Throughout 2026, two-time 500cc World Champion and all-around motorsport icon Barry Sheene will take centre stage, as Goodwood pays tribute to his extraordinary career and enduring legacy.
This will be the first time that Goodwood has celebrated a driver or rider across all three of its headline events: 83rd Members’ Meeting presented by Audrain Motorsport (18-19 April), Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard (9-12 July) and Goodwood Revival (18-20 September).
With 23 Grand Prix victories, and back-to-back 500cc World Championship in 1976 and 1977, Barry Sheene changed the face of motorcycle racing forever. His fearless riding style earned him legions of fans, but it was his superhuman ability to recover from injury, and larger-than-life personality off the bike, that made him the biggest star the sport had ever known, guaranteeing headlines on the front pages as well as the back.
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Barry was an enthusiastic supporter of Goodwood, attending the Festival of Speed and Revival from the very early days. In 2002, he won the Revival’s Lennox Cup motorcycle race, after a fierce battle with his friend and rival Wayne Gardner. Tragically, it would be his final race, before he tragically lost his battle with cancer in March 2003. The Lennox Cup was renamed the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy, ensuring his legacy continues to be honoured at Goodwood today.
In recognition of Barry’s incredible contribution to motorsport, Goodwood will mark the 50th anniversary of his first World Championship title across all three of its headline events.
At the 83rd Members’ Meeting, up to 30 500cc Grand Prix motorcycles spanning Sheene’s career (1974-1984) will take to the track – bikes he rode as well as those he raced against. Running alongside the previously announced tribute to 1976 Formula 1 World Champion James Hunt, the weekend will bring the spirit of 1970s motorsport to life with cars and bikes from the period showcased in the paddocks and on track.
The Festival of Speed will welcome Barry’s family and feature ten of the most significant Grand Prix bikes from his career. This special class will celebrate Sheene’s racing legacy, with his son, Freddie, riding several of his father’s most recognisable bikes up the Goodwood Hill.
The celebrations will culminate at the Goodwood Revival in September, as Sheene’s championship‑winning machines, and those he rode to victory at the Revival, take to the Motor Circuit ahead of the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy.
Steve Parrish, former professional motorcycle racer and friend of Barry said: “It’s been said ‘never meet your heroes’, but thank goodness I did! I met Barry Sheene in 1975 at Brands Hatch. Barry became my mentor, father, brother and mate all rolled into one. We became teammates with Suzuki in 1977 and what a wild, crazy, dangerous ride it became. Some say I was often in the Sheene slipstream, maybe so, but what a tow it was. I will never forget it and will always appreciate the memories, the man, my hero. R.I.P Bazza I hope I get in your team in the upper paddock!”
The Duke of Richmond CBE DL said: “Barry Sheene was an absolute force of nature. A fierce competitor on the track, he remains Britain’s last two-wheeled world champion in the top category. But it was the strength of his personality off the track – warm, cheeky and irreverent in equal measure – and his extraordinary ability to recover from injury, that made him a global superstar. For a generation of fans, he was motorcycle racing. Barry raced many times at Goodwood, and won his very last race here, in 2002, just months before he sadly succumbed to cancer aged just 52. The Revival’s bike race was renamed in his honour the following year. I am delighted that we will be celebrating his unique life across our three events in 2026, on the 50th anniversary of his first world championship. Bringing together the bikes that shaped his career, and welcoming his family and friends, will be a fitting tribute to a man who inspired so many.”
Further details of the celebration will be announced in the coming months, along with additional information about this year’s events.
Tickets to Goodwood’s headline motorsport events are available at goodwood.com.
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Original post on modernclassicbikes.co.uk and published by Frank Duggan. Frank is the Founder and Editor of Modern Classic Motorcycle News, an independent motorcycle publication covering modern classic motorcycles, roadsters, scramblers, cruisers, electric motorcycles and the wider motorcycle industry.
