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I am extraordinarily biased, but I haven't yet been to the Festival hillclimb, but the Circuit Revival has given me without doubt six of the most joyful days of my entire life.
Not that I'm biased.
The cars will be pretty different at the two events.
The hillclimb takes a theme, and will pursue it through racing history. That means you can have machines as diverse as a turn of the century dinosaur heading up the hill, and five minutes later someone like Nick Heidfeld doing the same with the latest McLaren.
Perhaps the personalities to spot are a little more diverse, too. The rally cars and their drivers come out, and I know that people such as Jody Scheckter, who is on record as not wanting to get involved in historic racing, is prepared to come out once in a while and demonstrate a car.
Hopefully some other clever person will be able to give a more specific idea of what's on offer this year. Lord March does try to top his efforts every year, and last year was by all accounts a bit special.
The Revival Meeting, is the most extraordinary step back in time. Everything has been carefully done to give a real feel of motor racing as it was in the late 1950s and early 1960s. My father, who had previously been to Goodwood in 1964, was able to vouch for the fact that EVERYTHING was as it should be.
The cars are exclusively those which would have legitimately raced between 1948 and 1966. While there will be crossover in the entries for the two events, there is no chance of any vehicle older or younger taking part on the circuit.
Even some of the emergency vehicles and recovery trucks are in keeping with the period!
Visitors to the Circuit are strongly encouraged to dress in keeping with the period. That means that the world gets treated to the sight of me in tweeds and a felt trilby hat! And a Bentley club tie, of course.
As to spectating, I have never felt the need for a grandstand ticket at the circuit. I understand from people who have been to the hillclimb that a good view of the hill is sometimes quite a struggle, but the Circuit is so filled with excellent spectating opportunities that I would almost feel stifled by sitting in one fixed spot.
What I have spent money on in the past, is the vital club membership which entitles you to apply for paddock passes. The Goodwood paddock is restricted in space, and would be very difficult to marshal if all and sundry were permitted entry, but the privileged access is very, very expensive.
On the other hand, where else do you get the opportunity of standing shoulder to shoulder with Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jack Brabham, Damon Hill, Barry Sheene, Derek Bell, Jochen Mass, Phil Hill, Carroll Shelby, Murray Walker, Rowan Atkinson, Jackie Oliver, Danny Sullivan and Nick Mason of an afternoon?
I was even chatting with the chief mechanic of a Ferrari last year, and Tony Jardine hustled past, apologising as he did so!
Hope some of this helps.
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