INTERVIEW: Scott Dixon on why the Goodwood Revival is as good as the Indy 500

“Every two hours you’re jumping in another car,” explained Dixon, when we spoke with him on Sunday ahead of his final outing of the weekend, the RAC TT Celebration. “I’ve really enjoyed the flow of it.”

On Saturday he raced first in Part 1 of the St. Mary’s Trophy presented by Motul, in a 1958 Ford Zodiac — something that Dixon thought he would never drive, a car that “doesn’t do anything a car should do, apart from it accelerates!” He finished 21^st, and 20^th overall with partner Kerry Michael, and while being off the pace is “never enjoyable”, Dixon still had his fun.

“Dario [Franchitti] and I raced pretty hard. Honestly, when you're racing and you're racing in your group, it feels like you're racing for the win anyway, so that was fun.

“I think 90 per cent of the time driving around here you've just got to smile ear to ear because one corner to the next somebody would do something, you would do something and you're just laughing.”

Dixon had a different experience later that evening driving a 1961 Jaguar E-type in the Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy, a car that felt “very familiar”. He previously raced an E-type in 2022’s Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy with Franchitti as his partner, and this year he finished fifth with Nick Maton.  

And he would be driving another E-type later on Sunday, in the RAC TT Celebration with Joe Twyman. Considering differences between the two cars and races, Dixon reflected: “The Stirling Moss one float[s] around a little bit more, not as much grip as the RAC TT car. That's kind of the sweet spot. 

“I feel like the Stirling Moss is actually a really fun race. The mix of cars that they have, obviously some are quite similar once you get to the RAC TT, but that car is really fun to drive.

“The RAC TT is just a little more on edge. You’re going five seconds a lap quicker, which around here is a lot, especially in something like that. So you’ve got to be in the zone a lot more in the RAC TT, whereas I think the balance of speed versus fun with the Stirling Moss [Memorial Trophy], it's a really good balance.”

Getting out of his comfort zone and connecting with his roots, the early days he spent competing back home in New Zealand, is something that draws Dixon to historic racing. Stepping into the world of his idols and away from his technology-laden IndyCar machines, he emphasised the enjoyment of being tested as a driver.

“Whether it's just the typical driving with a gearstick again or having to heel-and-toe and use a clutch, for me it's so much fun to actually get back to the basics. I feel sad, actually, for a lot of the generation that's coming through now because they've never even witnessed that. At least for me, I started kind of on that stuff, with Formula Vee and Formula Ford it was still manual, H-pattern gearbox and things like that.”

“But this is stepping back obviously a lot further, to a lot of heroes, whether it was Bruce McLaren or Chris Amon and people like that, that raced these regularly, it’s epic to put in your mindset like, ‘Wow, I’m actually driving something that they did’ and they were heroes of mine.”

Reflecting on his first visit to the Revival in 2022, Dixon said he found the experience “daunting”, taken aback by the standard of competitiveness on show at the event. “I thought everybody would be kind of having a bit of a jolly, but even from the first time, first lap out of practice, everybody is just on it, so I respect that a lot and that's been really fun, too.”

Now, he relishes in beating his friends, particularly Franchitti, and for the first time in 2025, fellow former team-mate Tony Kanaan. Dixon was the best of the trio in the St. Mary’s Trophy, and speaking ahead of the RAC TT Celebration he had a target of fifth in mind.

That said, the star-studded race featured Jimmie Johnson and Tom Kristensen alongside Franchitti and Kanaan, so really Dixon had only one goal: “To beat all those guys.” As it was, Kristensen was the only one he got the better of, finishing 14^th in a rain-affected contest.

But Dixon’s love for the Revival isn’t rooted in results. He cites Franchitti as a catalyst for him and others to get involved — “a huge thanks to him for pushing us to come and do it” — and seems on a similar mission to encourage others to do the same. 

“Even if you're not into racing, you have to come just because it's like you're stepping back in time. It's definitely a bucket list item if you're into racing, but there’s so much going on here.

“It's on par with say a Le Mans or Indy 500, but obviously has a very different twist to it as well, just for the sheer fact of the period [setting]. It's always about the atmosphere, and they do it so well here. It's how you would hope some other series that you race for would actually present.

“It's such a big event, it’s more the atmosphere that you go for and just witnessing it. It's one of those events that you'll forever remember.”

Goodwood photography by Rob Cooper, Joe Harding, Toby Whales, Jayson Fong and Pete Summers.

Main image courtesy of Getty Images.