EXCLUSIVE: Rowan Atkinson on why nothing can match racing at Revival

Atkinson’s obsession with motorsport kicked off in the late 1980s, when he made several appearances in the Renault 5 Turbo UK Cup and later turned his attention to racing classics. He has been a regular practitioner at Goodwood since the end of the ‘90s and was on the grid for the very first Goodwood Revival in 1998, racing a Aston Martin DB2 in the Freddie March Memorial Trophy.

Returning frequently ever since, Atkinson has become a staple of many event weekends, driving everything from a 1964 Ford Falcon to an Austin A35. He even managed to score a podium finish at the 79^th Members’ Meeting presented by Audrain Motorsport in the Sopwith Cup. 

In 2025, he and his 1951 Jaguar Mk7 are set to return at the Goodwood Revival, where he’ll go head-to-head with the likes of Jenson Button, Dario Franchitti and Jimmie Johnson in Part 1 of the St. Mary’s Trophy presented by Motul. 

“There’s no other race meeting in the world that can really match the Revival,” he told us when we spoke with him at Revival testing. “But I do find myself very often placed in the celebrity half of the St. Mary’s Trophy, which tends to contain all the racing drivers.”

“Now, I may have some celebrity status,” he continued, “but it’s nothing to do with racing. I’m very much the rank amateur when it comes to the racing. The good thing about that however is that they treat you very considerably. They’re very good and therefore they know how to keep out of your way, and I sort of try to keep out of their way. So the relationship is very good and it works well.

“But sometimes when you’re in the owners’ race [Part 2 of the St. Mary’s Trophy], it can be much more difficult. Everyone is trying very hard and it’s therefore much easier to have an accident. I feel out of my depth in the celebrity race, but I always feel safe because I know how good all the drivers around me are.”

It certainly won’t be hard to spot Atkinson over the course of the Revival weekend. His five-metre long and three-metre wide Mk7 boasts a fearsome on-track presence and was once the fastest saloon car money could buy, with its 3.4-litre, twin overhead camshaft XK engine capable of breaking the mythical 100mph barrier.

Despite its sheer size, the Mk7 also had a relatively successful racing career in its heyday, and was even the chosen tin-top weapon of Tony Rolt and Sir Stirling Moss in the 1954 Daily Express International Trophy held at Silverstone. The pair finished second and third respectively.  

Atkinson affectionately describes the Mk7 as: “A big old bus, but it goes very well. I always try to bring it when it’s invited.

“Usually, we slip slowly backwards down the order just because there’s a sort of Goodwood syndrome of cars being developed very enthusiastically and sometimes if you don’t do anything to the car between one Revival and the next, you will tend to go backwards on the grid. But we’ll see.”

The St. Mary’s Trophy is often responsible for some of the closest, most thrilling racing of the entire Revival weekend. Performance levels between cars that were once only used for school runs and shopping trips are very similar and when a group of star-studded names are thrown behind the wheel it quickly becomes a motorsport spectacle like no other.

This year is set to be no different, with Atkinson joining F1 World Champions, numerous Le Mans and IndyCar legends, and a plethora of Touring Car icons on the grid. 

At his own admission, Atkinson’s skill level is “slightly poor” compared to his highly decorated rivals. But having completed countless laps of the ultra-fast Goodwood Motor Circuit, he will have an element of experience on his side.

“It’s a very nice circuit,” he said. “It’s good to get to a place where you’re good enough to enjoy it and that is now the point I’ve reached here. I mean, there are a couple of corners, like Fordwater, which are always challenging — particularly if conditions change suddenly. But I’d like to think I’m vaguely on top of the rest of it.”

Such familiarity doesn’t lead to Atkinson having lofty targets for the race, however. “Two years ago we wanted to be in the top ten and we were in the top ten — in that we were tenth. So we’ll give it another go.”

Of course, it’s not just the racing but the whole spectacle that is the Goodwood Revival which makes the event so special, as Atkinson highlighted: “The atmosphere around the circuit is also very unique. The period [immersion] over the weekend is great and it’s an event-filled weekend, no matter if you’re a driver and an owner or a spectator.

“So for that reason and many other reasons, I’m very much looking forward to it.”

You can watch Rowan Atkinson go up against some of motorsports biggest names in the St. Mary’s Trophy at the 2025 Goodwood Revival. The first half of this two-part race gets underway at 14:30 on Saturday, before the results will be decided with Part 2 closing out the event at 18:00 on Sunday.

Tickets for the Goodwood Revival are limited! Only Sunday tickets remain, so secure yours now to avoid missing out on the world's best historic motorsport event.

Photography by Tom Baigent, Mark Beaumont and Joe Harding.