Postcard from the Goodwood Festival of Speed

Posted on August 5, 2016.

Report and pictures by Ed Brown

Now in its twenty-third year and with an increased four day attendance approaching two hundred and fifty thousand visitors; the Festival of Speed remains a pre-eminent celebration of endeavour on two, four and more wheels. With multiple exhibits from global motor manufacturers and renowned private collections, combined with the stars who have shaped our sport…the event remains unmissable, whatever your preferred discipline!!
Celebrating its centenary, BMW AG was this year’s featured marque; with Gerry Judah’s biggest ever “sculpture” outside Goodwood House, displaying the pre-war 328 Mille Miglia roadster, the 1999 Le Mans-winning V12 LMR, and the Gordon Murray-designed Brabham-BMW BT52 F1, which finished third in the 1983 championship. Additional celebrations included:

• forty years since James Hunt’s F1 World Championship win
• forty years since Barry Sheene’s 500cc World Championship victory
• fifty years of the unrestricted Can-Am series

The three established paddocks, located either side of the House, were split by entrants of the Cartier Style et Luxe Concours, and with an eclectic entry of forty cars, (including two stunning Rolls Royce’s from Lord Bamford’s collection) ranged from four variants of one of my pre-war favourites, the Vauxhall 30/98, via the long chassis Lancia Lambda, to a very rare Renault Alpine. Overall winner was Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A.’s own, 1971 Muira SV.

The adjacent supercar display has evolved into a global showroom – this year, more than thirty manufacturers displayed production models, prototypes or design concepts. Ferrari S.p.A. presented a FXXK, the unique 458 Mille Miglia, the sonorous 599FXX and the updated California. Aston Martin its stunning “track-day only” Vulcan and Bugatti, its new Chiron. Very popular with visitors  were the all–new Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio, the very limited production McLaren P1 LM and the latest Honda NSX.

The well attended Bonhams Auction had something for every pocket – with an extensive selection of automobilia, cherished number plates and fast-road/competition cars, several of which sold at very advantageous prices….. sadly, “my” car of the sale – the gorgeous 1966 Ferrari 275GTB, didn’t.
With the F1 season at halfway point; seven teams stopped off en-route to Spielberg, to entertain in the mixed weather of the Sussex countryside – Williams, McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull and Renault shared the limelight, with Jenson Button driving the ex-Prost McLaren MP4 and Martin Brundle, the Brawn BGP001, chassis#2. Elsewhere, three-times world champions Jackie Stewart and Emerson Fittipaldi demonstrated a Lola T70 Spyder and McLaren F1 GTR respectively, and noted first time visitors included multiple NASCAR Championship-winning, team owner, and former racer, Richard Childress.

On the “hill”, the Ferrari enthusiast was well catered for – F1 test driver, Marc Gene, drove the 2014-spec F60; historic racer, Paul Knapfield hustled his unique 712 Can-Am, Sally Mason-Styrron and Tim Summers were quick in their 166MM and Swedish-liveried, Group 4 Daytona respectively, and Paul Vestey and Doug Nye shared the former’s ex-Maranello Concessionaires, 275GTB/C.

The continued popularity of Goodwood can be seen from the number of famous drivers and riders, past and present, who relish the opportunity to be reunited with their original charges – this year the “Drivers Club” welcomed amongst many others – Rene Arnoux, Mark Webber, John Surtees, Ricardo Patrese, Frank Biela, Jochen Mass, Sir Stirling Moss, John McGuinness, Bobby Labonte, Bruce Anstey, Emmanuele Pirro, Ken Block, Troy Corser, Giacomo Agostini, Steve Soper, Derek Bell, Jean Ragnotti, Matt Neal and Freddie Spencer.

Congratulations to overall winner Ollie Clark; with back-to –back victories in his 750bhp Subaru, just ahead of former Indy 500 winner Kenny Brack in the latest McLaren P1 LM – whilst “my driver of the weekend” was 2015 Dakar Rally Truck-class champion, Ayrat Mardeev, who having driven the 950hp Kamaz-4326, 2,755 miles from Russia to Goodwood proceeded to oversteer his way up the hill-climb over the weekend, at ever more lurid angles.