Rallying From Paris To Goodwood Is The Only Way To Go

Photography by Ted Gushue

As all roads once lead to Rome, for a few days a year in the classic car community, it’s safe to say that all roads lead to Goodwood. And so it was this year when I joined my friends Etienne Raynaud & Guillaume Metayer of Journees d’Automne, Benjamin West, Xavier Micheron, and the whole crew of rally enthusiasts we’ve met through Veuve Clicquot Champagne.

We started off in Paris, directly in front of the Ritz, smack dab in the middle of Place Vendome. Etienne was behind the wheel of his gorgeously weathered Jaguar XK120, Ben behind the wheel of the Clicquot Bentley, Xavier at the helm of his AC ACECA Bristol, and a smattering of some of France’s most interesting behind the wheels of a collection of Ferrari 275 GTBs, an Aston Martin DB6, another XK120 and a hulking Rolls that had been converted to a Bentley to cruise Parisian streets with a bit more discretion.

The first stop of the rally would be a few hours outside of Paris in Reims, France, at the ancestral home of Madame Clicquot, herself an early practitioner of enjoying a large bottle of champagne after a long road trip. Hotel Du Marc has been meticulously restored with an eye to the future. A fabulous four course meal and an excursion to the Champagne caves below netted us all a significant buzz, sending us straight to bed.

The next day was an early wakeup followed by a Le Mans style dash to the cars…we had a ferry to catch, after all. If you haven’t taken the English Channel Ferry, it’s a worthwhile adventure, if for the fish and chips alone.

We arrived in Devon roughly four hours after departure, a bit road weary and a little sea sick, but all in all chipper. The house we would be staying at is known as Little Thakeham, a gorgeous Lutyens-designed house built in 1921. Dinners were served in grand scale, parties were had, champagne was enjoyed—but the real action throughout the weekend would be just a few short miles down the road.

For our full coverage of the 2016 Goodwood Revival, please head on over to the following links, with a bit more to come:

For The Birds: Goodwood Revival’s Costume Carnival Delivers

Here Are 33 Reasons To Daydream About The Goodwood Revival

A Stroll Through The Goodwood Revival Paddock Is Really A Ticket To Wonderland

Here’s To The Mechanics That Kept The Goodwood Revival Running