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The Goodwood Festival of Speed yet again achieved a record crowd
attendance, with 158,000 people joining the 10th anniversary
celebrations over the weekend.
On the hill were many of the great cars and famous faces to have
visited the event over the years. Highlights included Juan Pablo
Montoya in the Williams-BMW FW24, David Coulthard in the beautiful
Mercedes-Benz W196 Streamliner, Jenson Button in his BAR-Honda, Sir
Stirling Moss and John Surtees in historic Mercedes-Benz racing
cars, Sir Jackie Stewart re-united with Tyrrell 001, Mick Doohan
riding Honda World Superbike, Kiwi ace Rod Millen challenging the
hill record in his Toyota Tacoma Pike’s Peak hillclimber; plus
all-American showman Bob Riggle in his amazing wheel-standing
dragster, Hurst Hemi Under Glass.
As well as the heroes of motor sport’s past, some of the biggest
names of the current era took to the hill. No less than seven
Formula One teams were in action during the weekend, and current WRC
sensation Petter Solberg thrilled the crowds with an outrageous
display of dust-swirling doughnuts on the course outside Goodwood
House.
Meanwhile, away from the machinations of high-octane motor sport,
the Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’ provided a bastion of serenity where 50
great motoring icons took part in this prestigious automotive design
competition. Equally, the Dunhill Soapbox Challenge provided its
usual thrills and spills with nothing more than gravity to power the
purpose-built racers.
The Tenth Anniversary Festival of Speed was widely acclaimed as the
best ever.
A Long History
Motor racing first came to Goodwood in 1936 when the Earl of March
held a private hillclimb through the park. Five years earlier he had
won the Brooklands Double 12 and in 1948, as the Duke of Richmond,
he opened the Goodwood Motor Circuit. These early events inspired
his grandson Charles March to revive motor sport in the park and
this resulted in the first Goodwood Festival of Speed held in 1993.
In just ten years the Goodwood Festival of Speed has become the
biggest international historic motor racing event in the world. Held
in the beautiful parkland surrounding Goodwood House the Festival of
Speed has been described as the Garden Party of the Gods and is now
a fixture on the summer social calendar.
Festival of Speed – The First Decade
In 2003 the Goodwood Festival of Speed celebrated its tenth
anniversary, and in recognition of this important milestone the
Festival focussed on some of the most memorable highlights from the
ten events to date, with a terrific field of cars and motorcycles
representing some of the ‘greatest hits’. Around 200 of the world’s
greatest cars, drivers, bikes and riders from around the globe –
including everything from Edwardian racers to Group B rally cars and
the latest Formula 1 machinery – returned to Goodwood to ensure that
the 10th anniversary Festival was by far the best yet. Nowhere else
in the world can you experience such a rich mixture of motor racing
heroes from past and present. See the following for details:
Riggle returns – ultimate drag-racing showman back by popular demand
Arguably the single most memorable vehicle ever to have taken to the
Goodwood hillclimb is the wheel-standing Plymouth Barracuda ‘Hurst
Hemi Under Glass’ of all-American drag-racing hero Bob Riggle.
No-one who visited the Festival in 2001 could forget the
extraordinary sight and sound of Bob performing 100-metre wheelies
in front of Goodwood House in his 1100bhp car, leaving a trail of
sparks glowing in his wake. Bob agreed to return with the Barracuda
this year for more of his unique antics – he received a hero’s
welcome on his run up the hill.
Formula One – the world’s best cars and drivers
The Festival of Speed’s unique ability to attract the top works
Formula One teams is its key strength, and seven teams attended this
year. Nowhere else in the world can you get so close to the latest
and greatest cars and drivers. Goodwood thronged to the sound of the
latest McLaren-Mercedes, Williams-BMW, BAR-Honda, Toyota, Renault
and Jordan-Ford in action on the hill, along with Scuderia Ferrari
with their latest car. Colombian superstar Juan Pablo Montoya drove
the Williams-BMW on the Saturday; Olivier Panis drove the Toyota
TF103 on Sunday; Takuma Sato drove the BAR-Honda on Saturday and
Jenson Button on Sunday; Allan McNish drove the latest Renault all
weekend and Ralph Firman drove the lastest Jordan F1 car. In the
paddock were familiar faces such as David Coulthard, Ross Brawn,
Murray Walker, Sir Frank Williams, Patrick Head, and David Richards.
Challenge for Fastest Time of the Day
Challenging the hillclimb record set by Nick Heidfeld in a
McLaren-Mercedes MP4/13 in a time of 41.6 seconds in 1999 was Pike’s
Peak record holder Rod Millen, who set the fastest time of 2002 in
his 800bhp 1990 Toyota Celica. Rod had vowed to return in 2003 with
‘something even quicker’ – the turbocharged 900bhp Toyota Tacoma
pick-up truck which he hillclimbs in his native New Zealand. A great
run – but Fastest Time of the Day went to Graeme Wight in a
Gould-Cosworth GR51 in 42.95seconds.
Chaparrals head a mouth-watering collection
of competition cars from the USA
Over the years the Festival has established an enviable reputation
for attracting some of the USA’s most spectacular racing machinery.
Arguably the most memorable cars of all were Jim Hall’s magnificent
Chaparral sports-racing cars, which made their first (and only)
visit to Europe for a generation for the Festival in 1997. Jim and
his number one driver Phil Hill returned to Goodwood this year with
the trend-setting 2E and 2F, the high-winged sports cars that
pioneered the use of aerofoils in motor racing. Every year around 20
competition cars are shipped in exclusively for the Festival,
especially so in this anniversary year. Notable returnees from the
USA included the fabulous Howmet TX gas turbine car that caused a
sensation at Le Mans and set a world speed record of 194mph; the
gigantic 14-litre FIAT S76 Grand Prix car that won the French GP in
1911; the famous 1963 Indy-winning Watson-Offenhauser ‘Ol Calhoun
Special’; and the distinctive Bugatti Type 57G ‘Tank’, which won
every race it entered in 1937/8.
100 Years of Ford
Ford celebrated its centenary with a breathtaking automotive
sculpture in front of Goodwood House. The feature was the
biggest-ever constructed for the Festival. Gathering around this
sculpture were around 30 historic Ford and Ford-powered racing cars,
many driven by stars from Ford’s illustrious past.
The best of modern motor sport
The schedule of the World Rally Championship meant that some of the
top teams were able to come to Goodwood once again. Ford brought a
Focus WRC for the legendary Hannu Mikkola to drive and Subaru
provided their latest car. There were also current Le Mans cars,
still covered in dirt after their efforts at the 24-hour race,
including the charismatic Bentley EXP Speed 8, having just
recaptured the great British marque’s winning ways at Le Mans in the
1920s.
A celebration of British hillclimbing
In the tenth anniversary of Britain’s most illustrious hillclimb
meeting, a special class featured champions past and present. David
Good, Peter Westbury, Joy Rainey, Tony Marsh, Roy Lane and Graeme
Wight Jnr all took to the hill in cars synonymous with their
success.
Return of the Red Arrows
The ever-popular Red Arrows aerobatic display team returned to the
Festival once again, but only on Friday this year, owing to other
commitments. There were great displays by the Ultimate High
Aerobatic Team, the Army Air Corps Helicopter Display Team and the
Delta Jets Hunter over the weekend.
For more information please contact Rob Widdows or Janet Bradley at:
Tel: 01243 755000, Fax: 01243 530568
E-mail: rw@goodwood.co.uk
or speed@goodwood.co.uk
Advance ticket office: Tel: 01243 755055;
Fax: 01243 755058.
You will find the latest news of the Festival of Speed at:
www.goodwood.co.uk
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