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This year, eager visitors to the Revival should change their plans. We don’t mean give it a miss — just don’t leave early. Because this year the Revival will be more memorable than ever as it races on into the sunset.

Any racing driver worth their salt will rank the experience of chasing the sunrise or racing into the sunset as the most evocative in motor sports.

That may sound a bit whimsical and romantic for such an otherwise gung-ho bunch, but having been fortunate enough to experience racing into the dawn and the gathering dusk on a number of occasions, I can promise you there’s little to match the magic of lapping a circuit as fast as you dare while one day melts gracefully into the next.

Racing is a sensual thrill ride at the best of times — both for drivers and spectators — but things intensify when racing takes place at either end of the day. Sights become more vibrant, sounds more exaggerated, the smell of hot brakes and engines more pungent than ever. You feel closer to the action, directly connected to drama, in tune with the race thanks to a heightened state of awareness. It is, in short, unforgettable.

Judge for yourself. On Saturday evening, the Freddie March Memorial Trophy will run to a 90-minute, two-driver endurance format for only the second time in the Revival’s 10-year history. This unmissable race promises hard-fought wheel-to-wheel action played out against what — English weather permitting — will hopefully be an equally spectacular sunset.

Honouring the Goodwood Nine-Hour International sports car race of 1952, which ran from 3pm until midnight, the 2008 Freddie March Memorial Trophy will feature cars in the spirit of the original event — evocative machines such as the Jaguar C-type, the Aston Martin DB3S and the Ferrari 750 Monza, as well as a Frazer Nash, Cooper-Jaguar, HWM and Lagonda.

As ever, the Revival’s unique appeal means a handful of motor-racing stars are expected to compete, including Sir Stirling Moss, who took his very first motor-racing victory at Goodwood 60 years ago; the multiple Le Mans 24 Hour winner Derek Bell; the Formula One winner Jochen Mass; and the crowd favourite Barrie “Whizzo” Williams.

All of which means it promises to be the most memorable race of the weekend, as its founder Lord March explains: “Ever since 2002, it has been an ambition of mine to see racing of this sort return to Goodwood. The cars will look magnificent, racing against the backdrop of an autumnal West Sussex sunset, maybe with the odd star twinkling above.”

Having raced through such a setting, I couldn’t agree more. So try to clear some time between the Pimm’s, picnic and cream teas to catch it. And if you’re making a weekend of it, here are five other unmissable races you should catch over the Revival.

St Mary’s Trophy

Always a crowd favourite, the St Mary’s Trophy is a race for the saloon car connoisseur. Like many of the Revival’s races, it alternates between featuring cars of the 1950s and 1960s, but no matter which cars are under the spotlight (this year it’s the oldies) spectacular David and Goliath battles are guaranteed. If you like the idea of a diminutive Austin A35 harrying powerful Mk 1 Jaguars, this is the race for you.

Royal Automobile Club TT Celebration

Watch it and you’ll know why it has been described as the greatest motor race in the world. Featuring some of the most famous names in motor sport at the wheel of some of the most illustrious (and valuable) racing cars in existence, the one-hour, two-driver TT is the highlight of Sunday’s race programme.

Expect to see the finest post-war drivers of their generations battling wheel to wheel in a mouth-watering array of closed-cockpit GT cars from 1960 to 1964.

Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy

Fans of two-wheeled racing will have plenty to celebrate in this new-look event, which shifts its focus from racing motorcycles of the 1960s to machines that dominated the 1950s.

Lifelong bikers and four-wheel enthusiasts alike will surely have their imagination captured by the sight of machines such as the Matchless G45 and Vincent Black Shadow doing battle in the hands of owner-riders and big-name stars of the past and present.

Earl of March Trophy

Powered by 500cc motorcycle engines, the diminutive single-seaters in this event, first run in 1951, are where the stars of the late 1940s to the early 1960s began their careers. Though it features motors that are humble compared with some on show, the class has a particular affinity with Goodwood, and always provides entertaining racing. Star of the field is a Trimax, which features a monocoque chassis instead of the more usual spaceframe design, and bears a striking resemblance to the mighty pre-war Auto Union.

Richmond and Gordon Trophies

An age of heroic drivers and breathtakingly beautiful cars, the 1950s marked the start of the Formula One World Championship we know today. It was also a period of technological revolution, with low-slung rear-engined machines gradually ousting the classic front-engined cars.

This golden age is celebrated in the Richmond and Gordon Trophies, with iconic cars such as the Vanwall, Lancia D50A and Maserati 250F taking the grid alongside rear-engined rarities such as the BRM P48 and the four-wheel-drive Ferguson P99.

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