78th Goodwood Members’ Meeting Gets Provisional 2021 Date
Goodwood has confirmed that the postponed 78th edition of its annual Members’ Meeting is now tentatively set to take place on 10-11 April next year.
Originally scheduled for 28-29 March this year, Goodwood’s 78th Members’ Meeting was ultimately postponed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, preceding similar announcements for both the Goodwood Revival and the Festival of Speed in the process. However, in an effort to both preserve the essential character of the 78MM and re-establish the event as Goodwood’s season opener, organisers have opted to forego a 2020 date altogether and concentrate on the 2021 schedule instead, as explained in an official statement.
“With social distancing measures looking set to continue throughout the summer of 2020, it has become increasingly clear that the character of Goodwood’s Members’ Meeting would have to change drastically. Not wanting to compromise what makes the Members’ Meetings so special we have decided to delay the event and it is now set to take place in April 2021.”
Speaking with “an extremely heavy heart” meanwhile, the Duke of Richmond, owner of the Goodwood estate, explained:
“We were very sad to postpone the 78th Members’ Meeting in March this year, but were confident that it was the right thing to do to protect our visitors, competitors and staff. The 78th Members’ Meeting will be our best yet, and we are already working to see how we can add to the spectacular racing we had planned.” Said original plans included “a two-part S.F. Edge Trophy for fire-breathing Edwardian leviathans”, and a two-heat, one-final tournament for the Gerry Marshall Trophy featuring up to 60 Group 1 saloons.
All tickets purchased for the 2020 dates will be honoured in April 2021.
Originally conceived by the 9th Duke of Richmond in 1948 to celebrate the opening of the Goodwood Circuit, the Members’ Meeting was an event dedicated to members of the British Automobile Racing Club, and by the time official competition came to a close at Goodwood in 2 July 1966, 71 editions of the MM had already taken place. Following high demand from the members of the Goodwood Road Racing Club, the event was officially revived in 2014, and, since then, has been dedicated to tin-tops, GTs, motorbikes and the myriad of single seaters to have competed in period between 1948 and 1966.
*Images courtesy of Laura Kukuk. You can also check out Laura’s thoughts on last year’s 77th Members’ Meeting by clicking HERE.
