Goodwood, West Sussex - As a celebration of the sheer fun of motoring, there is nothing to touch the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Held on the estate of the Duke of Richmond (formerly Lord March) it features iconic performance and competition cars (and motorcycles) from the dawn of motoring to new supercars making their world debut.
And they’re not just standing still, they’re running flat out up the hill, or howling through the rally stage, as fast as they can go, because the runs are timed and there are prizes (and pride) at stake.
Nowhere else in the can you watch the 28-litre, four-cylinder 1910 Fiat land speed record “Beast of Turin” which was capable of more than 130km/h when the national speed limit in Britain was 23km/h, shaking the ground and spitting flame at full throttle, so close that you can smell the castor oil, or hear the scream of the supercharger on a 1927 Mercedes SSKL, the thunder of the very latest DTM care and the rumble of a Nascar V8 racing truck, all on the same day.
If it’s about speed, it’s there and you can get up close and personal with the cars and their drivers, chat to the mechanics about the challenges of maintaining a machine that was built before the invention of the aeroplane.
For those of us unable to be there, here’s your all-access pit pass to the 25th annual Goodwood Festival of Speed, courtesy of live streaming throughout the weekend, and below it, the full timetable for Friday, Saturday and Sunday:
FRIDAY 13 JULY
Time (SAST):
Category:
09h30
Pre-War, Post-War GP, Early Endurance, Jaguar XK
10h10
Touring Cars, Nascar, Hillclimb, Dakar, Rally
10h55
Lola, Americana, Drift, Sports Cars, GTs
11h40
Motorcycles, F1, Contemporary F1
12h40
Supercars, First Glance, Road Bikes
13h30
Porsche
14h15
Pre-War, Post-War GP, Early Endurance, Jaguar XK
14h50
Lola, Americana, Drift, Sports Cars, GTs
16h10
Motorcycles, F1, Contemporary F1
17h00
Timed Practice
17h50
Touring Cars, Nascar, Hillclimb, Dakar, Rally
18h20
Supercars, First Glance, Road Bikes
SATURDAY 14 JULY
Time (SAST):
Category:
09h30Touring Cars, Nascar, Hillclimb, Dakar, Rally10h15Lola, Americana, Drift, Sports Cars, GTs11h05Supercars, First Glance, Road Bikes11h50Motorcycles, F1, Contemporary F112h50 Pre-War, Post-War GP, Early Endurance, Jaguar XK13h30 Porsche14h10Michelin Supercar Shoot-Out, First Glance, Road Bikes15h05 Porsche15h45 Motorcycles, F1, Contemporary F116h35 Shoot-Out Qulifying17h25 Touring Cars, Nascar, Hillclimb, Dakar, Rally18h05 Pre-War, Post-War GP, Early Endurance, Jaguar XK
18h50
Lola, Americana, Drift, Sports Cars, GTs
SUNDAY 15 JULY
Time (SAST):
Category:
09h30Lola, Americana, Drift, Sports Cars, GTs10h15Pre-War, Post-War GP, Early Endurance, Jaguar XK10h55Touring Cars, Nascar, Hillclimb, Dakar, Rally11h40Supercars, First Glance, Road Bikes12h25 Motorcycles, F1, Contemporary F113h25 Porsche14h10Touring Cars, Nascar, Hillclimb, Dakar, Rally14h45 Porsche15h25 Motorcycles, F1, Contemporary F116h20 Lola, Americana, Drift, Sports Cars, GTs17h00 Shoot-Out Final18h05 Supercars, First Glance, Road Bikes
18h50
Pre-War, Post-War GP, Early Endurance, Jaguar XK