Preview: Goodwood Festival of Speed 2009 – True Grit

By Ben Whitworth

Motor Shows

20 March 2009 16:11

The 2009 Festival of Speed – held this year over the weekend of 3-5 July – will honour motorsport’s endurance heroes with a celebration of Le Mans’ 60th anniversary.

‘The Festival will pay tribute to the men who fought against the odds on the track and won,’ Lord March told CAR Online. ‘With drivers like Jochen Mass, Jacky Ickx, Jackie Stewart and Sterling Moss joining us – drivers that went the extra mile in the pursuit of victory – I’m really looking forward to seeing some of the great endurance drivers, riders and machines in action.’

The Festival will also take in a number of other important anniversaries – both Audi and Morgan will be celebrating their centenaries, the Mini will turn 50, and it will mark 40 years of Frank Williams’ involvement in Formula 1.

As well as a driver line-up that will leave any motorpsort fan weak at the knees, Lord March and his team will assemble the world’s largest gathering of both the omnipotent Porsche 917 racers and the Mercedes and Auto Union Silver Arrows, while the Cartier sponsored Style et Luxe concours d’elegance will be devoted to the legendary Bugatti 57.

As part of the ever-popular run of supercars up Lord March’s 1.6-mile driveway past Goodwood House, the 2009 Festival of Speed will tip its hat to the present-day carbon climate, with a run of zero- and low-emission cars. Let’s just hope it’s a fleet of indecently quick Tesla, Lightning and Fisker racers whipping silently past Lord March’s front door, rather than a sluggish fleet of pious Prius drivers…

As usual, CAR Online will have some top-class class complimentary tickets to the event – so keep an eye out for our competition in June 2009 for a chance to win tickets to what is easily the largest and finest car culture event in the world.

By Ben Whitworth