Goodwood Revival 2025

Written by owner, Ian Jones

This was our second invite to race in the Goodwood Trophy and having failed to get off the starting line last year the pressure was on!

We have spent the year, since Revival 2024, addressing the lessons learnt; brakes, supercharger, gearbox, fuel all fell into that bucket of learning.

Once addressed, a period of intensive testing commenced. This involved rolling road testing to refine the setup for best fuel mixture and HP, followed by track testing to ensure reliability and endurance.

​This year we were delighted to have partners and sponsors onboard, although it did, of course, add to the stress and pressure of having to deliver on the day.

​Weeks leading up to the Revival encompassed little, if any, sleep and intensive testing resulted in a car capable of reliably delivering 200HP with 14 lbs boost.

​All the family and sponsors attended this year, adding a new dimension to the day and we arrived with the bad weather again!
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Friday was qualifying day. We prepped the car and all was good so we set off to qualify at midday.

Within a couple of laps the unthinkable happened. Engine failure!   

​At this point my world imploded and we began an anxious wait for the car to be towed back to the pits. ​Detonation in piston 4 was swiftly diagnosed and root cause found. All was not lost, we could still race on Saturday! We just needed to fix the car...
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​​Whilst transporting parts to Goodwood from Cambridge, the engine was stripped in preparation for a piston transplantation! Work continued late into the night after which we had a working car.

Hard work and a ‘’can do’ attitude in times of adversity paid off and having arrived Saturday am after little sleep we prepped the car for the 9:30am race. The strategy was to drive to finish the race, unless Gareth felt confident with the car, then it was race to win!

Like a bad omen the weather closed in and the heavens opened deluging the event in heavy rain; however as we were called to the holding bay the rain stopped and it remained clear until the race was over.

All cars began engine warming and the next minute they were off round the track prepping for the start. We qualified at the back of the pack (26th).

Suddenly the race was on and they were off!

At this point I could not watch the race, although I could hear my family screaming as the car went by lap after lap. At this point I realised we had a reliable car and Gareth was frequently overtaking other drivers. The race was definitely on!

At one point we were 10th, then dropped to 12th. On the final lap the battle was on with the Alfa Romeo for 11th position. Gareth was in his element and floored the car overtaking the Alfa just at the finish line securing 11th position. 

Needless to say we all erupted in cheers and tears of joy, everyone hugging everyone! The Vanguard was the first NZ car to compete and complete a race at Goodwood.
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It took a long time for this success to sink in and looking back it still seems unreal! Based on this achievement, the car will return in 2026 for more success we hope.