Goodwood FoS to celebrate Bernie Ecclestone

For the first time ever, the central feature at Goodwood's Festival of Speed will celebrate an individual rather than an honoured make of car.

This year the giant sculpture in front of Goodwood house will be in celebration of Bernie Ecclestone, who has transformed motorsport over the last 40 years.

The annual festival, which will be held this year from June 29 – July 2, is teaming up with Formula One to honour Bernie, who is one of the most influential people in the history of motor sport.

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Bernard Charles Ecclestone transformed Formula One using his vision and business acumen to develop the sport into a multi-billion dollar global phenomenon.

Lord March, founder of the Festival of Speed, said: “This is not so much a tribute, but rather a Goodwood celebration of a racer who has had such a huge influence on the sport that we all love.”

“And now that Bernie has stepped aside from running Formula One, he has agreed to spend the weekend at the Festival with many of the great names with whom he has worked during a life dedicated to racing.

“It’s his first visit to the Festival and he will bring with him some great historic Grand Prix cars from his incredible collection.”

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Often controversial, always impossible to ignore, Bernie will attend the Festival of Speed along with a host of World Champions, team owners, engineers, designers and mechanics from his life in motor racing.

The central feature of the event, a towering sculpture outside Goodwood House by Gerry Judah, will display cars from the five different chapters of his life as racer, manager, team owner, impresario and ultimately F1’s commercial rights holder as ‘The Five Ages of Ecclestone’.

Bernie Ecclestone’s career has not been without its critics, not without some less than popular decisions, but he has always remained a racer at heart, a fan of the sport.

In the late 1940s and early ‘50s he raced both motorcycles and cars, entering the Monaco Grand Prix in a Connaught in 1958.

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He then turned his hand to driver management with both Stuart Lewis-Evans and 1970 World Champion Jochen Rindt.

In 1971 he bought the Brabham F1 team, forming a highly effective partnership with designer Gordon Murray and drivers including Niki Lauda, Carlos Reutemann, Carlos Pace and Nelson Piquet, who won two World Championships for the team.

In 1974, at the request of other team owners, Bernie took control of the F1 Constructors’ Association (FOCA) and for the next three decades he took Formula One on a stormy and often dictatorial journey which saw the sport expand across the world, with 21 races and global television coverage.

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