Red Bull Racing was celebrated at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed together with the centenary of the MG marque.
A packed weekend of displays and competition on the famous hill climb saw the McMurtry Spéirling once again lead the way with a remarkable time of 39.08 seconds driven by Max Chilton. I have never seen anything move up Goodwood’s hill as fast as the McMurtry Spéirling (the name is apparently Irish for thunderstorm). It looks like a cross between a Batmobile and a Le Mans prototype racer. The dual electric engines deliver 0-60mph in under two seconds and a top speed of 200mph. The car makes a sound like a jet engine thanks to its fans which generate 2000kg of downforce. It moved so fast it sucked hay out of the trackside bales!
Sunday saw current Formula 1 World Champion, Max Verstappen lead a host of motor racing stars up the hill in an array of Red Bull racing cars. Max looked relaxed and delighted to be at Goodwood with iconic British designer Adrian Newey on the house balcony, despite the undoubted pressures of the Formula 1 season. Red Bull Racing came into being when the energy drink manufacturer purchased the Jaguar Formula 1 team. Based in Britain it has been amongst the dominant teams in F1 winning six constructors’ titles and seven drivers’ titles in its twenty year history. It will be interesting to see how they fare once Adrian Newey leaves the team at the end of this season.
MG took centre stage celebrating their centenary as a motor manufacturer. The marque has a strong association with Goodwood and raced in period at the iconic circuit. Old met new with an iconic MK1 MGB roadster and the new Cyberstar convertible sportscar displayed on the remarkable sculpture outside Goodwood House. It provided the backdrop to the MG Celebration which saw MG’s from across the century driven to the lawns of the house as daytime fireworks filled the sky drawing applause from the crowds.
Goodwood Festival of Speed has become the British Motor Show in all but name and all the major motor manufacturers were on display including the exemplary Sussex firm Rolls Royce. The Red Arrows display added to the Best of British feeling with their extraordinary acrobatics. As the noise and spectacle of the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed fades to memory I am looking forward to the Goodwood Revival and offer my congratulations to the remarkable Goodwood team.