The race car paddock was literally like all my birthdays and Christmases coming together in one, giant and overwhelming gift. Before the weekend I had read John Brooks' coverage of the 2008 event so I had some idea of what to expect. Even so, the quality and rarity of the cars present would almost bring you to tears. What's more is that they weren't just here for your viewing pleasure, they were here to race.

The paddock was jam packed with both people and cars. I've never seen the public so close to a live pits before which made getting shots that little bit more difficult.

The Revival race meeting covers the 1930s to the 1960s from open wheel to tin top and from four wheels to two. The paddock is quite comprehensive in it's variety of machines that are preparing to race.

This 1966 P3 was a car I had specifically went looking for. I'll admit to being quite ignorant about the history of sports car racing (It's something I plan on studying during those quite winter evenings) but the P3 was always a personal favourite of mine.

Even more so is the Ford GT40. Living in a Ford household all my life, it was always going to hold a special place in my heart.

This is the very first time I'd ever laid eyes on a GT40 in the flesh, it brought me a kind of personal joy that I last experienced as a child.

Trying to squeeze off photographs in the paddock was very tough. Although the pits themselves were well spaced, there just seemed to be people everywhere !

Those iconic Lotus colours are always sure to attract attention.

A grid of open wheeled Formula cars, underneath the humble shelters was quite a sight.

This 1951 Maserati A6GCM was competing in the Richmond Trophy race, a twenty five minute race for front engined GP cars.

At the back of the race car paddock was the airfield, which housed amongst others this rather fantastic Supermarine Spitfire (I think, it's been a long, long time since I was a bit of a WWII aero-anorak)

The sight and sound of the two Spitfires accompanying a Lancaster bomber for a couple of low passes was mind blowing. The sound was akin to that of an impending apocalypse.

After the event, I done some research on the connection between Goodwood and the Battle of Britain tribute. During the war, the land upon which Goodwood now stands was known as RAF Westhampnett, a base which housed both Spitfire and Hurricane crews. 2010 is the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and no less than nine veterans of the war were present at the event. It's such an incredible accumulation of history in one place, truely fascinating.

I'll be back in part three with a further look at the car show, along with a couple of outtakes from the event and a look at some of the more modern machinery lurking in the car park.

Paddy

Goodwood Coverage on Speedhunters