15.7.09

"True Grit - Epic Feats of Endurance"

Now in its sixteenth year and with a superb three day attendance, the Festival of Speed remains a unique celebration of endeavour on two and four wheels. With multiple exhibits from global motor manufacturers and eminent private collections, combined with the stars who have shaped our sport, the event is unmissable, whatever your preferred discipline!

Celebrating its centenary, Audi was this year’s featured marque, with Gerry Judah’s “sculpture” outside Goodwood House, pairing the Auto Union Streamliner with the latest R8 supercar. Additional celebrations included:

Bugatti’s centenary
75 years of the Silver Arrows
60 years of the Motorcycle Grand Prix
50 years of Daytona International Speedway
40 years of Williams F1 Grand Prix Engineering
40 years since Sir Jackie Stewart’s first F1 World Championship title in an F1 Matra
40 years of the Porsche 917
40 years of the Peter Fonda film “Easy Rider”

The three established paddocks located either side of the House, were split by entrants of the Cartier Style et Luxe Concours. With an eclectic entry of 40 cars and nine motorbikes, ranging from a pre-war AC Sociable, via the late George Harrison’s Mini Cooper, to a Rolls Royce convertible, first delivered to actress Sophia Loren, there was a car to suit every taste!

Catching my eye, were six very differently styled and original Bugatti T57s, the sole Ferrari - an original LHD Daytona Spyder and the unique Jaguar E type based Guyson E12, designed by William Towns. Overall winner was Peter Mullins' aviation-inspired Hispano Suiza H6C Xenia, which, like the Petersen Automotive Museum entered Bugatti, had been air-freighted from California.

The adjacent supercar display has evolved into a global showroom - this year, 32 manufacturers displayed production models, prototypes or design concepts. Ferrari UK presented a Scuderia Spider 16M, 599GHGTE and California (which was of significant interest to NASCAR legend, Rusty Wallace, who hitched a lift over the weekend!), Maserati, its latest Granturismo S and Alfa Romeo, two variants of its 8C – Spider and Competizione.

A real eye catcher was Infiniti (Nissan) Europe’s G37 drophead, whilst award for most ungainly car on display, must go to the Porsche Panamera (???) and I never even mentioned the all new Focus RS!

The well attended Bonhams Auction had something for everyone – (all figures include buyer’s premium) a historic Sunbeam 2 litre GP achieved a record £463.5k, a superb Lamborghini Muira P400 sold at a jaw dropping £349k, a very well maintained Jaguar SS100 realised £199k, an historic works Mini Cooper £67.5k and an example of the idiosyncratic BMW Z1£16.6k - interestingly the latter was project managed by the now CEO of Aston Martin, Dr Ulrich Bez.

Of the four Ferraris entered, only one (Daytona) was a no sale, with the 456’s realising £24.7k and £25.3k whilst a 246 Dino GTS, with one-family ownership for the last 32 years, achieved £73k.

On the “hill”, the Ferrari enthusiast was well catered for; F1 test pilota, Marc Gene, drove last year’s F2008, ex F1 pilota, Eddie Irvine, enjoyed his first FOS at the wheel of Nick Mason’s 312 T3, Shell Historic Challenge regular David Franklin hustled Arnold Meier’s 312P and Tomas Enge and Darren Turner shared the late Colin McRae’s ’04 Le Mans entry, the Prodrive built 550.

David Clark drove Shaun Lynn’s ex N.A.R.T. 512S, Monika Werner drove solo in the Breadvan, as did Sally Mason Styrron in her 166, Annette Mason in the family 250GT0 and Jean Francois Decaux in his ex Amon and Bell ’68 312.Ex Targa Florio and F1 racer Arturo Merzario shared Paolo Cantarella’s 126C4 F1, FOC GB President Jack Sears looked very relaxed in Kevin Kivlochan’s AC Cobra and FOC North West Area Group member Tony Worswick tackled the rally stage with his 308.

After the recent F1 politicking, six teams stopped off en route to the Nurburgring to rediscover fun in the Sussex countryside – Williams, McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, Toyota and Brawn GP shared the limelight; with smokiest burn out going to Toyota driver, Timo Glock, in his TF108.

As he was unable to drive his current car under FIA rules, Jenson Button shared the supercharged, pre-war Mercedes W25 with Tony Dron and World Champion Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton lost out on the chance to try Ayrton Senna’s MP4/4, as it suffered a gearbox failure when driven by Senna’s nephew Bruno.

Celebrating its centenary, Audi Mobile Tradition had all but emptied its Ingolstadt museum and brought 14 cars, along with a host of its most successful drivers. Multiple Le Mans and Touring car winners Jacky Ickx, Emmanuele Pirro, Frank Biela, Dindo Capello, Alan McNish and Marco Werner, plus rally legends Walter Rohrl, Hannu Mikkola and Stig Blomqvist were joined by Nick Mason, to demonstrate the 4 variants of the pre war Auto Union alongside Audi’s more recent success with IMSA, Trans Am and BTCC spec saloons and the diesel powered, R series racers. To compliment their efforts, Mercedes Benz Oldtimer presented a complete range of pre war GP cars which were driven by Sir Stirling Moss, Jochen Mass, Tony Dron and David Coulthard.

Enthusiasts of Italian manufactured cars were similarly spoilt for choice – Alfa Romeo Storica displayed the extremely rare pre war P2, Marco Werner drove the last Maserati 250F Piccolo built and Luigi Macaluso, his ’84 Lancia Group C with Ferrari 308 power, boosted via turbocharging to 800bhp(!) and built by Abarth and Dallara.

40 years of the legendary Porsche 917 was celebrated, with an unprecedented demonstration of ten variants of the model and several by their original drivers - Brian Redman, Dickie Attwood, David Piper, and Jackie Oliver. The Porsche Museum provided the most powerful of the group – the 1,500 bhp 917/30 which has previously held the closed circuit lap record (at Talladega Superspeedway driven by the late Mark Donohoe in 1971) at 221.6 mph and which was entrusted to Derek Bell and Lord March.

Celebrating 50 years of the Daytona International Speedway, FOS organiser Lord March, had invited several NASCAR teams to travel to the South Coast UK, when he visited this year’s “500”, in early February. Rusty Wallace is the most successful “short track” racer in NASCAR history; now a retired racer turned commentator and a racing hero of mine.

His team had rebuilt his ’05 Dodge Charger, with a derestricted, 800bhp 5.8 litre engine and despite being the centre of attention all weekend - his humour, flexibility to be photographed and questioned or autograph almost anything(!), endeared him to a whole new audience.

He was accompanied by Mike Skinner in a Red Bull Toyota Camry, Landon Cassill in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Monte Carlo (who was voted Driver of the weekend for his burnouts) and the late Dale Earnhardt’s daughter Taylor, in her Dad’s 2000 spec RCR Chevy. This was a fitting introduction for many to Stateside stock car racing and a celebration of Independence Day.

Goodwood attracts an unrivalled attendance of motorsport celebrities… and this year, a few Hollywood notables as well. Actors Peter Fonda and Sandra Bullock, plus Tonight Show host and serious petrol-head Jay Leno. Bullock’s husband, Jesse James, brought his 900 bhp Baja truck whilst Leno drove Jaguar Heritage’s own C type and David Clark’s McLaren F1 and Peter Fonda, a replica of his Captain America bike.

Congratulations to Justin Law on FTD in his Jaguar XJR9 in a time of 44.4 and as Rusty said to me, “It’s been a blast, same time next year?”

Me…I’ve just enough time to post this, collect our Daytona and head to Cholmondeley Castle on the Cheshire/ Shropshire border for the second Pageant of Power. See you there!