Festival of Speed – Toovey’s Blog

Historic Motor Racing Fans Unperterbed by the Rain at the 2024 Goodwood Revival

Lining up for the Jaguar XK engine 75th anniversary parade

The rain came down at the 2024 Goodwood Revival but failed to dampen the spirits of those attending this important, international festival of historic motorsport here in the heart of Sussex. The weekend featured a packed program of exciting racing, made more so by the wet conditions. Unperturbed almost everyone attending were dressed-to-the nines in period dress with many of the ladies rocking this year’s glamorous dress with wellies look.

There are few engines as iconic as Jaguar’s straight six XK engine. It powered their racing cars to five Le Mans 24 Hours victories in just seven years. Sir William Lyons tasked his chief engineer William Heynes and his team to design an engine to push the company forward after the Second World War. The engine was so successful it was raced from 1949 to 1966 and remained in use in Jaguars road cars until 1986.

A moving parade of Second World War vehicles and a moment of reflection marked the 80^th Anniversary of the D-day landings in the presence of a number of courageous veterans.

Vernon Williamson’s 1949 JP-Vincent Prototype at the 2024 Goodwood Revival

On the Sunday afternoon the sun finally broke through just in time for the Royal Automobile Club TT Celebration. The power, scale and noise from the AC Cobras, Bizarrani 5300GT and Corvette Sting Rays were almost elemental but the handling of the E-type Jaguars held them to account. The TT Celebration is always amongst the highlights of the weekend. Two cars were in a class of their own and duelled throughout the race. They were driven by two current stars of the British Touring Car Championships. Jake Hill drove Grahame Bryant’s 1964 AC Cobra and was harried by Tom Ingram in Mike Whitaker’s ever popular 1964 TVR Griffith 400. A cheer went up around the track in the closing laps as Tom Ingram passed his opponent and narrowly hung on to the lead for the win.

As the exuberant sound of the racing cars and bikes at Goodwood ended the cacophony of sound, the smell of racing oil and tyres and the spectacle of speed and colour faded to memory. I am already looking forward to next year’s Goodwood Member’s Meeting with more historic racing. The GRRC Spring Members’ Meeting is always an exciting celebration of motor racing which is exclusively for GRRC and GRRC Fellowship members here in the heart of Sussex To find out more about the benefits of membership, how to join, and to book tickets for this year’s Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival go to www.goodwood.com/sports/motorsport.

Best of British Feeling at 2024 Festival of Speed

Red Bull Racing celebrated on the famous Goodwood Festival of Speed Hill Climb

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.

The centenary of much loved MGs marked at Goodwood

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.

Sussex Celebration of Motorsport at Goodwood

Nick Mason in the 1936 Auto Union Type C

The 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed once again played host to many of the biggest names in motorsport. An extraordinary display of automotive design and excellence, dating from the early 1900s to the present day, sped up the now famous Goodwood Festival of Speed hill climb.

Andrew Bernardi celebrating the sights and sounds at Goodwood Festival of Speed

Last weekend I joined Shipley Arts Festival Director, Andrew Bernardi, at the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed. As many of you will know Andrew is as passionate about cars and motorsport as he is about music. A longstanding member of the GRRC, Goodwood Road Racing Club, there was much to delight his senses in this annual spectacle.

Part of the extraordinary BMW display on the lawns of Goodwood House

This year the 100th anniversary of BMW was celebrated. German rivals and Le Mans winners, Porsche, were also much in evidence, as were Mercedes, with Formula One drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg attending this exceptional Sussex celebration of motorsport.

Rolls Royce, McLaren, Jaguar and Bentley were amongst the stars of the British contingent moving at pace up this celebrated climb.

One of the highlights for me was Nick Mason’s spirited drive in the revolutionary 1936, 6.0 litre supercharged V16 Auto Union Type C. He is highly regarded not only as Pink Floyd’s drummer but also as a true connoisseur of racing and sports cars. Based here in Sussex, Nick is no stranger to the race track having competed at Le Mans on numerous occasions. The car’s extraordinary torque and 500bhp can spin the wheels at 100mph and presented him with a wonderful driving opportunity. The Auto Union’s outing at Goodwood marked 80 years since this car first appeared at Shelsey Walsh and Donnington.

Marino Franchitti driving the Ford GTE LM

Another anniversary was being celebrated by Ford. No one could have dared to dream that Ford would return to Le Mans in 2016, 50 years after the incredible GT40 Le Mans win in 1966, and take a class win. Marino Franchitti drove for Ford at Le Mans this year and took the wheel at Goodwood of a Ford GTE LM on the Goodwood hill climb. Although the new car bears some family resemblance to the GT40 its revolutionary aerodynamics, carbon-fibre monocoque design and twin turbo engine defines it very much as a car of the 21st century.

The weekend had the atmosphere of a huge motoring party.

As the reverberation and exuberant sound of racing cars and bikes at Goodwood Festival of Speed ended the cacophony of sound, the smell of racing oil and tyres and the spectacle of speed and colour fades to memory and thoughts turn to the evocative 2016 Goodwood Revival. This year’s three-day event will be held on the 9th -11th September. The Goodwood Revival celebrates the halcyon days of motor racing with the accompanying glamour of the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s. For more information or to buy tickets visit www.goodwood.com.

By Rupert Toovey, a senior director of Toovey’s, the leading fine art auction house in West Sussex, based on the A24 at Washington. Originally published in the West Sussex Gazette.