Goodwood Festival of Speed 2024: What is it and why is it the ultimate event for car enthusiasts?

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is a worldwide-renowned motorsport event that attracts visitors from all over the globe.

Taking place at the beautiful English estate of Goodwood, the event is seen as a must-go for petrol-loving car enthusiasts.

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The allure of the event however is that even if you are not a motoring fanatic, there is something for everyone. Camping options are available for those who don't want to worry about transport once the festivities are over and there is even a deluxe Goodwood hotel if that's more your speed.

The Goodwood name hosts multiple events, most notably FOS and Revival, which are highly anticipated on the motorsports calendar. Founded in 1993 by Lord March, FOS brought racing back to the Goodwood Estate, with over 30,000 people reportedly turning up for the inaugural event. It was significantly more successful than he could ever have hoped for.

With only a few days to go until FOS returns for another year, what makes it arguably the best automotive event in the UK?

What does FOS have to offer?

Hosted in the peak of British Summer, FOS possesses the vibe of a music festival and a British garden party simultaneously- an assault on the senses but a positive one at that. With a supercar paddock and an F1 pit lane, the event hosts some of the finest machinery in motorsport. The timetable features modern and historic vehicles taking part in a plethora of events, including the infamous hillclimb. This event sees famous faces push their machinery to the limit on two and four wheels, truly testing the boundaries.

In essence, that is what FOS is about - manufacturers and often Formula 1 teams showing off the best in the business, in the name of breaking records and entertaining fans.

Goodwood Revival on the other hand usually takes place in September and is an amalgamation of a motor show and a fancy dress party, akin to the atmosphere you’d expect from Ascot. The layout is slightly more comparable to a traditional race weekend, with track parades and race formats, yet there are many other activities to excite the crowd such as a fly past, circus show, auctions and perhaps the most intriguing to entice fun for all the family; the Goodwood cinema.

The two events; Revival and FOS, are hosted in entirely different locations and therefore share no layout similarities. Revival takes place at the Goodwood Motor Circuit where classic car displays take place, as well as on-track racing from many vintage high-ticket models. FOS doesn’t have a traditional racetrack as it is hosted by Goodwood House in West Sussex.

Revival, as the name suggests, focuses heavily on retro culture and classic cars, differing greatly from the speed demon that is FOS. It serves a purpose of dual interests - not only will the crowd consist of petrolheads, motorsport fans and automobile collectors, but alongside them will be vintage fashion fanatics, showing off the very best of wardrobe period pieces, bringing a classy feel to the weekend that remains synonymous with the cars on show.

FOS shares many of these traits, including entertainment for all ages. On the Goodwood website, former Red Bull F1 driver Mark Webber stated: “We've got kids, we've got granddad here, mum and dad... It's the best event in the world and I don't know who's second, but it's a long, long way behind.”

Over the years, FOS has become renowned for being the best place for manufacturers to showcase the pinnacle of motorsport innovation, meaning the event offers something fresh for visitors every year with various debuts and world firsts. Not only can guests enjoy a fun day out, but they might also get to see history being made.

Those lucky enough to have attended Goodwood’s 2022 FOS would have experienced exactly that, after witnessing Max Chilton hurtle around the Estate in the McMurtry Speirling; a brand new electric, single-seater. This record-breaking rocketship managed a 39.08 on the hillclimb at the heavily anticipated shootout and still holds the outright record to this day.

What to look forward to this year

Meticulously planned to slot right into a convenient free weekend on the F1 calendar, FoS will feature some familiar faces for fans of the sport.

Red Bull will continue to play a vital role in proceedings after facing defeat at Silverstone last weekend. Reigning world champion Max Verstappen will lead the team at the helm of his championship-winning RB16B on the final day - Sunday, July 14. Sergio Perez will be looking for a much-needed pick-me-up over the FoS weekend after his poor form of late, tackling the Hill in the RB19. Fan favourite Daniel Ricciardo will also make an appearance in the role of driving the RB7- the model that carried Sebastian Vettel to victory in 2011.

Another icon of the sport, Adrian Newey, will also attend the festival to unveil his £5million RB17 hypercar.

Think of FOS as motorsports answer to the Met Gala- every year has a different theme with this year's being, 'Horseless to Hybrid: Revolutions in Power,'. The event will pay homage to the incredible advancements in engines, whilst also paying tribute to Niki Lauda on what would have been the late legend’s 75th birthday.

Hybrid cars are becoming more integral to the festival each year- already a key component in WEC, alternative fuels were brought to the forefront of last year’s festival by Toyota when they debuted a UK first at Goodwood- the GR Yaris H2, a prototype rally car powered by hydrogen fuel.

Goodwood is the heart and soul of British motorsport and FoS is where the very best of F1, WRC, MotoGP and endurance racing convene over one iconic weekend to display the best in automotive engineering. Nowhere else offers this much access to some of the sport's best cars, drivers and representatives, in a way you couldn’t experience first-hand at any other event in the world.

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