VIDEO: Goodwood Festival of Speed and Revival launch

By Neill Barston

A host of gorgeous vintage and current racing cars lined up to showcase the arrival of the motorsports calendar at Goodwood.

Among the stars of the show at the launch event were Lewis Hamilton’s F1 car and a UK first-glimpse of Alfa Romeo’s Giulietta – released as the Italian manufacturer celebrates its centenary.

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The team behind this year’s Festival of Speed in July are expecting record visitor numbers as fans clamour to meet and greet stars of F1 including present champion Jenson Button.

World Rally Champion Sebastian Loeb will also be putting in an appearance at the venue, which will ensure there will be plenty of track thrills for spectators.

Organisers have an additional trick up their sleeves with the addition of a fourth day to the event. The Moving Motor Show on July 1 will offer people a chance to gain their first look at some of the hottest new cars around. These brand-new vehicles will be put through their paces at the venue’s globally-renowned hill climb.

Bikes are not left out either with Agostini and festival first-timer Kevin Schwantz two of the names appearing alongside world trials champion Dougie Lampkin.

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Renowned for its innovative themes, this year’s event centres around “Viva Veloce” (passion for speed) paying homage to some of Italy’s greatest motoring manufacturers.

Speaking at the launch last Thursday (March 18), the Earl of March felt the festival would bring together “the greatest collection of cars in the world”. He believed both the Festival Of Speed and the Revival would be packed full of surprises.

He said: “We are all really excited about the centenary of Alfa and we are expecting more than 50 of them to make an appearance in July and they will feature in our central installation.

“We will have over 30 cars making their UK debut, which forms a whole new part of the festival which many people have come to regard as taking the place of the British Motor Show.”

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He added: “People will be coming to celebrate cars in all shapes and forms, making it the biggest celebration in the world with 150,000 people over the days for the festival last year.

“The new cars are going to be on show around the paddock area which we believe will make it a major attraction with having the fourth day. It will allow our partners to showcase their products to a discerning and well-informed audience.

“Our Revival event (between September 17-19) will also be a great occasion this year as it also marks 50 years since Jack Surtees won his first race here at Goodwood.”

There is also a number of other important milestones marked at the event including 60 years of Formula 1 plus 50 years of forest stages at the RAC rally.

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Gary Axon, Goodwood press officer, revealed advanced ticket sales for the event were already going extremely well.

He said: “With the fourth day we have already had marques including Ferrari and BMW sign up to the event, which they have not done with the British Motor Show. This event will attract the right sort of people for them and we are looking forward to the Alfa celebrations.

“A rarely-seen collection of distinctive customised cars owned by some of the world’s leading guitarists (eg Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and leading American blues player Jimmy Vaughan) are planned to be displayed at the Festival of Speed, along with each musicians signature guitar.

“It is also hoped the guitarists themselves will strike up and play live at the event too, alongside their iconic cars.

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“In addition, the cricket pitch area will display 20 cars immortalized in song, such as Wilson Pickett’s Mustang Sally, Little Red Corvette by Prince backed by live music.”

- For tickets to the festival of speed (which runs between July 1-4) call 01243 755055 or visit www.goodwood.com