Get set for Goodwood

With its official theme of ‘Addicted to Winning’, the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed looks set to be bigger and better than ever. Kicking off with the Moving Motor Show today (June 26), before moving on to the Festival itself from Friday through to Sunday, the event promises four days of glamour and excitement.

Whether you’re an F1 addict, a rally fan or a serious follower of high-performance road cars, the Festival of Speed is one of the highlights of the motoring calendar. And with the 2014 event celebrating an array of important anniversaries, a visit to Goodwood should be high on every classic car fan’s agenda.

Manufacturers with something to celebrate will be providing static and action displays, both on track and via Goodwood’s 1.16-mile hillclimb course, which rises more than 300 feet from start to finish. A total of 300 different cars and motorbikes can be seen in action on the hillclimb every day throughout the Festival of Speed.

Mercedes-Benz will be celebrating 120 years in motorsport with a selection of its most significant racers, from the pre-war Silver Arrows through to the latest F1 models, while Bentley will be showing off the new GT3-R version of its Continental GT, its 572bhp V8 making it the fastest-accelerating production Bentley of all time. As for Jaguar, the Coventry firm will be exhibiting all-time racing greats like the D-type, XJ-S TWR and XJR-9, each of which will also tackle the hillclimb.

Some of the most famous names from motorsport will be in attendance, particularly from the worlds of F1 and the BTCC. Some of the confirmed names attending include John Surtees, Damon Hill, Felipe Massa and Andy Rouse. Meanwhile, rally icon Rauno Aaltonen (better known as the Flying Finn), who famously won the 1967 Monte Carlo Rally in a Mini, will get behind the wheel of a 1964 ex-works Cooper on the Forest Rally Stage at Goodwood.

To find out more about the Festival of Speed and to see live updates throughout the event, check out our dedicated Goodwood Festival of Speed page here. 

By Paul Guinness, Contributor