The most-watched race at the Goodwood Revival is not the Royal Automobile Club’s TT Celebration, nor the Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy, but a pedal car race which will this year feature a 70-year-old championship-winning children’s toy.
The Settrington Cup pedal car race at Britain’s beloved Goodwood Revival is often referred to as the world’s cutest car race, with tiny tackers from all over Britain cranking furiously and jostling for track position in their classic Austin J40s.
Since it was first introduced in 2012, the event has grown in stature and popularity, with around 70 restored Austin J40 pedal cars and their drivers lining up for a Le Mans-style start in each of the heats on Saturday and Sunday.
As spectacular as it is to see the hordes of tiny racers surging into the first chicane each year before powering down the Goodwood Motor Circuit straight, this year’s event will feature one particularly special guest entry.
In 1955, young pedal car racer Ted French won the very first Austin Pedal Cars Junior Grand Prix held at Silverstone. The prize for victory was an Austin J40 pedal car, which Ted went on to cherish for the next 70 years. Ted’s J40 still wears its original race number and the battle scars from a well-used and well-loved life.
It was arguably that 1955 Austin Pedal Cars Junior Grand Prix race at Silverstone that brought J40 racing to life and was a moment that almost certainly inspired pedal car racing, and today’s annual Settrington Cup race.
Most, if not all of that fleet of J40’s competing at Goodwood will source their racing bits from Salisbury based Austin Pedal Cars, which offers a full range of spares for the tiny machines. In addition to a range of restoration options, the company says its J40 parts are designed to original specifications, using modern techniques, for a perfect fit and the highest quality.
A team from Austin Pedal Cars team met with Ted French while writing a book on the history of the J40, realising during their research that 2025 will mark 70 years since Ted’s victory at Silverstone. It was subsequently agreed that the J40 he won as a prize back in 1955 needed to be raced to mark this special anniversary.
Hence why, 70 years after it was awarded as a prize during the first ever J40 pedal car race, Ted’s car will compete at Goodwood’s Settrington Cup, the largest and most famous J40 race in the world.
The little Austin will be fully prepared by Austin Pedal Cars to be race-ready, but the preparations will avoid resprays and panel beating to ensure the J40 retains its original patina.
Mark Burnett, managing director of Austin Pedal Cars, said: “While this car was built in 1955, it has been enjoyed throughout its life. Now sympathetically restored it is sure to cause a stir throughout the Revival weekend.”
Exactly who will be at the wheel of the classic J40 pedal car on September 17-18 this year is not yet decided, as that honour is being gifted by Austin Pedal Cars to a lucky winner who enters their online competition to win a place on the Settrington Cup Race Grid.
Not only will the lucky young winner grid up at the iconic event, becoming part of pedal car racing history in the process, but they’ll be able to bring their family along too, as the prize also includes tickets for four to the Revival weekend.
The good news is that we’ve read the T&Cs, and nowhere does it say the winner has to come from the UK, although any Aussie lucky enough to claim the spot will need to cover their own costs to get there.
You also need to be over 18 to enter and be able to nominate a driver aged between 4-11 years old at the time of the event who has a recommended inside leg measurement of between 45-67cm (with shoes off).
The body of Austin J40s cannot be modified in any way from their original specs for Goodwood, and there are scrutineers present on race days checking this and all manner of other vehicle specifications to ensure everyone plays by the rules.
The competition is via a prize draw with the winner chosen at random from the list of entrants who have entered via the sign-up form on the Austin Pedal Cars website.
The competition closes on June 28, 2025, so get cracking you little Aussie battlers!
