The 30th edition of the Goodwood Festival of Speed may have been hit by bad weather – after Friday’s heavy rain, forecasts of strong winds led to the unprecedented cancellation of Saturday’s activity on safety grounds – but its star quality shone as brightly as ever.
Alongside Goodwood’s own anniversary theme, also taking in 75 years of motorsport on the estate since the motor circuit opened in 1948, a number of other significant milestones were celebrated. The pace of motorsport’s post-war boom was further evidenced by commemorating 75 years of NASCAR, Lotus and Porsche too.
Sixty years of McLaren were embraced by the current iteration of Bruce McLaren’s eponymous marque via a terrific array of standout cars and star names, including double world champion Mika Hakkinen and current Formula 1 star Oscar Piastri. Sebastian Vettel was another mounted in McLaren (and Williams) machinery, while Goodwood regulars Jenson Button, Damon Hill and Jackie Stewart also took to the hill.
The Le Mans 24 Hours’ centenary was marked by swathes of significant cars and drivers from the world’s most prestigious enduro. All three Rally1 manufacturers brought along their steeds for action, 50 years after the World Rally Championship was inaugurated. And no clashing MotoGP round allowed for an increased presence of current bikes and riders, headlined by the latest factory MotoGP machinery of Aprilia, KTM and Ducati, whose reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia led the cast.
VETTEL STARS WITH NEW TAKE ON OLD LEGENDS
Postponed from Saturday, Sebastian Vettel’s appearance on the balcony of Goodwood House became a climax to the weekend. After completing the first public run of his McLaren MP4/8 – the last model that Ayrton Senna drove for the team with which
