This year would have been Carroll Shelby’s 100th birthday. For that reason, Goodwood has announced that the legendary American driver, car manufacturer, and entrepreneur will be celebrated at this year’s Goodwood Revival over the weekend of 8-10 September 2023. The celebration of Shelby’s birth will be honored with one of Goodwood’s signature tributes, comprising cars that were not only raced but also designed and developed by the 1959 Le Mans winner.
Goodwood Revival: Carroll Shelby 100th Birthday Celebration
Running across the weekend, the centenary will include the likes of the MG-TC, in which Shelby competed for the first time in 1952. Shelby’s impact on motor racing can be seen every year at the Revival, and 2023 will be no different, as an assortment of Cobra – the Anglo-American sports cars for which he is best known – are set to take to the track in the all-star Royal Automobile Club TT Celebration, which is something fans certainly will want to take advantage of. Meanwhile, the Whitsun Trophy will host several examples of the Ford GT40, whose design Shelby played an integral part in refining. Ford vs. Ferrari is a good movie that highlights this story; if you have yet to see it, you should.
As Goodwood celebrates 75 years of the Motor Circuit and 25 years of the Revival, it’s a chance to reflect on the motorsport legends who have come and gone over the years. Carroll Shelby is no exception, having raced at Goodwood during the Circuit’s heyday in arguably one of the most critical and dramatic races in the annals of British motorsport: the 1959 RAC Tourist Trophy. This race saw him share the winning DBR1/300 with his co-drivers Jack Fairman and Stirling Moss – the latter a late addition after his car was eliminated in a spectacular fire during a routine pit stop. Earlier that season, Shelby had won Le Mans, sharing the same DBR1 with Roy Salvadori, and victory in the Tourist Trophy secured the World Championship for Aston Martin.
Once racing returned to Goodwood with the creation of the Revival, Shelby wasn’t far behind, attending the third iteration of the event in 2000, where he ran a Shelby Daytona Coupe driven by American IndyCar champion and F1 driver Danny Sullivan. So, 2023 will be a memorable year for Goodwood as they celebrate Carroll Shelby as an iconic figure whose legacy is keenly felt at Goodwood and in the broader motorsport world.
