Movie star makes an appearance
Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise was photographed at the final day of the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2021 on Sunday (July 11). He was one of a number of stars, including Chris Evans, Jackie Stewart, Mario Andretti and Sammy Miller to attend the four-day celebration of motorsport. Residents without tickets could enjoy flyovers from the Red Arrows and The Blades across the four days. pictures,
Motorsport enthusiasts flocked to Goodwood over the weekend to see some of the for the world’s fastest cars and drivers in action at the 2021 Festival of Speed.
Given the go-ahead as a pilot event by the Government’s Event Research Programme, the Festival drew eager crowds keen to celebrate everything motoring and motorsport, including Hollywood star Tom Cruise.
The Red Arrows roared overhead on Friday and Sunday, an array of elegantly eclectic concours cars graced the Cartier Style et Luxe lawn while the Central Feature received a multimedia makeover, displaying a virtual Lotus Emira to both viewers at the event and those enjoying the occasion at home.
This year the Festival of Speed celebrated The Maestros – Motorsport’s Great All-rounders, including ‘The Captain’ Roger Penske, who returned to Goodwood for the first time since he raced at the Goodwood Motor Circuit in a Ferrari 250 GTO in 1969.
As well as the great man himself, who was everquicker up the Hill in the Penske Porsche RS Spyder, was a collection of cars illustrating Team Penske’s incredible multidisciplinary haul of titles over the years including NASCAR, Indycar, the Indy 500, Australian Supercars and of course Le Mans.
Celebrated alongside Penske was Mario Andretti, reunited with some of his championship winning
machines, while Jacky Ickx, sadly unable to attend, was well represented by a class of sports, GT and saloon car winners.
A host of new cars made their debuts in the First Glance – the INEOS Grenadier, Ford Mustang Mach E GT, Hyundi Ioniq5 and Land Rover Defender V8 took to the Hill – while a number of cars made world premieres – the Toyota GR 86, Genesis G70 Shooting Brake, BMW 2 Series Coupé and the Lotus Emira, which received a spectacular daily showcase in front of Goodwood House alongside the Evija hypercar.
Meanwhile, the Michelin Supercar Run was graced by the Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport, Aston Martin Vantage F1 Edition, Lamborghini Huracan STO, Lamborghini
SCV12, Maserati MC20, Mclaren Artura, Rimac Nevera, Porsche GT3 Touring, SCG 004S and the Kimera 037.
The Hill even saw debuts from the hydrogen-powered H24 Racing LMPH2G, hybrid Toyota Corolla BTCC and Ford Puma WRC, and the Le Mans challenger SCG 007 LMH.
Mclaren F1 drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris enjoyed some classic Formula 1 machines on the Hill, Olympian Chris Hoy took on Gravity’s jet pack challenge and Chris Evans broadcasted his Virgin Radio Breakfast Show live from the Festival on Friday morning.
On Sunday morning, Hollywood star Tom Cruise was treated to a spectacular display of precision driving and drifting in the Assembly Area by the Terry Grant Stunt
Show team.
Future Lab offered glimpse into the future of mobility, with a mission to Mars, deep oceans exploration, flying and transforming cars and even robot agriculture.
Electric Avenue – The Road To 2030 exhibited an array of current electric vehicles, from the Citroën AMI to the Pininfarina Battista hypercar.
Also new this year was the Driftkhana competition, first run at Speedweek in October, with James Deane emerging victorious.
The 1974 Lancia Stratos HF Stradale, owned by designer Marc Newson, was judged the finest and best-presented car on the Cartier Style et Luxe Lawn.
The Forest Rally Stage was once again host to a line-up of machines representing
the long history of the World Rally Championship.
This year saw the inaugural Hannu Mikkola Trophy, created in honour of the driver who originally designed the stage for Goodwood and who sadly passed away in February, presented to James Sunderland MP from the Armed Forces Rally Team driving a Land Rover Wolf XD – judged to be the driver who best emulated the Flying Finn’s fearless style.
The passing of motorsport commentary legend Murray Walker was also marked at the Festival of Speed with a moving tribute from Damon Hill on Saturday afternoon.
The Sunday Shootout saw cars from vintage Mercedes to all eras of Formula 1, Touring and Le Mans cars set a time up the 1.16-mile hillclimb.
Leading going into the final day was Travis Pastrana in his Subaru WRX STI with a time of 48.10.
The final was brought to a halt after a huge shunt by the Chevrolet Camaro NASCAR of Jack Tetley just metres from the finish line and by the time the track cleared, rain was threatening to hamper the runs of the fastest qualifiers from the previous day.
Despite a strong challenge from final runner Pastrana, with a time of 46.20, it was a millimetre-perfect drive by Rob Bell in the Mclaren 720S GT3X that tamed the Hill and took top honours in 45.01 seconds.
Turn to pages 26/27 for more photos from the weekend’s action at the Festival of Speed.