View from V2 Radio - From the Goodwood Grid to the Bersted Gridlock - By V2 Radio's Peter Phillips

Step inside the gates of the Goodwood Motor Circuit for the Revival, and you are instantly transported to an era of pure romance. You can smell the Castrol oil and high-octane fuel as classic Jaguars, sleek Aston Martins, and historic Formula 1 cars roar around the famous track. In this space, driving is treated as an art form—defined by sports cars, leather driving gloves, and the sheer thrill of motoring.

Then, when it’s time to leave, the motoring illusion doesn't just fade; it hits a wall of high-visibility jackets, temporary lights, and bright yellow diversion signs.

The reality of driving around West Sussex today feels less like a lap of honour and more like an energy-sapping endurance test. If legendary racing drivers like Senna or Fangio were around today, their sharp reflexes would be wasted not on overtaking rivals at Madgwick Corner, but on navigating the multi-phase nightmare that has gripped our local commutes.

The contrast is spectacular. At Goodwood, engineering marvels accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in under six seconds. Meanwhile, just down the road at Bersted, local drivers are lucky if they can move 60 metres in six minutes!

Since June, the gas main works on the B2259 Chichester Road have effectively severed one of the main lifelines out of Bognor. While the classic cars enjoy a meticulously swept track, local motorists have spent months trapped in an involuntary holding pattern, forced onto the Bersted relief road, weaving through unavoidable bottlenecks. My daily commute is defined not by the roaring symphony of a V12 engine, but by the rhythmic, maddening click of indicators as I sit in tailbacks, staring at the slow-moving crawl towards a roundabout—and potential freedom.

A Sunday drive along the coast used to be a leisurely afternoon out, rather than a tactical mission requiring live alerts, satellite navigation, and an extra hour of travel time. The car once represented ultimate freedom. Today, trapped somewhere between the Bersted diversions and the eternal mystery of the A27 congestion, it represents little more than a very expensive mobile waiting room.

Perhaps that is why we flock to Goodwood in our thousands. It isn't just about the beautiful machinery or the celebrity drivers. It is a form of collective escapism.

For a few brief hours, we can pretend that cars are still symbols of speed, glamour, and liberty—before we inevitably trundle back down the road, hit the brake lights, and join the back of the queue home.

If you want to avoid the queues, don’t forget V2 Radio has unrivalled local travel news throughout the day, plus live travel maps for the south at V2Radio.co.uk, and on the mobile app.