Ever since Lord March decided he wanted to bring racing back to the historic estate and refused to take no for an answer The Goodwood Festival of Speed (26-29 June) has become one of the highlights of the British motoring calendar.
For auto fans there really isn’t another event like the Festival of Speed. Whether your interest is vintage cars or the very latest in contemporary horsepower the unique weekend is a fantastic racing experience. For equally impressive performance, grab some great Goodwood memorabilia or send your autoparts business class with Fastlane International.
This annual extravaganza of historic and iconic models, high-performance cars, supercars, hypercars (cars too expensive or high performance to be a ‘lowly’ supercar) and Formula One cars is matched only by the array of discerning petrolheads and car enthusiasts rubbing shoulders with the likes of Jensen Button, Stirling Moss, Damon Hill, Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton. All in all, the perfect warm-up for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on 6 July.
This internationally renowned event around the grounds of Goodwood House, West Sussex showcases a dazzling range of contemporary and historic motor vehicles from locations all over the world. More than a century of motor racing history is covered by the classics on display while this year’s festival theme is ‘Addicted to Winning - The Unbeatable Champions of Motor Sport.’ This theme celebrates the drivers, riders, teams and manufacturers who have reached the pinnacle in the motor racing field.
Main highlights include the F1 Paddock for Williams, Ferrari, Red Bull and the F1 supermachines, the Michelin Supercar Paddock for seriously high-performance, seriously high priced beauties, Cartier Style & Luxe for the world’s greatest retro classics, and the main attraction – the legendary Hillclimb.
Anyone with a passion for exotic machines will love the Supercar Paddock, where there will be more than 40 supercars with some pretty incredible combined horsepower between them. The Motorcycle Paddock hosts 40+ of the most revered and powerful bikes in the world and there’s also attendance by a broad range of star drivers, many of whom will attempt to push their bike of choice up the Hillclimb.
The Hillclimb competition takes place throughout the weekend and covers a distance of 1.16 miles. It might be short but the course rises up some 300ft between the start and the end and is a true white-knuckle ride to test the skills of some of the best drivers in the world. Concentration and speed are key to a successful Hillclimb attempt although no one has yet broken the record that was set by Nick Heidfeld in the McLaren MP4-13 in 1999. The Hillclimb is probably the most representative event of the Festival of Speed, and one of the most high octane too. For many visitors, standing next to the course as some of the most incredible machines in the world hurtle up it is a genuinely thrilling up-close-and-personal experience.
Really though The Goodwood Festival of Speed is just a great excuse to immerse yourself in automobiles of all shapes and sizes, from old school minis through to the McLaren P1, the Lamborghini Huracan, the Koenigsegg One and almost everything in between. The Moving Motor Show runs throughout the event and on the Thursday is dedicated to giving visitors the chance to see the latest and most impressive models right up close.
