At the top of any motorsport enthusiast’s bucket list ought to be a visit to one of the historic gatherings held annually at the Goodwood Estate in Great Britain. The organizers tend to recognize major milestones in the sport, with two of this year’s being the centennial of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 60th birthday of the Porsche 911, both huge happenings. They’ve also focused on 2023 as the 100th anniversary of the late Carroll Shelby’s birth, announcing today that Shelby’s lifetime and accomplishments will be the tribute subject at the Goodwood Revival, set to take place September 8th through 10th at the historic estate and hillclimb.
Could you have asked for a better photo of Ol’ Shel, decked out in the bib overalls that formed his driving uniform, while better-attired officially look on a little disdainfully from the background? Today is indeed Shelby’s 100th birthday, the outset of a life that saw him do everything from capture Le Mans as a driver to create groundbreaking sports cars with gargantuan Ford engines that are still be produced in tribute fashion to this very day. As predicted now, Goodwood will mark Shelby’s remarkable life with a full-on Cobra presence that will include a field of the cars taking part in the Royal Automobile Club TT Celebration. Meanwhile, the Whitsun Trophy event at Goodwood will host a number of examples of the Ford GT40, whose design Shelby played such an integral part in refining when Ford was bent on global motorsport conquest. If you like old race cars from all over the world, being exercised at full gallop, then Goodwood is positively paradise and well worth the airfare and transportation costs to get there.
Jim Donnelly On Wheels 