2024 GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED
They say it’s the greatest automotive event in the world and you could understand why just by looking at the numbers: 200.000 visitors are coming to Goodwood for the 4 days of Festival of Speed, with 65.000 of them on Saturday alone. tickets capped and all sold out before the start of the event. What is it that draws everyone that has the slightest affinity for the automobile in all its forms (from enthusiasts to collectors and industry leaders from around the globe) to a private estate in the middle of the English countryside?
It all began with a vision by Charles Gordon-Lennox, the 11th Duke of Richmond, also known as Lord March. Back in 1993 he had a burning desire to bring motorsport back to the historic Goodwood Estate in West Sussex, England. This desire wasn’t coming out of nowhere nor was it just the fancy of an aristocrat. This place already had a rich motorsport heritage: it was in 1936 that the 9th Duke of Richmond, Freddie March, first held a private hillclimb on the estate’s grounds… for the local Lancia Car Club! After World War II, the Goodwood Circuit was established on a nearby airfield, hosting races from 1948 to 1966, becoming over the years a renowned venue in British motorsport. Despite its closure to competitive racing in 1966, the circuit remained popular among private enthusiasts. Lord March, who inherited the estate in the early 1990s, was passionate about motorsport and determined to revive its long gone by now racing tradition. However, due to a pesky little thing called “health and safety regulations” he couldn't reopen the old Goodwood circuit for public races, so with an assertive move that served so well the British throughout their history he conceived an unorthodox alternative: a festival that combined the excitement of motorsport with the elegance of his Goodwood Estate, in an event that celebrated both historic and contemporary motorsport, but in a setting that allowed fans to get close to the action. The centerpiece was a hillclimb event on the estate's driveway, reminiscent of the private hillclimb organized by his grandfather.
The inaugural festival was a resounding success, attracting around 25,000 spectators. It featured a variety of cars and motorcycles, from vintage vehicles to modern racing machines, some of them driven by notable figures in motorsport. The event's unique format, which allowed spectators unprecedented access to the cars and drivers, set it apart from other automotive events. Following its successful debut, the Goodwood Festival of Speed rapidly grew in popularity and scale. Each year, the festival expanded its attractions, including the addition of its own concours d'elegance, the Forest Rally Stage, and the Future Lab or the Electric Avenue starting with the 2021 edition, which showcases cutting-edge automotive technologies. But probably the point of now return for this success story came after 2020, when everything everywhere kind of changed. Closed spaces, traditional auto shows were on the decline anyway, but the pandemic restrictions gave them the final kick, all the while the Goodwood Festival of Speed combines like nowhere else on Earth the wow factor of a shiny auto salon with the democratic accessibility of an open air festival.
It was also the festival's ability to attract top manufacturers, racing teams, and legendary drivers that solidified its reputation as a top tier motorsport event. It’s THE place for established manufacturers to debut new models and for private racing teams to showcase their hardened machines on circuits around the world. But as big this automotive party has become, it wouldn't be complete without the most storied name in the history of motorsport, our beloved Alfa Romeo.
You’d be forgiven for not considering Alfa Romeo lately to be one of the major, pivotal brands in the grand scheme of automotive things. But even with a reduced range, Alfa still has a word to say where it matters. Poche ma (molto) buone as they say in Italy. And even if we know Alfas are special and we like to believe their owners are too, I’ve always thought that Alfa’s range can represent a scaled down car universe, as its owners are also coming from all walks of life and can be so different among themselves. Take the 2 latest models, both present at the 2024 edition of Goodwood Festival of Speed: the 33 Stradale for a very select few and the Junior as an easily accessible, electrified entry ticket to the Biscione family. The 33 Stradale (still in its style prototype version) shown off in a glass walled chamber like a most precious jewel in its custom display case, the Junior on the no-walls-no-barriers Electric Boulevard. Access to the 33 Stradale awarded to the life long friends of the brand like the members of the Alfa Owners Club in UK, while the doors of the Junior wide open for anyone to climb aboard and get a taste of the virus. You couldn't possibly get a more diverse representation of the automotive universe from any other manufacturer present. And a tapestry of human experience indeed.
But Alfa’s official representation is only half of the story. It wouldn't be a festival without the private entries, and this year they were more like a handpicked members of a hall of fame. Starting with the first car designed as a single seater with the specific task of winning Grand Prix: the 1933 Alfa Romeo P3. What a great satisfaction for an alfista to hear it presented during its sprint up the hill, live over the loudspeakers along the track, as the prettiest single seater race car! Alfa Romeo has a habit of getting it right first time trying. Next up came the majestic 1941 8C 2900 B Spider Corsa Sperimentale “Balena” from the Lowman Museum, a Gioachino Colombo signed, 8 cylinder in line 180 HP powered, 5 meter long streamlined aerodynamic manifesto, with the only misfortune of being born in the trouble times of the second world war. So if the “Balena” has a lot to be admired about but no racing trophy to show off, the Alfa Romeo - Brabham BT46B present at the other end of the paddocks is the only Formula 1 race car to ever boast a 100% winning record. If I was to single out just one car from Goodwood and be happy that I got to see it, this would be it: representing the single epochal moment when a British engineer came up with an assertive move and decided to install the biggest fan you could think of at the back of the Alfa Romeo boxer 12 cylinder powered F1 car, claim it was for cooling that said engine, when in fact it also served to extract all the air from underneath the car, sucking it to the ground in the process and giving Niki Lauda the confidence to take the chicanes of the 1978 Swedish Gran Prix glued to the asphalt at unfathomable speeds. Which he won, in what was to become the first and last GP disputed by this car. Competing teams complained that the huge fan was also collecting debris and stones from underneath the car, dangerously dispersing them in its rear path. And maybe this is the reason we didn’t get to see this legendary car taking to the Goodwood hill climb…
For its first class Alfa selection, the Festival of Speed’s own Concorso d'Eleganza - Cartier Style & Luxe had another 8 cylinder powered entry: the 1973 Montreal, among the two Marcello Gandini homaging classes on the lawn in front of the Goodwood House. His only Alfa production supercar, a car we had the pleasure to feature recently.
This global motorsport celebration reunites and celebrates like nowhere else the car culture. It mixes the past, present and the future, and manages to offer something from everyone, from hardcore, all knowing geeks of racing statistics to a family looking to enjoy a day out in the English countryside on a summer day (with plentz of chances of getting a taste of all the 4 seasons during that day). The festival’s success can be explained by its unique ability to bring together such diverse elements of the automotive world - F1 cars, rally cars, sport prototypes and regular production (super) cars - in a setting that is both elegant and accessible. Lord March's vision of reviving motorsport at Goodwood has not only been realized but has exceeded all expectations.
But at the heart of the event, the highlight remains the The Hillclimb shootout, with its challenging 1.16-mile course, whose record is held, ironically or not, by an electric car. So I’ll just say it: The Festival is not complete without Alfa’s newest and freshest giving it all up the hill: the 33 Stradale to make a last, loud blast of the engines powered by dinosaur juice, and the Junior to show us where the future leads… Sounds like a good plan for the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed?
Photo gallery by Luca Danilo Orsi, part of the Alfattitude event coverage on behalf of Alfa Romeo.
