The Duke of Richmond, the present proprietor and custodian of Goodwood Property, has the automotive equal of the Midas Contact.
Having established and curated the Goodwood Pageant of Velocity since its inaugural occasion in 1993, no different automotive occasion has come near the range, depth, and sheer scale.
The occasion formulation is simple: Line the driveway with hay bales, ship out the invitations to automotive house owners and drivers of significance, and let the remainder handle itself. I’m massively downplaying the trouble put into the Pageant of Velocity, however with out vehicular range, there can be no occasion.
This yr was no totally different, with the theme of ‘Horseless to Hybrid’ showcasing the technological developments within the motorsport enviornment, from the primary formally organised occasion 130 years in the past till now.
Having been lucky to attend the Pageant of Velocity for a number of years, you’d assume I’d have a stable sport plan forward of the occasion. However regardless of how a lot planning I do, the primary day of the four-day occasion is at all times overwhelming. There may be a lot to see, that when you stopped each time one thing caught your eye, you’d danger not even making it out of the carpark.
For fellow Speedhunter Stefan, who was attending for the primary time, it was much more of an assault to the senses. However together with his digicam in hand and a few pointers, he was straight into it.
For the reason that demise of many worldwide auto exhibits, the Goodwood Pageant of Velocity has grow to be a scorching occasion for producers to launch new vehicles. The massive variety of individuals in attendance and reside protection on-line means extra visibility than another kind of occasion. This yr was no totally different, with a number of notable vehicles and ideas being revealed.
If you happen to favor modified and competitors vehicles, these had been equally properly catered for.
Mad Mike Whiddett debuted his newest creation – a McLaren 650S GT3 chassis with P1-style bodywork supplied by Lanzante named MadMac. In true Mad Mike style, a customized Mazda 20B turbo rotary engine has changed the automotive’s authentic twin-turbo V8. Moreover, its wide-body exterior has been enhanced by a fair wider Rocket Bunny equipment.
It was a whirlwind 100-day construct, coming proper right down to the wire earlier than being air-freighted from New Zealand. A couple of minor points introduced themselves on the occasion, however the workforce mounted them shortly. Stefan shot MadMac, so look out for a full characteristic quickly.
The Shadow Can-Am vehicles – a few of which we featured right here – made their ultimate UK look on the 2024 Pageant of Velocity earlier than returning to the USA, with many drivers taking turns piloting them up the driveway. Jake Hill on most assault within the Mk1 confirmed simply how ferociously fast they are often.
Pink Bull Racing selected the pageant to rejoice the twentieth anniversary of their System One efforts, taking on all the Cathedral Paddock. Whereas I’m not an avid F1 fan, it’s inconceivable to dismiss the trouble that goes into the automotive design, manufacturing and working.
The paddock additionally supplied the stage for Adrian Newey to disclose the RB17. This track-only hypercar attracts on Newey and Pink Bull Racing’s 20 years of expertise. Beneath 900kg and over 1,200hp means the RB17 will match F1 automotive lap occasions within the arms of a succesful driver.
The Central Function sculpture exterior Goodwood Home was barely totally different to earlier years. MG was the main target, and though now Chinese language-owned and predominantly producing inexpensive on a regular basis vehicles, the sculpture had a traditional MG B Roadster at one finish of the crimson spar and a brand new MG Cyberster on the different, with no inflexible attachments maintaining them in place.
Yearly, the Goodwood Pageant of Velocity weekend culminates with a timed shootout between the quickest vehicles throughout varied courses. For 2024, Ford returned with a revised Supervan 4.2, flying the flag for the EV contingent with Pikes Peak Worldwide Hill Climb stalwart Romain Dumas on the wheel.
The combustion counterargument to this was a automotive developed particularly for occasions like this. Challenge Midnight, a collaborative construct between Vermont Sports activities Automobile and Subaru Motorsport USA, is about as contrasting because it will get however is constructed for a similar function. The all-black WRX was introduced out alongside the crowd-favourite GL Huckster pushed by Travis Pastrana.
In the end the Supervan 4.2 with 1,400hp, a 150mph (241km/h) entice velocity, and two tonnes of downforce had been exhausting to argue with, regardless of the perfect efforts of Scott Velocity in Challenge Midnight. Dumas set a blistering time of 43.9 seconds up the hill for the 2024 bragging rights.
It’s frequent to return away from the Pageant of Velocity needing a number of days to course of all the things you’ve seen. And that’s earlier than the flood of social media posts showcasing vehicles you fully missed begins.
That appears like an ideal excuse to return again subsequent yr. Keep tuned for tons extra from the 2024 Goodwood Pageant of Velocity.
Chaydon Ford
Instagram: chaycore
Pictures by Stefan Kotzé
Instagram: stefankotzemedia
[email protected]
www.stefankotzemedia.com
