Goodwood Festival of Speed - 24th - 28th June 2015
I have always wanted to go to
either the Festival of Speed or the Revival at Goodwood, so when I found out
some months ago that the FoS would be on while I was in England, I booked
straight away. And wanting to extract
the most from it, I planned to be there from the Wednesday afternoon when the
campsite opened until Monday morning so I didn’t have to fight the exit traffic
on Sunday afternoon. And it was well
worth it. The camp site was only a 5
minute bike ride from the venue, there were excellent shuttle buses if you
wanted, and the toilets and showers were a really good standard. Excellent facilities all round, and a
promising start to the weekend.
And if you are not a petrol
head, and don’t enjoy looking at photos of fine cars that almost bring a tear
to the eye of an enthusiast, then I guess you can skip the rest of this entry
and move on to read more about my travelling adventures !
On the Wednesday evening I
cycled into the venue while everyone was still setting up, and I was able to
ride absolutely anywhere – Even halfway up the hill climb road ! So although
many things weren’t completely ready, I was able to spend a couple of hours in
there virtually on my own, admiring some of the cars that were there already,
and getting a taste of what was to come over the weekend. And by the time I went back to the van and
cooked my supper, I was drooling in anticipation already !
I am not going to try to
mention details of
Yes, the format of the
Goodwood Festival of Speed is unique, and also extremely well organized, which
made the whole weekend a pleasure. The hype surrounding Rossi’s presence was a
bit OTT, but then I rate him too, so I can understand it ! I enjoyed the unbelievably high standard of
the cars there and the fact that most of them were not on static display but
were being driven, in most cases at high speed.
Highlights ? There were many. But I list just a few, and will then leave
you to look at the photos.
·
Seeing Mark Walker drive his 1905 200hp Darracq up the hill, drifting it through the corners,
and beating many much newer vehicles – That is how older cars should be
exercised. Every person there was in awe
of this car.
·
The
incredible Figoni and Falaschi designed Delahayes in the concours section. They were doing 100 mph while they stood
still.
·
BABS. World Land Speed Record Holder in 1926,
buried for ?60 years in the sand at Pendine, and now resurrected and running
again.
·
The 1911
FIAT with a 28.4 litre 4 cyl engine. Spitting fire
and smoke out of each of its 4 exhaust pipes as it roared up the hill.
·
Seeing
Stirling Moss in his 300 SLR Mille Miglia winning Mercedes 722. And Jackie Stewart in the 196 Streamliner
Mercedes. Probably never ever see that
again.
·
- A 3.8
MK2 Jag saloon that has been “recreated” by Ian Callum. I have always lustedafter a 1960’s 3.8 Mk2, and this one, brought up to modern engineering standards, would suit me just FINE !! Loved it.
·
A Cobra
hardtop – Replica, I know, but I love that shape.
·
The name
plate on the new Koenigsegg. The detail
they went to just for a name plate is just amazing.
·
Seeing
the 1930 “Blue Train” Bentley that Woolf Barnato used to race a train from Cannes to
Calais.
·
Fangio’s
1957 German GP winning Maserati 250F.
Embodiment of the Nurburgring history on 4 wheels.
·
The
Rauno Aaltonen Mini and Walter Rohrl Audi Quattro’s from the Monte Carlo Rally.
·
- Seeing the incredible engineering detail on the 1933 Napier Railton 23.9 litre W12 which forever holds the Brooklands lap record.
- Hearing a Matra V12 engine again on full song – Magic.
- And of course getting up close and personal with the Lotus 49 !
And there was a lot more that
was just breathtaking. A thoroughly
enjoyable weekend for me.
The rest of the photos are here, in three separate files :-
But before you try to click on the links below, please be aware that they seem not to be working - I realise that, but don't know why. But if you copy the address below and paste it into your search engine, you will get taken to the photos. It just seems not to work directly. Sorry - I am looking for the reason.
But before you try to click on the links below, please be aware that they seem not to be working - I realise that, but don't know why. But if you copy the address below and paste it into your search engine, you will get taken to the photos. It just seems not to work directly. Sorry - I am looking for the reason.
https://picasaweb.google.com/110185357936043625130/0301GoodwoodFoS1?authkey=Gv1sRgCOSJ6dTe3OadmgE
https://picasaweb.google.com/110185357936043625130/0302GoodwoodFoS2?authkey=Gv1sRgCKLDt4-7vtmGmAE
https://picasaweb.google.com/110185357936043625130/0303GoodwoodFoS3?authkey=Gv1sRgCJW2h5X90u-UWg
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