With all the bad news this past week (and it ain't over yet) concerning the world of cars, truck and motorcycles and the people who plan, build, sell, drive and race them ... It's time for a break for some FUN! Okay? Alright! For one long, glorious weekend coming next month, July 11 through 13, on the grounds of the Earl of March, also known as the Goodwood Festival of Speed (aka FoS, and remember the March F1 team?), the honors fall to the history and technology of Formula One competition. And click on that link to Goodwood for a GREAT video experience ... ("Exploded" Honda F1 car, circa 2005).
What started as a quickie one-day holiday diversion at Goodwood in 1993 for the heartiest of Brit racing fans, and they are a tough lot, has turned into a combination of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and the vintage races which always run concurrently just a few miles from Pebble Beach at the (Mazda) Laguna Seca Raceway. Incidentally, the fellow who started the vintage racing craze in this country is named Steve Earle ... Earl of March? Hmmm ... we wonder ... Coincidence? Or Irony?
Anyway, a lot of people in and out of the car business think that combining those two events would make for 
the greatest weekend (or week, or month ... whatever ...) in the world concerning old cars of every class and use. But until they build a race track across the street from the Pebble Beach golf course (which a lot of people think has already happened, and they call it 17 Mile Drive) or the Pacific Ocean cuts a swath from the existing coast to the race track on the property of what the US Army used to call Fort Ord (and the way earthquakes happen in California, this might happen, on its own, just about anytime now), the FoS, as it's called by the cognoscenti, will satisfy those of us who not only appreciate "applied art with a functional purpose," as someone once called old race cars, but appreciate them both at speed ... and at a stop. (Start of this year's F1 season-opener in Australia; Bottom, McLaren F1 car piloted by Lewis Hamilton at Goodwood's FoS "hillclimb" in 2007).
Here comes the "official" F1 media release from the FIA, but remember, too, that not only did Lord March, after being turned-down by some politicos to hold it elsewhere, decide to use his own land on which to hold what's still laughingly referred to as a "hill climb," but there was enough room left over on his grounds for BMW to build their now-near-brand-new Rolls-Royce factory. It's a big place. This year's will be the 15th FoS, and though those who keep track of these things say that after the near-160,000 people who attended in 2003, and tickets priced high to try and keep out the hoi polloi (similarly, it's around $125 per ducat for Pebble Beach, and they still get a much larger crowd than is reasonable for the number of cars and people), the FoS still easily gets between 150,000 and 160,000 folks every year.
Click below for more on the Goodwood Festival of Speed, coming up in just a few weeks!
How large is the place? Well, there is the family's ancestral Goodwood House. And Goodwood Hotel. And Goodwood farm. And the Kennels, Sculpture Garden and forestry lands. There's a Rolls-Royce factory; in fact, it is THE Rolls-Royce factory, with its roof made of grass and all those oh-so-modern touches. Apart from the expected spa and health club, one might also participate in golf, motorsports of various kinds, horse racing and even flying, should you wish to bring your private plane for holiday at Goodwood (or at least, have your chauffeur keep it handy whilst holiday-ing; is that a word?).
Or try your hand at properly placing the "Spirit of Ecstasy" sculpture on one of those new Rollers ...
And now, the F1 release, typos and misspellings (we Americans think) left intact:
The UK’s annual Goodwood Festival of Speed (FOS) always attracts a plethora of Formula One drivers and machinery, both past and present, and this July’s event will mark several anniversaries relating to motorsport’s top flight… (A Ferrari cornering at speed at Goodwood, and man oh man, check out them skinny little tyres; anyone trying to tell me these guys didn't have BALLS? The guy's helmet looks better-built than the entire car! Below, Lord March his-own-self in a 1500cc 1961 Porsche 718).
Mike Hawthorn: the theme of this year's Festival is 'Hawthorn to Hamilton,' marking 50 years since Mike
Hawthorn became the first British Formula One world champion. Lewis Hamilton, who hopes to repeat his countryman’s success this season, will be in attendance to take his McLaren up the famous Goodwood hill.
1908 French Grand Prix: at last weekend’s Magny-Cours race Mercedes-Benz celebrated the 100th anniversary of their first Grand Prix success and the FOS will see a record number of the actual cars that competed in that 1908 race reunited, including machinery not just from Benz and Mercedes, but also Itala and Mors.
Cosworth: they remain the company behind the most successful engine in Formula One history, their legendary DFV having taken 155 victories. They are also 50 years old this year and Goodwood will recognise the occasion with a selection of famous Cosworth-powered race cars. (Rene Arnoux, best-known in the USA for his stunt-driving abilities in TV commercials, with the 1979 Renault race car, 1st French-made car to ever win the French Grand Prix at Magny Cours).
McLaren: legendary Formula One constructors McLaren celebrate 40 years of Grand Prix victories in 2008, and Goodwood will mark this achievement with an exciting display of significant McLaren race cars, including the championship-winning machines of Emerson Fittipaldi, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna. Of course, all McLaren entrants, people and cars, will be subject to a thorough inspection to see if any of the odd Ferrari papers might be discovered (Editor's note - ok, it's a joke...).
Among the other Formula One teams due to attend the Festival are BMW Sauber with testers Christian Klien and Marko Asmer, Red Bull with test driver Sebastian Buemi, Honda with Jenson Button and tester Alex Wurz, Ferrari with test driver Marc Gene and Toyota with test driver Kamui Kobayashi.
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