Bad weather disrupted this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed but couldn’t blow away or wash out participants and spectators’ enthusiasm marking its 30th anniversary.
McLaren factory driver Marvin Kirchhöfer won the sensational Sunday afternoon Shootout final in the recently unveiled McLaren Solus GT, while over at the prestigious Festival of Speed concours de elegance at the Cartier Style et Luxe Lawn a 1937 Bentley 4¼ litre Rothschild Sedanca Coupe by Gurney Nutting was crowned overall winner from an eclectic mix of historic cars.
First staged in 1993, the Goodwood Festival of Speed has become the world’s largest automotive themed weekend garden party set against the spectacular backdrop of Goodwood with over 600 cars and motorcycles spanning the history of motoring and motorsport taking part.
Unfortunately, this year’s 4-day festival became a 3-day event when Saturday was cancelled due to severe wind warnings issued for the Goodwood area, threatening the safety of temporary structures used throughout the site. But the event returned to full swing Sunday when Ferrari Le Mans winners (below) James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Miguel Molina made their debut on the famous Goodwood House balcony.
Somehow the glamorous 2023 event provided more motorsport anniversaries than ever to celebrate as we marked 75 years of motorsport at Goodwood and 30 years of the Festival of Speed itself with the ever-cheerful Duke of Richmond appropriately opening the event in his stunning Jaguar D-Type, the very car in which he opened the inaugural festival back in 1993 and thus creating another seminal moment for the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Also celebrating 75-year anniversaries was the quintessentially British marque Lotus along with Teutonic Porsche, who also became the first manufacturer to create the Central Feature in front of Goodwood House for the fourth time in event history.
Showcasing some of the most iconic models, the Gerry Judah sculpture featured several Porsche types, and complimented a parade of cars spanning the marque’s history and Porsche Art of Dreams, the stunning artwork created by Chris Labrroy, which also made its debut as a giant racing driver emerged from the Cricket Pitch.
Other notable celebrations included 100 years of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 75 years of NASCAR, 60 years of McLaren, 50 years of WRC and the event’s biggest-ever celebration of MotoGP, in fact something for every racing fan.
Four-time Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel joined on Sunday and took to the Hill in a number of cars from his personal collection, including his ex-Nigel Mansell 1992 Williams FW14B and ex-Ayrton Senna 1993 McLaren MP4/8. Having launched his sustainable fuel campaign in 2022 – Race Without Trace – Vettel encourages the adoption of sustainable fuel by both the motorsport community and the wider world.
As well as established legends, Goodwood welcomed current Formula 1 teams including McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, Scuderia Ferrari, and Williams Racing, affording fans the rare opportunity to see legendary cars from across the decades and meet teams and drivers, including Oscar Piastri, Alex Albon and Mick Schumacher who was behind the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG F1 W02 father Michael drove during his last 2011 Formula 1 season.
Other famous drivers on duty over the weekend included Esteban Gutierrez, Jenson Button, Karun Chandhok, Mika Häkkinen, Damon Hill, Travis Pastrana and Mark Webber.
The top of the expansive Goodwood estate is where the Forest Rally Stage is located which for many provides the hidden gem of the festival and the opportunity to see a wide selection of historic and current rally cars in action on the demanding 2·5 Km chalk stage designed by 1993 world champion driver Hannu Mikkola in 2006.
This year driving celebrities included current WRC Hyundai protagonists Thierry Neuville and Esapekka Lappi, together with M-Sport’s Ott Tanak. Former driver turned Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala drove a Toyota Yaris Rally1 and four-time WRC champion Juha Kankkunen a Toyota Yaris Rally2, but at the end of the weekend it was Roger Duckworth who claimed bragging rights by topping the forest stage shootout times in his well-driven Subaru Impreza WRC S6.
Despite the vagaries of meteorological forecasting, the 2023 Festival proved a fitting 30th anniversary event and a credit to the duke and Goodwood’s resourceful organizing team. The 4-day 2024 Festival dates are 13 – 16 July.
© Words by Ken Davies & Images by Goodwood & Ken Davies
