Forget the inevitable rain here in the south of England. Forget the traffic gridlock that will delay your arrival an hour or more. Forget the wealthy folks who fly in and out with helicopters. Forget the long lines for beer, gelato, or the loo, too.
These are mild inconveniences to overcome at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, now in its 30th year and hosted a few hours south of London in the rolling hills of a massive country estate owned by the Duke of Richmond, a short distance from the home of the quintessential British brand Rolls-Royce.
I've heard about this event for years, and when I try to explain it to non-car people, they're like "What???" Yep, some 50,000 people converge on this tiny hamlet for four straight days for a chance to watch people like four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel haul ass up a long driveway in front of the duke's estate in high-powered cars that might be 100 years old or may have just emerged from the R&D lab.
Ultimate bragging rights go to the driver who completes the hillclimb in the shortest time. Some of it's just plain fun, like the dudes who leave the starting line from a ramp and manage the entire distance on two wheels, with the other two in the air.
You come here thinking, "Wow, the duke knows how to throw a party, but he probably leaves town when this rabble shows up to sully his lawn." Or, his security detail must keep him well guarded and out of sight.
And yet, you'll never guess who greeted me personally, along with other journalists attending Goodwood this week at the Pirelli tire booth as the whole event was beginning Thursday morning.
Heck yeah, Charles Gordon-Lennox, the 11th Duke of Richmond, walked into the Pirelli tire pavilion—one of hundreds occupying space on the grounds along the track—and kicked off the company's press conference by warmly welcoming the premium Italian tiremaker that signed on as the official Goodwood tire partner for the first time this year.
And after completing his ceremonial duties—along the lines of throwing out the first pitch at Fenway Park—he slipped out to visit other esteemed corporate sponsors like McLaren or Aston Martin or MG or Bentley. None of them would miss this event on their home turf.
A few minutes after the duke departed the Pirelli stand, the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team known as the Red Arrows soared overhead—and made a second pass!—to kick off the festivities under reasonably clear skies on a thankfully cool day.
The second day got off to a wet start, which explained why the grounds at Goodwood are covered with floating aluminum or composite decking—there must be miles of the stuff that occupies massive warehouses when not in use—to prevent a muddy mess.
My first day at the Goodwood Festival of Speed was seen mostly through the eyes of our host Pirelli, which is launching a new generation of P Zero E tires for battery-electric cars. Pirelli set up visits with McLaren, Ford, Pagani, Polestar, Ferrari, Lotus, and Rolls-Royce to talk about how these global automakers use their tires.
Beyond the corporate component of Goodwood—an important aspect that provides sustaining sponsorship dollars—there's something here for everybody. You can stand in the Ineos pavilion and look up through a plexiglass ceiling to view the underside of the rugged Grenadier off-roader, and there's a small track for next-generation speedsters to ride tiny electric dirt bikes.
Shopping for automotive curios? Whatever you want—perhaps a rusty old Pontiac Motors sign to hang on your garage wall above your Firebird—you'll find it at Goodwood.
There's so much going on at Goodwood that you might forget to dedicate time for sitting in the massive grandstands or standing along the hay bales to watch cars roar up the hill. But spectators must pay attention: Yesterday, a rear tire came off a vintage Jaguar at high speed, rolled, bounced high in the air, then crashed down into the crowd, miraculously causing only minor injuries.
But today, the cars are running again, the noon fireworks show went off as planned, and the sound of roaring internal-combustion racing engines reminds visitors walking the grounds exactly why they came.
