‘Fittipaldi will be a star attraction’’
Paul lawrence looks ahead to the ultimate garden party
This weekend the Goodwood Festival of Speed will celebrate its 25th anniversary edition with a sensational and incredibly diverse range of competition cars in action on the hill.
Run in the grounds of Goodwood House, the Festival of Speed is the ultimate garden party for petrol heads and many of the sport’s greats, past and present, will be on hand.
To mark 25 years since the inaugural event, the Duke of Richmond has chosen his favourite moments from the first 25 festivals to be woven into the schedule for the three-day event.
Mika Hakkinen, the 1998 and 1999 World champion, will be a star guest and will be joined by fellow former F1 champions Emerson Fittipaldi and Jenson Button.
The F1 champions will be joined on the hill by current Mclaren star Stoffel Vandoorne and test driver Lando Norris, while new Mclaren sporting director and 2003 Indy 500 champion Gil de Ferran will also be there. Button will drive a rare 1968 Honda F1 car while Fittipaldi will be in a Mclaren M23 Grand Prix car.
Formula 1 cars through the years will be a key theme, grouped into the Cosworth DFV and turbo eras as well as contemporary cars from Ferrari, Red Bull, Renault and Mercedes.
A special six-way BTCC shoot-out will mark 60 years of the championship and will feature Matt Neal, Andrew Jordan, Adam Morgan, Tomingram, Rob Austin and Josh Cook in what is sure to be one of the weekend’s most competitive elements.
Elsewhere, 60 years of Lola and cars as diverse as Edwardian racers, NASCAR and Porsches spanning seven decades all add to a remarkable weekend in Sussex.