Experience the Iconic Goodwood Festival of Speed: A Celebration of Automotive Excellence

Nearly 200,000 people attended the 31st edition of the Goodwood Festival of Speed (FOS) this year.

The event, held every year on the grounds of the historic Goodwood House, has become one of the premier automotive events in the world.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed features a heady mix of current and historic motorsport icons, from Formula One to rally legends, supercars, luxury sponsors, and a rarified opportunity to get up close and personal with some legendary drivers from all forms of motorsport.

The Goodwood Estate is located in West Sussex, just over two hours drive south of London. It has a well-chartered history of automotive events on its grounds for nearly a century.

What makes the FOS so special, and why does it attract such big numbers these days?

Join us as we delve deeper into the FOS. To uncover why the FOS is one of the most highly anticipated events on the UK motorsport calendar each year, we’ll cover the following areas:

• Goodwood Estate’s Motorsport Heritage
• The Goodwood Festival of Speed is Born
• The Hill Climb
• Goodwood Festival of Speed Sculpture
• Entertainment Beyond The Hill Climb

Goodwood Estate’s Motorsport Heritage

The Goodwood Estate has been linked to motorsport since the 1930s when the 9th Duke of Richmond, Freddie March, hosted a hill climb meet for a few Lancia enthusiasts.

With the outbreak of World War II, all motorsport was put on hold, and it wasn’t until 1948 that Goodwood embraced competition and allowed the paying public in.

During the war, the Royal Air Force established a base on the estate’s boundary and the neighbouring village, Westhampnett. When RAF Westhampnett was abandoned after the war, one of the boundary roads around the old airfield formed the basis of a new race track.

The new track proved popular and was regularly used, hosting non-ranking Formula One races in the 1950s and early 1960s and a series of sportscar events. Many famous drivers raced at Goodwood, including Graham Hill, Jim Clark, and Mike Hawthorne.

However, the circuit held its last major race in 1966, as the owners were unwilling to adapt it to include more track safety features such as chicanes.

No further wheel was turned at the Goodwood Estate for nearly 30 years until the current 11th Duke of Richmond, Lord March, decided it was time to bring motorsport back to the Estate.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed Is Born

Sunday, June 20th, 1993, saw the first Goodwood Festival of Speed. As the Goodwood circuit was not cleared for use, the next best option was to create a hill climb.

The first event was very” hands-on”, as estate workers were tasked with helping to build a rudimentary start and finish gate and laid straw bales and ropes along the chosen route.

Local contractors were brought in to build the first rendering of the now-famous bridge that crosses over the track near the main house.

Press and commentary facilities were no more than a wooden hut erected for the day. Goodwood’s famous black-and-white colour scheme also debuted, inspired by Lord March’s visit to Indianapolis Speedway.

The British Automobile Racing Club (BARC) was on hand to oversee the first running of the FOS, supplying marshals to manage the event’s safety.

The BARC informed Lord March that they expected 2,500 people to attend; however, the reality differed. Over 25,000 people turned up, even though the FOS clashed with the final day of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.

The crowd was treated to runs up the hill climb from classic BRM Formula One cars, six Jaguar D-Types, Ferraris, Maseratis, and the brand-new McLaren F1 supercar.

It wasn’t just the assortment of cars that stole the show. Famous drivers who signed autographs and drove cars were motorsport royalty, such as John Surtees, Damon Hill, Gordon Murray, and Ron Dennis.

That first staging of the FOS was an unmitigated success; however, future planning would ensure that the FOS didn’t clash with Le Mans or any F1 race.

1994 saw the addition of a full Saturday programme. Further increases to the event’s timetable meant that Friday was added in 1996 as the FOS gained popularity quickly.

Thursday was added to the roster in 2010 as a “Moving Motor Show” day designed to accommodate new releases, supercar runs, and press events. Although events on Thursday have changed since 2018, the focus remains on road-going exotica and a presentation of cars from the featured manufacturer, and an iconic sculpture found on the main lawn outside Goodwood House during the FOS.

Given the size of today’s event, the essence of the FOS has remained remarkably intact. The FOS is a gathering of automotive and autosport fans who come to witness outstanding machinery and rub shoulders with some of motorsport’s most iconic figures.

The Hill Climb

The centrepiece of events at the Goodwood Festival of Speed is the hill climb.

Over the four days, all manner of cars cover the 1.16-mile (1.9-km) layout, culminating in the Sunday shootout, when the stopwatch is in action, and the aim is to record the quickest time possible.

The course combines technical, tight turns linked together by fast sections, giving a nice flowing feel. At the start line, cars accelerate across a line of Culver Blocks taken from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

A small straight under a colonnade of trees gives way to the first corner. A tight right-hander leads to the next fast piece of track, bringing cars past the Goodwood House and most grandstands. 

Cars can easily hit 120 mph (193 Km/h) on this section, especially during the timed shootout on Sunday. After passing under the Goodwood Festival of Speed bridge, drivers must be sharp on the brakes and set up their cars to successfully negotiate the tight left-hander, Molecomb Corner.

The Molecomb Corner is infamous for being the place most likely to witness a crash as drivers misjudge the braking or line they should take.

Once past Molecomb, drivers have a short straight, which is challenging on a sunny day due to the shadows from the overhanging trees.

Drivers are then met with another daunting, tight left-hander: the Flint Wall. This corner can claim an unsuspecting driver due to an estate boundary wall that juts out towards the apex of the turn. Shadows from overhanging trees also make it difficult for the driver to get their line right.

However, they know they need to get as close to the wall as possible to give them the best exit line to another short straight leading into a gentle left-hand bend, which, for some cars, can be taken flat out before another short straight and crossing the finishing line.

Former F1 racer Juan Pablo Montoya described the hill climb run as:

“The Goodwood Festival of Speed Hillclimb was the narrowest, bumpiest, least grippy course I’ve ever driven. But I loved it.”

The fastest time recorded for the hill climb is 39.08 seconds, recorded by Max Chilton in a McMurty Spéirling in 2022. This will be tough to beat when the average quickest time is around 45 seconds. Weather can play a significant part in proceedings, with no driver wanting to send a multi-million-pound concept/hypercar or significant historic race car into the wall or hedge, so discretion is sometimes the better part of valour!

The best drivers in the world from all forms of motorsport have taken a run up the hill climb. Legends such as Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jackie Stewart, Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel, Colin MacRae, and Sebastian Loeb, to name but a few, have all taken on the hill climb challenge in various forms of machinery over the years.

Goodwood Festival of Speed Sculpture

Ever since the first FOS, a display has been outside Goodwood House. During the first FOS in 1993, a new Aston Martin was presented to help launch the car officially.

1997 marked the premiere of sculptor Gerry Judah’s work outside the Goodwood House.

His first piece was striking. A triumphal Roman arch with a large Prancing Horse on top and a Formula One car suspended from the arch was created to celebrate Ferrari’s 50th anniversary.

Since 1997, Judah’s sculptures on the front lawn of Goodwood House have also celebrated the 100th anniversaries of Ford, Rolls Royce and Mercedes Benz. The 2024 instalment celebrates another centenary, the honours going to MG and showcases the launch of its new Cyberstar EV model.

Entertainment Beyond The Hill Climb

When there is a lull in action on the hill climb, plenty of attractions on the estate grounds keep everybody entertained.

There are plenty of attractions to keep the young and old entertained. The main standouts that have become constant features at the FOS are:

• Supercar Paddock
• Forest Rally Stage
• Cartier Style et Luxe
• Future Lab
• The GAS Arena

Supercar Paddock

The Supercar Paddock is always a popular venue, allowing people to get close to new releases and current and historic supercars from manufacturers such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Buggati, and Porsche. 

The FOS has become important for manufacturers to showcase new cars as part of their overall rollout to potential buyers. Cars such as the McLaren MP4-12C were officially launched to the public in 2010. For the 2024 edition, new models such as the Aston Martin DBX707, Bentley Continental GT Speed, BMW M5, and BMW M4CS will debut.

Combustion engine models aren’t the only feature in the FOS. Many hybrid and EV models also play an important part in the FOS. Porsche’s Macan EV and Audi’s RS E-Tron Performance broke cover were launched at this year’s show.

Forest Rally Stage

Rally enthusiasts can go to the forest rally stage, designed by former WRC champion Hannu Mikkola. Similar to the main hillclimb, the forest stage features various current and historic machinery being put through its paces by a mix of rally stars. A particular standout from this year’s show was Max MacRae, son of rallying legend Colin MacRae, putting his father’s ex-Ford Focus WRC car through its paces.

Cartier Style et Luxe

An invitation-only event located on the lawns of Goodwood House, the Cartier Style et Luxe is a Concours D’Elegance event celebrating historic models, with prizes awarded for best in class. The public can view and admire historically important models from a variety of manufacturers presented in pristine condition in a much more relaxed environment compared to the action on the hill climb or rally stage.

Future Lab

Introduced in 2017, the Future Lab has become an important attraction at the FOS. The Future Lab not only explores future innovations in the automotive industry, it also covers industries as diverse as aerospace and the future of city design.

Most exhibits are designed to be immersive and interactive, helping to encourage future innovators and inventors to explore their passion for solving problems.

The GAS Arena

If you prefer your entertainment to be served on two wheels, you can head to the GAS Arena to witness stunts and races performed by motocross and BMX bike legends in a specially built arena designed to exploit the gravity-defying tricks the best in the business can perform.

To conclude, the FOS is a major event for car fanatics worldwide. The range of cars on display or in action on the hill climb grows every year, attracting more people to the event.

The success of the FOS has led to the creation of the Goodwood Revival, which celebrates motorsports and the automotive industry’s bygone days and has become hugely popular in its own right.

At its heart, Lord March keeps the essence of the event the same as when the first FOS was held in 1993. People should be given close access to the cars and the stars of the event, giving it a unique feel that only the very privileged or lucky get to experience in Formula One, for example.

The FOS will continue to thrill crowds and introduce people from different walks of life for decades to come.