PETROLHEADS have flocked to Goodwood to celebrate motoring from days gone by with a host of Ferraris, Aston Martins, Porsches and classic Minis among the many marques on display.

The Goodwood Revival weekend is underway and racing fans in period costume are attending the celebrated event for classic cars and motorbikes.

Organisers at the racecourse near Chichester are expecting a number of celebrity appearances, among them Sixties model Twiggy, former Spice Girl Geri Horner, radio DJ Chris Evans, boxer Chris Eubank Jr, film star Nicholas Hoult, rocker Chris Rea, Pink Floyd drummer Sir Nick Mason, Take That singer Howard Donald, TV presenter and stage star Denise van Outen, and Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud.

Organisers say Sussex is set to “travel back in time to the halcyon days of British motor sport, fashion and entertainment.”

Racegoers dressed as wartime land girls, Battle of Britain pilots, Teddy Boys and Mods are streaming into the circuit eager to watch dozens of races and events.

Neil Elliot, 49, co-founder of Sir Gordon Bennett, a company specialising in British brands, was at the racecourse on Thursday. Shouting over the noise of the engines, he said: “It’s such a huge space, I haven’t been able to see everything. There’ll be Spitfire and Vulcan fly-bys, two markets, a cinema showing Mary Poppins, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Grease. Classic cars are parking by the gates.

“It’s an amazing event. People just like harking back to when things were a little more simple. They dress up properly, and there’s no slouching. They come to get the feeling that they’re not in the modern world.”

The weekend’s racing opened on Friday evening with the Kinrara Trophy, where original GT cars lined up for one of Britain’s most picturesque races.

At 2pm today the St. Mary’s Trophy will see saloon cars built from 1950-59 pitted against one another in what organisers are calling a “David and Goliath” battle. Humble family runabouts will take on mighty Jaguars and powerful American sports cars.

Endurance racer James Wood, who will be at the wheel of a minute Austin A35, offered a driver’s-eye view.

He said: “It’s great fun – although it can also be very frustrating in a small car. In a bigger car, you can just waft around with lots of torque. That’s easy.

“In the little Austin it’s really critical to keep the momentum, which can be tricky and even more so because it’s very busy and everyone’s going for the same bit of Tarmac.

On Sunday, there are another eight races, and the overall winners will be crowned in the St Mary’s Trophy saloon car race and the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy for motorcycles.