Video: 2025 Whitsun Trophy highlights | Goodwood Revival

Whitsun Trophy highlights

Blue skies prevailed overhead as the Whitsun Trophy got underway on Saturday afternoon with a roar of V8 savagery, and it was Alex Brundle who made the best start from the second row to climb up into second position behind race leader Miles Griffiths. Pole sitter Nick Padmore dropped to third as they all streamed through Madgwick for the first time.

Brundle was on a mission as he went in search of his first Revival victory at the wheel of his Lola T70 Spyder, and he was swarming all over the back of Griffiths before sweeping around the outside of the McLaren M1A as the field completed the opening lap. Padmore followed him through, and from there it became a two-car scrap for the lead.

The pair were completely inseparable with barely more than two or three tenths of a second between them as they stormed away at the front. Their speed was such that they hit traffic on lap eight, and Brundle found himself compromised on the entry into St. Mary’s which gave Padmore the chance to dive up the inside and steal the lead.

Once in front, Padmore began to stretch out a lead as Brundle could only watch on after fighting so valiantly. It looked a formality that the #54 Lola would be able to power on to victory, but with less than three minutes remaining the leader pulled off to the side of the track with a mechanical problem. Visibly frustrated, Padmore was forced to cede the victory to Brundle, who was left with a comfortable lead to cruise home.

The battle for the remaining podium spots however was continuing unabated, with Griffiths now under extreme pressure from Olly Bryant in his T70 Spyder, the third placed man was virtually pushing the McLaren through Lavant and Woodcote corners but couldn’t find a way through as the pair crossed the line together.

Whitsun Trophy Official Practice

The fastest, most powerful cars of the weekend were out on track for the first time on Friday afternoon at this year’s Goodwood Revival, and the action was suitably dramatic as more cylinders that you can shake a stick at started roaring at the sea of spectators lined up to enjoy the show.

With conditions still far from ideal as the weather struggled to make up its mind, these cars were on a knife edge, yet lap times were still very quickly the fastest of the day. The Lola T70 Spyders were immediately up to speed, but Miles Griffiths in his McLaren M1A was hot on their tail.

Goodwood stalwart Nick Padmore set the early pace as the only driver to break into the 1:19s, but saw his progress halted as he was forced to pull over to the side of the track with a mechanical issue. As it was, his lap was enough to guarantee him pole position for the Whitsun Trophy on Saturday afternoon.

Olly Bryant claim second place with a 1:20.509, with Griffiths third to complete the front row. Elsewhere there were headline performances from Michael O’Brien, who was fifth in the Lotus 30 ahead of Julian Draper’s ultra-rare Attila Mk3 and Phil Keen in the Porsche 910.

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Whitsun Trophy grid (Top 15)

What is the Whitsun Trophy? 

The Whitsun name has been associated with Goodwood since the inaugural Whit Saturday Meeting, held over the Whitsun weekend in 1950. The first Whitsun Trophy took place in 1954 as a Formula Libre event in which two BRM V16s claimed first and second places.

This was an era of experimentation in which sport-racing prototypes first moved to a mid-engined format. The powerful machines that emerged led to Freddie March, in period, to believe that the racing at the Motor Circuit was becoming too fast.

The first Whitsun Trophy took place in 2001 and picked up where things were left off. Revival’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.

It has been on the race card every year since its introduction, much to the delight of Revival-goers. The grid is made up of cars such as the thundering Lola T70 and nimble Ford GT40, all dating from 1960-’66, the year the Goodwood Motor Circuit closed.

As a result, this is a field where no two cars look alike, their only similarity typically being big-block Ford or Chevrolet V8s with no shortage of cubic inches. The Whitsun Trophy cars are the very quickest machines that race at the Goodwood Motor Circuit, which guarantees a great battle.

When is the Whitsun Trophy?

Official Practice for the Whitsun Trophy is set for Friday at 13:40, where these speedsters will be vying to set the fastest times possible for their spot in the starting grid. The 25-minute race then follows as the penultimate on-track event on Saturday evening, with the flag dropping at 16:40.

Previous winners of the Whitsun Trophy

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

Photography by Toby Whales.