PHOTOS: PA MEDIA
The Festival of Speed, presented by Mastercard, celebrated another incredible weekend, bringing together legendary drivers, riders and showcasing an outstanding collection of cars and motorcycles, with premieres and debuts around every corner.
Renowned as the place to see some of the most legendary drivers and riders in motorsport, the 2024 Festival of Speed served as no exception, welcoming both current and former Formula 1 teams, drivers and cars.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary and marking Goodwood’s biggest celebration of a Formula 1 team to date, Oracle Red Bull Racing brought together an incredible lineup of drivers from across the team’s history.
Making his Festival of Speed debut at the event this year, the Festival of Speed welcomed current and three-time Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen who took to the Hill on Sunday in the RB16B in which he claimed his first world title in 2021.
Joined by teammate Sergio Pérez and Team Principal and CEO Christian Horner, as well as former Red Bull drivers David Coulthard, Christian Klien, Daniel Ricciardo and Mark Webber, the hugely successful Formula 1 team took to the Goodwood balcony on Sunday giving fans the opportunity to salute the seven drivers who between them, hold a phenomenal 97 Formula 1 race wins.
Joining the event on two wheels, Michael Dunlop — the most successful rider in the history of the Isle of Man TT with 29 victories — rode his 2024 IOM TT Superstock bike alongside 23-time winner and lap record-holder John McGuinness and 14-time winner and Mountain Course lap record-holder Peter Hickman. Dunlop also celebrated his recent triumph at the Isle of Man TT with a moment on the balcony of Goodwood House on Saturday.
Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Richard Petty attended across the weekend, as the Petty family celebrated 75 years of their involvement with motorsport. Returning to the Festival of Speed, Petty was joined by his famous 1970 Plymouth Superbird, driven by son Kyle, as Goodwood celebrated “The King” and his extraordinary career.
MG celebrated its centenary at the Festival of Speed this year, headlining the event with the monumental Central Feature on the lawn outside Goodwood House and a daily extravaganza. Gerry Judah’s highly-anticipated sculpture featured the Cyberster EV roadster and MGB. The two cars from MG’s past and present, perfectly illustrated this year’s ‘Horseless to Hybrid’ theme which recognised the advances in technology and propulsion that have shaped the automotive industry over the last 130 years.
Visitors were some of the first to witness global marques and manufacturers unveiling their latest projects at the Festival of Speed, including debuts of the new Porsche 911, BMW M5, BMW XM Label Red, BYD SEAL U DM-I, Defender OCTA, All-Electric Ford Capri, Honda Civic Type R, Jaecoo J7, Maserati M20, Pagani Epitome, Pagani Imola Roadster, RB17 and the Yangwang U8, among many others.
Located at the heart of the event and exhibiting some of the very latest technology, Future Lab presented by Randox showcased ‘Technology for a Better World’, with exhibitors grouped into four sub-themes: ‘Protecting the Planet’, ‘Robots to the Rescue’, ‘Future of Flight’ and ‘Our World in Pixels’.
The interactive hub welcomed entrepreneurs and innovators, including Dronamics, Drone City, Performit Live, sees.ai, and Shadow Robot who have collaborated with Google DeepMind on their latest robotic hand.
The Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) returned to the Festival of Speed, following their debut in 2023, and took to the Hill across the weekend with the AV-24, the world’s first fully-autonomous racecar piloted by software from the PoliMOVE-MSU team. On Thursday, Durham University’s Solar Car set the first time for a solar car on the Goodwood Hill.
Over at Electric Avenue — the home of electric mobility at the Festival of Speed — the exhibition focused on four zones displaying urban cars, SUV and family cars, performance sports cars and future cars, featuring the likes of the BMW i5 Touring, Honda e:Ny1, Hyundai IONIQ 5 N, Maserati GranCabrio Folgore and the Polestar 4.
A collection of spectacular and unique vehicles went under the hammer at the Bonhams|Cars Auction on Friday afternoon. Highlights included the 1928 Mercedes-Benz 36/220 S-Type Four-Seated Sports Tourer which sold for £2,871,000, the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL ‘Gullwing’ Coupé which sold for £1,135,000 and the 1962 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster which sold for £1,045,400. The sale achieved a total of £11,035,691 — the highest total for a Bonhams|Cars’ UK sale to date in 2024.
This year’s Festival of Speed supported Two Wheels for Life, a charity dedicated to transforming healthcare across Africa using the power of motorcycles. Two Wheels for Life were on site across the weekend with volunteers sharing details of the incredible work they do, and some of the vehicles used for the delivery of healthcare on display.
