The 82nd Goodwood Members’ Meeting kicked off the estate’s 2025 motor sport season with a thrilling springtime weekend of Historic racing on April 19-20.
Thousands of spectators descended on West Sussex’s Goodwood Motor Circuit for the event, which each year attracts some of the most iconic marques and celebrated personalities in motor sport.
Taking centre stage at this year’s Members’ Meeting were celebrations of Ayrton Senna, the GT3 Shoot-Out featuring cars from 2006 to 2012, Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, Alpine and Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA).
Goodwood marked the 40th anniversary of Ayrton Senna’s first Grand Prix victory – achieved at Estoril in 1985 – with a poignant and thrilling on-track demonstration. Ayrton’s nephew, Bruno Senna, took to the Goodwood Motor Circuit in the very car his uncle drove to that famous win: the legendary Lotus 97T. On April 21, Classic Team Lotus will return to Estoril, where Bruno will once again drive the 97T to honour the victory on its exact anniversary.
The 25th anniversary of the JOTA Sport motor-racing outfit was marked at the Members’ Meeting with flat-out demonstration laps from its Cadillac V-Series.R LMDh race car. Driven across the weekend by British racing drivers Alex Lynn and Will Stevens, it represented the first time a current World Endurance Championship challenger had been driven at the Motor Circuit. Complementing the spectacle were the displays of class-winning Le Mans cars throughout the paddock, including one of the Hertz Team JOTA Porsche 963 LMDh cars.
Meanwhile, Alpine honoured its 70th birthday with a memorable on-track parade comprising 70 cars built by the French manufacturer. The comprehensive line-up included A110s of every era, as well as GTA and A610 models. The brand also treated attendees to the UK debut of its new A110 R Ultimate sports car, which was on static display throughout the weekend.
Gordon Murray Automotive drew plenty of attention at this year’s Members’ Meeting, taking pride of place on the Brooklands Lawn with a stunning line-up that included the T.33, the T.50S track car and a display of its in-house-engineered V12 engines.
Crowds were thrilled as four-time IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti took the T.50S for a screaming demonstration run around the Motor Circuit – just a year after the car’s public debut at the 2024 Members’ Meeting. Gordon Murray’s 60-year career will be celebrated at this summer’s Festival of Speed, where GMA will be honoured as the event’s Central Feature.
Historic motor sport remains at the heart of the Members’ Meeting, with this year’s event featuring a packed 13-race schedule. Commendably, all races ran entirely on sustainable fuel, continuing the precedent set by the 2024 Goodwood Revival – the world’s first Historic motor sport event to feature a fully sustainable race card.
New for 2025 was the Win Percy Trophy, which saw a grid of Group 1 Touring Cars, including Mini 1275 GTs, Volkswagen Golfs and Ford Fiestas. The contest proved to be one of the most popular of the weekend, as a star-studded roster of drivers that included former Formula 1, Le Mans and Touring Car winners battled for supremacy. In the end, it was the talented duo of Kerry Michael and Jake Hill that claimed victory in their Ford Escort.
The fifth consecutive Hailwood Trophy for classic motorcycles proved to be as nerve-racking a spectacle as ever, as gladiatorial riders vied for position around the fast 2.367-mile track. The Harris-Yamaha TZ350 of Dan Jackson emerged as the overall winner.
Another highlight was the Gordon Spice Trophy, which showcased a section of Group 1 saloon car racers from the 1970s and early ’80s. The varied field included everything from Mk3 Ford Capris to Rover SD1s and Chevrolet Camaro Z28s, but it was the Ford Mustang Boss 302 of Romain Dumas and Fred Shepherd that took victory outright.
The Whitmore Cup for pre-1966 Touring Cars made a welcome return to the Members’ Meeting race card, with classic Lotus Cortinas, Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTAs and Mini Cooper S’s duelling once more. The Lotus Cortina of Guy Smith crossed the line in first place, ahead of Goodwood Festival of Speed hillclimb record holder Max Chilton.
Away from the circuit, collectors convened at Bonhams’ auction tent on Sunday for the annual Members’ Meeting sale. The catalogue was as varied as ever and included everything from a 1928 Bentley Vanden Plas Style Tourer that hammered for £290,950 to a 2024 Lamborghini Revuelto Coupé that fetched £333,500. Happily, the Members’ Meeting sale delivered relatively strong results for Bonhams, and you can read our full post-auction report here.
Goodwood’s next major event – the Festival of Speed – is scheduled for July 10-13, 2025. For tickets and more information, click here.
