Goodwood mania

Things ain’t quite what they used to be.

Historically the question has always been: ‘How fast from 0 to 60, Mister? And what will it do flat out?’
Increasingly, the question is: ‘How far will it go on a gallon of fuel, mate?’

Here at the Goodwood Festival of Speed there is love in the air, pure love of speed, and a need for noise. This is where we gather together each summer to indulge our passion for racing cars and to share our passion with folk from every corner of the planet.

Lest we be accused of not caring for the planet on which we live, there have been some interesting developments at the Festival. Away from the noise and the speed I draw your attention to a new attraction known as FOS-TECH, introduced last year to bring new technologies and ‘green’ solutions into the heart of this great event.

Once you’ve had your fix of dragsters, Grand Prix cars, MotoGP motorcycles and Le Mans winners you should perhaps take a look inside the FOS-TECH building in the park. It is here that you will see the cars of the future, learn about new fuels and be astounded by what will be the personal transport of generations to come. There’s also a simulator where you can test your skills, not at speed, but as slowly and economically as possible. The idea is to see just how little fuel you can use to travel from A to B. Makes a fascinating change from the sheer, unadulterated passion for raw power that pervades the event outside.

The sun came out on Friday, the F1 cars shrieked up the hill and the rally cars kicked up the dust in the Goodwood forest. As ever, the legends of the sport walked amongst their fans, barely taking a step without signing their names.

There’s John Surtees! There’s Damon Hill! Look, that’s James Hunt’s son Freddie in the Hesketh! Isn’t that Tom Sneva? And that must be Bobby Unser!

And so it goes on until Sunday when Lewis Hamilton arrives. This is as close to Beatlemania as motor racing gets.

The Festival of Speed has lost none of its glamour and glitter. Where else can you see such a spectacular collection of racing machinery? You can’t. At a press conference on the opening day Lord March introduced World Trials Champion Dougie Lampkin who, of course, rode his bike into the press centre. A short flight of stairs is nothing – later he appeared on top of buildings and made it all look so easy.

So, plenty of noise, plenty of drama and a grand day out as only the British can do. People even stood downwind of the revving dragsters, the methanol bringing tears to their eyes. No matter, they’re here for the crack, and they’ll be back. Why? Because this is motor racing up close and personal. Like it used to be.

Being British at such a very British event there must surely be something to moan about? I’m struggling to think what that might be.