliettas, as well as a smattering of American machinery to add some spice to proceedings.

The St. Mary’s Trophy is a two-part race, the cars are shared by pros and owners with the overall result derived from a combination of the two. 2013 Indy 500 winner and 2004 IndyCar Series Champion Tony Kanaan is already confirmed to be racing behind the wheel of a Ford Zodiac, and if the line-ups of previous years are anything to go by then be prepared for a glittering array of talent.

When is the St. Mary’s Trophy?

As this is a two-driver race, both the owners and VIPs will have their chance to get to grips with their car courtesy of two Official Practice sessions on Friday. The first one is scheduled for 11:05, with the second being the penultimate bit of action on track, kicking off at 17:50.

On Saturday afternoon, we’ll be treated to the first instalment of the race when the flag drops at 14:30 for the St. Mary’s Trophy Part 1. Sunday’s concluding Part 2 will also close out racing at the 2025 Revival, with the last 25-minute event commencing at 18:00.

Previous winners of the St. Mary’s Trophy

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

Photography by Nick Wilkinson and Jordan Butters.