Video: 2024 Earl of March Trophy highlights | Goodwood Revival

These Formula 3 cars make quite a sight on the circuit, due to the fact that they have minimal bodywork and drivers are seated in front of the engine. All together this produces fast and furious action – the last running of this race five years ago was curtailed by a red flag, after an incident involving Stuart Wright’s Mk.VI enabled Peter de la Roche in his Cooper-JAP Mk5 to retain the trophy.

2024 Earl of March Trophy highlights

Dark clouds were rolling over the Goodwood Motor Circuit from dawn, and there was an inevitability that one or more races would succumb to a deluge during day three of the 2024 Revival. And it was the first race of the day that would be washed out by a cloudburst. If you were going to choose a racing car to drive through biblical rainfall, it probably wouldn’t be one of the diminutive 500cc single-seaters in the Earl of March Trophy. For one thing, the drivers sit almost on the cars rather than in them, leaving them exposed to the elements.

Drivers battled valiantly through the worst rain Goodwood has seen in the modern era until the safety car was deployed, and then a red flag. The deep puddles, bouncing rain and rooster tails of spray all made for a spectacle if not good racing, as you’ll see in this highlights video.

Official practice for the 2024 Earl of March Trophy

Official practice for the Earl of March Trophy gave us our first insight into how these starter single seaters were going to handle a wet Goodwood Motor Circuit. Truthfully, per their remit we suppose, they’re the perfect sort of cars to get your eye in when it comes to managing your lines and inputs when grip is wanting.

It’s especially important given these little cars are far from the fastest in the world, and therefore pace is very much dictated by how much momentum you conserve and how much speed you carry. It really is about finding the finest furrows of the circuit that hook your tyres up just that little bit better, that let you maintain your pace.

At the sharp end it was Tom Waterfield in his Cooper-Norton MkVIII that separated himself from the rest of the pack. His 2:04.7 time was a full 4.4 seconds up on that of the chasing Harry Painter in his Cooper MkVII.

He did however have a good few more laps than any of the rest of the top 15, going around seven times. The next longest runner managed five laps. That proves really, that the last couple of laps to really deploy what you’ve been trying to learn as quickly as possible over those first few, are utterly crucial.

Photography by Jordan Butters.

2024 Earl of March Trophy grid (Top 15)

Which cars are in the Earl of March Trophy?

Expect to see the likes of the Cooper Norton and Cooper-JAP, as well as the Erskine Staride Norton Mk3 lining up on the grid this year, as these 500cc Formula 3 cars battle it out. Diminutive machines from Comet, Kieft, Flash and Arnott will all be taking to the Motor Circuit for the Earl of March Trophy.

The Cooper Norton has by far the best pedigree, with some variation winning six out of ten races. The Cooper Norton Mk8 consecutively won the first four runnings of the Earl of March Trophy with Julian Majzub behind the wheel.

Which drivers are in the Earl of March Trophy?

With no race taking place since 2019, this year’s Earl of March Trophy is without its most recent winner, Peter de la Roche, who’s victory five years ago in a Cooper-JAP Mk5 marked his second triumph in this race, having also won in 2015, on that occasion in a Cooper-Norton Mk5. While Peter is absent for this year’s running, Richard de la Roche is set to be on the starting line behind the wheel of a Smith-Buckler-JAP.

Speaking of previous winners, 2008’s victor, Simon Frost, returns to the Earl of March Trophy in 2024 making him the only past champion in the race. That win came in a Cooper-Norton Mk11, and this year he’ll be driving a Martin-Norton.

When is the Earl of March Trophy?

As one of the later races on the schedule, Official Practice for the Earl of March Trophy will take place on Friday 6^th September, ahead of the race on Sunday 9^th. You can find the exact timings for the Earl of March Trophy in the 2024 Revival timetable. 

Previous winners of the Earl of March Trophy

The 2024 Goodwood Revival takes place on 6^th-8^th September. Click here to view the full entry list.

You can also see the full Goodwood Revival timetable here.

Photography by Jordan Butters, Nick Dungan and Drew Gibson.