Goodwood Festival goes big in 2012
From June 29 to July 1, Goodwood was heaven for motoring and motorsport fans from around the world, and the record-setting crowd figure this year proves the event continues to grow in popularity. Lotus was the featured marque this year, as part of the broader theme for 2012 of 'Young Guns - Born to Win', celebrating the drivers, riders, designers and engineers who shocked the establishment and became overnight sensations.
The main sculpture outside Goodwood House featuring a selection of Lotus open wheelers from the company's 60-year history, in a striking 28 metre high helix-cum-infinity symbol construction. In addition to the display cars, more than 40 significant examples from Lotus' racing history took part in the Festival hillclimb. Goodwood Festival of Speed founder Lord March was offered the rare privilege of driving the ex-Jochen Rindt 1970 Lotus 72 Gold Leaf in the hillclimb, and reportedly enjoyed the opportunity immensely!
Special guests this year were headlined by Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel, both of whom were making their first appearance at the Festival of Speed. They joined current F1 stars in Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Nick Heidfeld, Heiki Kovalainen, Nico Rosberg and our own Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo. Stars of the past included Emerson Fittipaldi, Vern Schuppan, John Surtees, Jackie Oliver, Desire Wilson, Stirling Moss and Jackie Stewart (both FoS regulars), Derek Bell, Brian Redman, Allan McNish, Jacky Ickx, as well as Red Bull F1's Christian Horner and Adrian Newey.
Other famous names appearing at this year's Festival included our own Jim Richards, Win Percy, Jesse James, Marino Franchitti (fresh from the Le Mans Nissan Deltawing campaign), Rauno Aaltonen, Bjorn Waldegard, Kenny Brack, Rod Millen, Tom Kristensen, Steve Soper and Bernd Schneider. Stars of two wheel racing were also in attendance, with the likes of Wayne Gardner, Kenny Robert, Aaron Slight, Troy Corser, Paul Smart, Guy Martin and Steve Parrish joining the party, too.
A special feature of the Cartier 'Style et Luxe' concours d'elegance at this year's Festival was its devotion to just one subject - royal vehicles. In tribute to the diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II this year, the Cartier lawn was filled with vehicles that had Royal connections. Stately saloons shared space with a caravan, airplane, train carriage (which saw over 10,000 visitors from 24 countries pass through it) and even a half-scale American Midget Racer! The judging committee for the Cartier concours included the Queen's nephew Lord Linley, AC/DC front man Brian Johnson, fashion accessories magnate Anya Hindmarch and actor Rupert Penry-Jones. The overall winner was HRH The Prince of Wales' Aston Martin DB6 MkII Volante, while the sublime Chapron-bodied Citroen SM Cabriolet emerged on top in the 'Overseas Engagements' class. The Duke of Edinburgh's 1961 Alvis TD21 DHC SII claimed the 'Regal Runabouts' category.
Of course, a highlight for many Festival visitors is seeing the diverse range of machines - and their star drivers - take to the Goodwood hillclimb course. The 1.16 mile track is a challenging one, as many drivers found out when they ran off track. Among these was Rod Millen, who bent his Pikes Peak Toyota Tacoma hillclimber after putting a wheel onto the wet grass off the track. In a change from previous Festivals, this year's running saw more than 45 cars vie to take part in the top 20 'shoot-out' finale on Sunday, July 1st.
The Timed Shootout on Sunday afternoon featured a "What's What" of motor racing talent - Maserati 8CM, Jaguar XJR8, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, Maserati MC12, Nissan GT-R GT1, Ferrari 712, Brabham-Climax BT3, Sauber-Mercedes C9 and more. A cluster of Cosworth-powered cars also featured in the Festival finale: Williams-Cosworth FW08; Lotus-Cosworth 76; Lotus-Cosworth 77; Ford Sierra Cosworth; and March-Cosworth 2-4-0, which was one of a trio of six-wheelers appearing at this year's FoS.
While the open-wheelers usually do well at the hillclimb, they were eclipsed by a sportscar this year, in the form of a Chevron GT3 driven by Anthony Reid. The former British Touring Car Championship ace brought the house down in the 420bhp 3.5 V6-powered GT Cup car developed from the Chevron GR8. Reid reached 131mph (210kph) on his run to record the fastest time of the day - a staggering 46.46 sec. He narrowly edged out pre-Shootout favourite Gary Ward, who streaked up the hill in 46.80 sec aboard his Leyton House-Judd CG901B GP open-wheeler. Fastest man in terms of outright speed was Group C Jaguar XJR8/9 driver Justin Law, who recorded a belief-beggaring 142mph (227kph) on his 47.05 sec run. Other impressive times included 49.07 (Nissan GT-R GT1 - Michael Krumm), 48.0 (Maserati MC12 - Michael Bartels) and 49.65 (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup - Michael Beaumont).
Proof of the six-wheel concept was evidenced by the performance of the Williams and March machines on the hillclimb. While the six wheel concept was legislated out of F1 competition before either of these cars turned a wheel in anger, their times of 50.28 (March-Cosworth 2-4-0) and 52.10 (Williams-Cosworth FW08C) proved they would have been highly competitive in their day.
Special classes on the hillclimb course for Pikes Peak-style dedicated machines, classic American TransAm and circuit racers, as well as Pioneer cars meant the hillclimb course was in action throughout the event. Prior to the weekend's timed runs, the Michelin Supercar Run saw some of the latest exotica from the world's premier luxury and high-performance marques take to the track. Amongst the Bentleys, BMWs, Ferraris and small-scale supercars from the likes of Noble, Ginetta, Ariel, Gumpert and more, a highlight was the appearance of Infinit's 'Emerg-E' hybrid concept. With its Lotus-esque lines, the Emerg-E was a real standout. The Michelin Supercar Run also marked the debut of Infiniti's 'FX Vettel', Aston Martin's 6.0-litre V12 'AM310 Vanquish', and Porsche's Panamera GTS
After the hillclimb, another favourite with Goodwood attendees is the Forest Rally Stage. As in previous years, the 2012 showcase of rally cars and rally stars saw plenty of sideways action. Past masters such as Hannu Mikkola, Russell Brookes and Bjorn Waldegaard took on the stars of historic rallying as Goodwood celebrated 'The Birth of Stage Rallying'. With marques as diverse as Alpine, MG, Ford, Vauxhall, Lancia and even Lotus, Lada and Rover sliding through the dirt and gravel, with rain in the lead up to the event making conditions extra slippery. However, there were only a few spills, spectators being rewarded with epic displays of car control. Presented by Skoda, who demonstrated their latest Fabia S2000 rally weapon, the Forest Rally Stage featured Alpine A110s, Lancia Stratos', Mini Coopers, as well as some of the awesome weapons from the Group B era: Audi Sport Quattro; MG Metro 6R4; and Ford RS200, as well as some of the latest rally racers.
Goodwood also marked the UK debut of Renault's recently-released A110-50, created by the French carmaker to honour 50 years since the appearance of the original A110. Other debuts came from Mercedes-Benz, who unveiled their new CLS 'Shooting Brake' wagon, and Jaguar, who put a camouflaged version of their upcoming F-Type roadster through its paces, while the 'XJ_e' hybrid was on display at the FoS-TECH Technology Pavilion. Other highlights at FoS-TECH included Ford's Evos concept, the 'Megapixel' range from Tata Motors, and Opel's RAK-e electric-powered tandem two-seater, with the most surprising 'green' vehicle being an electric-powered version of Toyota's iconic 2000GT.
Pre-war racing cars featured in the Cathedral Paddock display, while the cricket pitch was the location for the return of 'GAS' - the Goodwood Action Sports arena, that debuted last year. The Moving Motor Show allowed a select few to take some of the latest cars for a controlled test drive.
There were far more elements to this year's festival of Speed than we can list here, but suffice to say, the enjoyment experienced by the drivers and visiting talent was palpable, and the crowd numbers don't lie - Goodwood 2012 was another winner! For those awaiting their next fix of motor sport at Goodwood, the annual Goodwood Revival is on September 14 -16, with a bunch of exciting plans in place. Tickets and further information for the 2012 Goodwood Revival can be found on the Goodwood website - www.goodwood.com/motor sport/
Dates for the big, 20th anniversary 2013 Festival of Speed will be announced later this year.
images: Copyright Marcus Dodridge, Matt Sills, John Colley, Adam Beresford, all courtesy of Goodwood.
