THE WORLD’S biggest historic motor race meeting, Goodwood Revival, roars into action today – a month after the capped capacity 150,000 tickets sold out.

It crowns a spectacular year for Goodwood, for following the record 196,000 at July’s Festival of Speed, it means the two weekends on the stately estate near Chichester have drawn more than a third of a million enthusiasts to the region.

The Revival, which fills hotels and B&Bs across the southern counties and generates tens of millions for the region’s businesses, is uniquely set in the timewarp of the Sussex circuit’s heyday from post-war to 1965.

Everybody dresses to the period in a fun atmosphere largely responsible for triggering the vintage fashion revival, and the race machines too are strictly tied to the post-war decades. But even though many of the cars are worth millions of pounds apiece, they are raced by very competitive aces guaranteeing three days of rubber-burning action.

And overhead the venue’s wartime history as a fighter base is celebrated with a succession of air displays including Spitfires, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and the rare surviving Canberra bomber.

The field of drivers is heavy with legends and champions, from celebrities like actor Rowan Atkinson, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, Winchester celebrity chef James Martin and Salisbury TV presenter Tiff Needell to Goodwood patrons Sir Stirling Moss and John Surtees and Sir Jackie Stewart.

Other automotive heroes include former Grand Prix stars like Jean Alesi, Jochen Mass, Jackie Oliver, Red Bull F1 supremos Christian Horner and Adrian Newey, sports car legend Derek Bell, and nine-times Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen.

Action on two wheels includes the Barry Sheene Memorial motorcycle races, with aces like Wayne Gardner and Phil Read as well as Barry’s son Freddie Sheene. But this year there will be a big accent on pedal power too, with a celebration of 110 years of the Tour de France cycling classic, the field joined by our own Sir Chris Hoy who is racing a Mini Cooper S.