Rolex, the luxury Swiss watchmaking brand started off by making ‘tool watches’ for adventurers like the Submariner, Explorer, Milgauss. These watches were built tough and can outlast the lifetime of the owner, and later on passed down to the next generation, carrying the patina obtained through its lifetime. This is a similar story for us car enthusiasts, we take pride in preserving the vintage cars of bygone years by maintaining them devotedly. So much so that we celebrate that as a tradition! The Goodwood Revival, as the name suggests, is a three-day meeting of iconic cars participating in various races filling the atmosphere with nostalgia and the aura of bygone years. After a break of one year due to the pandemic, Goodwood Revival was celebrated from September 17 to 19, in West Sussex.
Rolex has been an active contributor in various types of motorsports since Sir Malcolm Campbell set the World Land Speed Record. On September 3, 1935, he established his last land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, becoming the first person to drive a car faster than 300mph (483kmph for us metric users), averaging 301.337mph (484.955kmph) in two passes. And since 2004, Rolex has been the official timekeeping partner of the Goodwood Revival making it the latest comrade after Formula 1, 24 Hours of LeMan, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, and Rolex 24.
The three days at Goodwood Motor Circuit were action-packed! The Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy marks the start of the Revival in which 30 GT cars from the era of ‘50s and ‘60s participating in a race. If witnessing 30 heart-achingly beautiful cars racing against each other was not enough, they planned the race during the golden hour! On the following day was the John Whitemore Trophy with various champions from across motorsport on the grid racing their Mini Coopers. On the last day, the mixed track condition escalated the drama even more for the Royal Automobile Club TT Celebration. And everyone was touched by the daily tributes to Sir Stirling Moss. Around 60 cars from the British racing driver’s amazing career were present to pay homage.
Rolex Testimonee for 53 years and three-time FIA Formula 1 Drivers’ World Champion Sir Jackie Stewart says “Everyone has been so desperate to see the Revival return, and it has come back with force in 2021. The collection of cars is, as usual, outstanding, and, likewise, the collection of people – it can’t be compared to anything else in the world, that’s why Rolex supports this event. It’s a privilege to attend and get swept up in the extraordinary detail of such a unique occasion, I absolutely love it.”
This September marked the 23rd Goodwood Revival and it will be the 17th year of the event partnering with Rolex. Time is a valuable dimension in the automotive world, the racers race against it and some try to preserve it by preserving their cars. And the involvement of a brand like Rolex deepens the relation of the automotive world and time.