V8 Can-Am brutes at the 2023 Revival | Whitsun Trophy

09th September 2023

Adam Wilkins

The Whitsun Trophy brings out the fastest cars of the Goodwood Revival weekend, bringing all the drama you'd expect as these V8-engined Can Am monsters took their turn on track. When they take off from the line, you’d swear you can feel the ground shake as a field full of big-capacity V8 engines are unleashed in unison. Watching them barrel into Madgwick for the first time is an unmissable spectacle.

The pack converted horsepower to tyre smoke when leaving the grid, and once things had evened out it was the battle for second place between the McLaren M1B of Stuart Hall and Oliver Bryant's Lola T70. After a safety car incident, it was James Davison (McLaren M1B) who made the best restart and converted that into a win when the flag dropped.

The cars of the Whitsun Trophy raced at Goodwood just before it closed for motorsport in 1966, so it’s no coincidence that these are the quickest of the Revival. Indeed, it was the pace of the machines in period that convinced Freddie March that cars were becoming too fast for the Goodwood Motor Circuit. They were a high water mark at the time, and they’re a high water mark at Revival.

Alongside the Lolas and McLarens, we have Lotuses, Crossles and Ford GT40s. We've even got a Cobra interloper in the form of Bill Shepherd in a specially-prepared prototype. One thing they almost all have in common is a big-block V8 engine from either Chevrolet or Ford, giving the race its distinctive soundtrack.