Goodwood Festival of Speed 2024

29 July 2024

Most years in early July I will stand opposite the grand and imposing Goodwood house, with its ever changing themed central feature designed by Gerry Judah dominating the lawns, with a feeling of excitement. You know you are somewhere special when you see the gravity defying motorsport sculpture, and about to experience a motorsport event like no other.

Photographing the Festival of Speed is so more than just taking a few pictures of some very nice automobiles from the side of the track. It’s the event that I attended every year which stands head and shoulders above all other motorsport events. 

So why is the FoS so special? Members of the PistonClick team have been going to the Festival of Speed from just after its conception back in 1993, and have seen it change from a gathering of like minded enthusiasts into what it is today. So what has changed over the years from our point view, and how has that change affected the FoS making it a stand-out motorsport event?

The concept of 2024 Festival of Speed hasn’t really changed much from the original idea. It is still a hillclimb with a diverse collection of motor vehicles going up the 1.16 mile hill. However, what has changed is the number of people attending, as it’s generally sold out with a cap of 150000 people - a lot more than the early days.

The popularity of the FoS is a little like the Glastonbury music festival, it’s not just an amazing event to attend, it’s also an event to be seen at and to say that you have been to, in certain circles.

Does it matter that some people who go to this event don’t know a Petty from a Pirro or a Damon Hill from a Jake Hill? Not really, everyone has paid a pretty penny to attend and a encyclopaedic level of motorsports knowledge is not a pre-requisite of entry.

What does slightly miff me is queuing up my camera for a shot of one of the many legends walking around the paddock, and a sea of annoying phones (SOAP) appear in your view finder, only for the person in front of you that has ruined your one chance to get that memory to ask you “who was that?”

It’s not just the paddock that has the SOAP. The SOAP trackside is the worst I’ve seen for years. It never used to be this bad but there is a reason. The hay bales that have been a characteristic of the FoS that have not changed in years were laid out differently this year, now pushing the spectators further back.

What this means is that even if you were to be lucky enough to be close to the track and above average height you could not see all of the track and cars, unlike previous years when you had a great view. This has forced people to get their phones out to try and record what is going on by holding them aloft, and looking at the pictures most aren’t even watching!

There are a few areas that you can see the track and importantly the action, but other changes trackside have had a knock on effect. The crossing points in front of the house are different. The usual place for the official media where all the cars do burn outs and doughnuts is now not available.

What this means is you need to get to a good spot to watch your favourite cars quite some time before they are due out. However, you are likely to see a long line of bibs walking towards you, as media are allowed in between the two sets of bails, and therefore park themselves in front of the mass of trackside spectators. 

This results in some rather upset people, some of whom were not shy at pointing out their upset, although not us I might add! I will get off my SOAP box on this subject now, but I do think the organisers should go and stand where the spectators stand and take the view into consideration for next year.

You could of course buy a roving grandstand ticket, which is £80 with discount for the Saturday to you sir. The grandstands are generally a good view, if you can get a seat. However, they take you further from the track with its noise, smells and sensation of speed.

So these minor changes have occurred, but what about major changes? I think the biggest are the support from the corporate elements and the motorsport teams. This is not unique to the Festival of Speed but it has grown to a point that it now dominates the event.

New car reveals are common, with the latest super cars zipping up the hill, most quietly being electric vehicles, but some still had a roar to them. The track optimised Gordon Murray Automotive T.50s Niki Lauda XP2 driven by Dario Franchitti had a bit of a roar to it when the V12 engine hit 12000rpm!

The announcements over the tannoy about the ones that still had a loud pedal were quick to point out that some were being run on synthetic fuel. His Lordship is keen on renewables and synthetic fuel in particular; the cars at the Goodwood Revival will all be running some sort of synthetic fuel this year. 

The Porsche 911 Carrera GTS hybrid was revealed at the FoS, driven by Mark Webber and powered by an eFuel. This is a synthetic fuel produced in a manufacturing plant in Chile from water and recycled carbon dioxide using wind energy.

Only 130,000 litres per year are planned to be “refined” for Porsche race series and Experience Centres, and this is expected to rise to 55 million litres per year by the middle of the decade. Carbon neutral eFuels, are chemically the same as the fuels used in your car today, and can therefore be used in existing engines without requiring any modifications. 

The Porsche GT3 R Hybrid went up the hill just before the Carrera GTS, but this older looking Porsche isn’t what it looks like, it’s a bang up to date Le Mans car. It has a Williams flywheel hybrid system, boosting the power from 480bhp to 640bhp and could have won this year’s LM24 but for a mechanical issue right at the end of the race.

The GT3 was in a pack of stunning supercars, most of which could be seen after their runs behind the track in the huge exhibitor’s area. Including the Electric Avenue, where you can see and learn more about the latest EV, these two corporate areas take up about two thirds of the FoS real estate.

So you can see how important the event is to the manufacturers and why they support this event and bring their latest cars to be unveiled. 

Next, we will look at the support from the motorsport teams and corporations, which I think is the most important part of the FoS and integral to the growth and success of the event. The one aspect I like about the FoS is the anniversary events that are headlined and incorporated into the show.

Red Bull was one of the highlights at this year’s FoS, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Red Bull Racing. All 20 of Red Bull F1 cars were on show, with seven of them taking to the hill on Sunday as part of a must-see moment on the Hill that headlined the F1 action.

What makes this a stand-out moment and different to other events at other shows is the drivers that are in the cars, Christian Klein, Mark Webber, Daniel Ricciardo, David Coulthard, Sergio Pérez and of course Max Verstappen. Christian Horner also drove one of the F1 cars and Adrian Newey took his pet project, the Aston Martin Valkyrie, up the Hill.

Without the support from the race teams none of this would be possible; getting a race car driver reunited with a car they last drove 20 years ago is something special. 

This team support is replicated across the many different motorsport disciplines. Motorcycles are well represented, Honda and Mick Doohan, Randy Mamola on a Suzuki, Kenny Roberts on a Yamaha. Quite a few of the GP bikes have ended up in private collections so its great to see them being reunited with the stars that rode them back in the day.

Honda's RC213V was taken up the Hill by 2011 MotoGP champion Stefan Bradl who put on a bit of a show. The Indian Challenger which races in the American King of the Baggers race series, and the Yamaha XTZ850TRX commonly found in the deserts of the Paris Dakar Rally, were a few stand-out bikes of many.

The top motorcycle moment was the new king of road racing, Michael Dunlop, being presented to the crowd as the most successful rider in Isle of Man TT history. Four wins at the Isle of Man TT 2024 took his overall tally to 29, 4 above his uncle Joey Dunlop.

He was joined on the balcony by 23-time winner John McGuinness, and 14-time victor Peter Hickman. MD is a well liked and respected amongst the road racing fans being a down to earth guy who can be found spannering on his bikes come race day. I don’t think he is too comfortable in a tuxedo! 

Rallying is also well represented at the FoS, with its own dedicated forest stage at the top of the Hillclimb. It's quite a walk to the top of the hill, but tractors with a trailer fitted out with bench seats are available next to the lower paddock to help the less mobile. The team support continues with Kalle Rovanperä and Sebastian Ogier who have ten WRC titles between them making an appearance this year.

Sliding around the pines we spotted Mark Higgins triple BRC champion, he smashed the Isle of Man TT lap record in a 600bhp Subaru WRX STi back in 2016 with a 17 minutes 35 seconds run, with an average speed of 128.73mph.

As with all of the different disciplines, there were the latest to historic rally cars taking to the stage. The Group B cars of the early 1980s stole the limelight as these iconic cars will never grow old in my eyes.

That about covers the differences that we have seen over the years, just one more to go. The main event, the Sunday shoot out. The competitive timed run up the Hill is the highlight of the FoS, with a diverse set of vehicles partcipating from race cars to purpose built hillclimb and prototype rocket ships.

The difference here is the speed and type of vehicle. The first winner was Surtees-Cosworth TS20, a 1978 F1 race car driven by Willie Green in a time of 0:56.30, the early years were dominated by F1 cars. The fastest car ever up the Hill was the McMurtry Spéirling driven by Max Chilton who set a time of 0:39.08 in 2022.

This year’s winner was something quite different, the Ford Supervan 4.2. Romain Dumas had a clean run with the four 500PS electric motors fed by a high-voltage battery producing 1,400PS (1,030kW). He sent it up the hill in 43.98-seconds. In second place was Project Midnight, a 670PS (493kW) Subaru WRX driven by Scott Speed in a time of 46.07 seconds. 

Travis Pastrana in the mad 1983 862hp turbocharged Subaru GL Wagon ‘Family Huckster’ with an active aero rear wing, which is controlled electro-pneumatically, along with front and rear hydraulic aero flaps located on the fender flares was one of the favourites to post a fast time.

Unfortunately he didn’t quite make it up the hill, understeering into the hay bales at Molecomb corner, Pastrana was uninjured but the Family Huckster will need a bit of body work before nexts years run.

However, my favourite in the Sunday shoot out was the 30 year old Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 that didn’t have a functioning second gear, driven by Jake Hill. He drives the Ric Wood-prepared Skyline most years up the Hill and it’s a fan favourite.

This year he was 6th in 48.91 seconds, faster than a BMW M4 GT3 and a Ferrari 296 Challenge. Not bad for a 30 year old Datsun!

So that concludes our look at the 2024 FoS. The event has basically remained the same, but has expanded and grown more mature over the years but still has a fun hooligan element, a little like this report’s author!

The corporate and race team support are integral to the success of the project. Without them it would just be a hill climb on steroids with an up market car show. With them it makes it a one of a kind event that every petrol head should experience at least once in their lifetime.

To close I will leave you with a few words from Jak Walker, the newest PistonClick team member and first time visitor to the FoS.

First Time Experience At The Goodwood Festival of Speed - Jak Walker

If you’ve ever debated about whether to make the trek down to Goodwood for the annual Festival of Speed after watching it on TV for years, then do it. As a first time visitor it was an incredible experience and certainly something I would love to attend again after learning how it all works. 

If you love your motorsports or cars in general then I assure you that you won’t be disappointed as the access is fantastic even just for a general attendee as you get to get up close with some of the greatest cars and race cars from every kind of category you can think of such as F1, Rally, Touring Cars, WEC cars and the best hyper and super cars in the world. 

It can be quite daunting for a first timer finding your way through everything as there is so much to see and do (which isn’t a bad thing by the way) and in my opinion you need more than a day to fully experience everything the festival has got to offer. So even if the view of the hill was quite blocked in some areas this year due to the hay bales compared to grandstand ticket holders, I assure you it's still fully worth attending as it has been one of the greatest motorsport and car events I have been to.