Even if the locals had failed to notice the pre-publicity, they knew the Goodwood Revival meeting had come round again because of the weight and, more importantly, the type of traffic. There was little chance of road rage, however.

How could anyone shake their fist at an Austin Healey Sprite or beep their horn in frustration at an early Bentley? And those are just the cars belonging to the spectators.

On the track itself, at the weekend, there were races featuring cars that competed there in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Bugattis, Maseratis and Jaguars older than their present owners were thrown round the corners as if fleeing from the police.

We enjoyed a more sedate circuit in between the competitions in the back of a 1961 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II Drophead. From the comfort of its pistachio-green leather seats, we followed in the wake of the track marshal inspecting the race surface.

The highlight of the weekend was the West Sussex at War parade to commemorate Operation Overlord— much of the build-up to the D-Day landings took place in these parts. Before becoming a racing circuit, the site was home to Spitfires and Hurricanes.

The roar of the only two Lancaster bombers still flying really did take the 23 Second World War veterans present back to another age.

* This article was first published in Country Life on September 17 2014

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