The Goodwood Festival of Speed - Festival Of Speed

We obviously don't think many of you are listening to us, because every year we drone on about events and places every Euro enthusiast should visit. In this issue you'll find a travel guide for the Nrburgring, and now we're going to tell you how to get to the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

We've covered Goodwood before and told you how it's unlike anything else and that everybody should attend at least once. And this year is no exception. You really must treat yourself to a British vacation that takes in one of the very best motorsport events in the world.

What makes it so special? Well, it's the unrivaled mixture of cars that really stands out, but combine that with unequalled access to the cars and drivers, proximity to the track and an incredible atmosphere that make Goodwood a must-see event.

147ft Toyota motorsport tribute on the lawn in front of the Goodwood house

History
Motor racing came to Goodwood in southern England in 1936 when the Earl of March (see Rolls Royce story) held a private hillclimb in the parkland on his estate. In 1948, as the 9th Duke of Richmond, he opened the Goodwood Motor Circuit that remains in use today. The Earl's grandson Charles, the current Earl of March, decided to revive the hillclimb in 1993, and it has continued to grow in stature and popularity ever since.

Held on the private road that passes in front of the Earl's country house, the course is not particularly challenging, although changing conditions and a stable block on a section of the hill have caused several incidents.

The Event
Held in mid-June, Friday is technically free practice for all machinery, with everything running at least once. Saturday is official practice, where every car and motorcycle runs twice. Finally, on Sunday cars run against the clock for class and outright honors, with prize-giving in the evening.

However, nobody really minds who wins. Goodwood isn't a motor race; it's an occasion. It's the chance to rub shoulders with racing drivers, drink champagne on the lawn of a stately English country home and marvel at the spectacle.

Few drivers turn up to win. The favorites put on a show for the crowd, stopping in front of the spectator areas to do burnouts - hearing the echo of a Ferrari V10 bouncing off the stonewalls of Goodwood House doesn't happen everyday!

If the hillclimb times are announced on the public address, none of us paid much attention. We're there to experience every type of racing machine imaginable, either going up the hill in full voice, or up close in the paddock area.

Spectator viewing is plentiful. We usually wander up the hill and sit on the grass banks to watch them go up and come down again. There are grandstands available but these are rather expensive and usually booked. If it should rain, though (and it generally does), you'll appreciate the cover. Last year's event changed from blue skies to torrential downpours throughout the day, making footwear a difficult choice. Our advice is to prepare for mud - anything else is a blessing.

Rally raid Land Rovers sounded great and gave passenger thrill rides

New for 2007 was the forest rally stage in the adjacent woodland, where you could literally eat their dust. Once again, the organizers got it just right. The sound of anti-lag systems crackling off the trees made it feel like a WRC event. They incorporated hairpins and jumps so the cars could really show their mettle.

In between the action you could take part in the off-road driving courses in either Land Rovers or Porsche Cayennes, but most people preferred to wander the racecar paddocks or check out the display of supercars and historic sportscars. And if you tired of that, there were acres of manufacturer displays, as well as some of the best memorabilia tents you'll ever find.

Oh, and there's live music on two stages all day.

Troy Corser and his WSB Yamaha R1	Schumacher's champ-winning 3.0 V10 from 2000	Stig Blomqvist's old Audi Sport Quattro S1 Evo 2
1974 Ferrari-engined Lancia Stratos remains best-looking rally car ever	Senna's Lotus Renault 98T with 1150hp 1.5 liter turbo v6	Manufacturers take Festival seriously. Audi's presence cost millions.