MAGIC is an illusion. It’s a very clever illusion admittedly, but it’s an illusion nonetheless.

The Oxford Dictionary describes the noun ‘magic’ as “a quality of being beautiful and delightful in a way that seems remote from daily life”.

And there can be no more apt description of the fabulous Goodwood Revival, a phenomenon which has been wowing, charming and thrilling visitors to the quaint West Sussex motor racing circuit in equal measure for the past 20 years.

For it was in 1988 when Lord March decided to both commemorate and recreate the heyday of Goodwood as an iconic motorsport circuit with his brilliant brainchild, the Revival.

And, believe me, the hype surrounding the late-summer extravaganza, which celebrates the halcyon days of the glamorous and romantic days of motorsport during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s each September, is no illusion. The Revival is very real, its success is very real, and it’s mesmerisingly magical.

It’s a place where people can escape their daily routines for three fun-filled days of colourful nostalgia, rubbing shoulders with everyone from fighter piolts, pit crew and wartime nursing staff to teddy boys, glamour pusses and jive dancers.

It’s a place where the past is brought back to life by the myriad actors who look resplendent in their respective outfits to add more than a touch of authenticity and dash to the occasion.

It’s a place where the many thousands of enchanted folk that Revival draws over its three sell-out days, a great many of whom look pristine in their period clothing, can simply drift around and take in and be part of the rich atmosphere that such a complex yet incredibly well-orchestrated event generates.

And what’s particularly fitting is that this is all done with real style and panache to the near-constant soundtrack of the classic racing cars of yesteryear belting and revving around the racetrack at top speed and reliving the glory days of 1948-1966 when racing was a high-profile part of the thriving Goodwood scene.

It would be a very brave person who bets against the Revival somehow getting even bigger and better in the next 20 years. Magical. Simply magical.