It's less than a week to this year's edition of the Goodwood Festival of Speed and little by little we're getting to know the (many) reasons for interest in one of the biggest events dedicated to the automotive world.
This year's theme is “Speed Kings – Motorsport's Record Breakers”, with the British festival hosting several vehicles that set speed records in the most diverse categories.
Speaking of records, it's still 20 years since Nick Heidfeld at the wheel of the McLaren MP4/13 covered the 1.86 km of the Goodwood Hillclimb in just 41.6s, a record that still stands today.
What has changed in Goodwood?
For the 2019 edition, the venue that normally hosts the Goodwood Festival of Speed has been revised. The main novelty was the creation of an area called “The Arena” which will host a series of demonstrations of drift areas, stunt drivers to motorcycle stunts.Subscribe to our newsletter
Also back are the Michelin Supercar Paddock and the Future Lab which, together with the First Glance Paddock, will showcase not only the best in aerospace, robotics and autonomous transport technology, but also the latest models of several brands.
Goodwood's premieres
As usual, several brands will take to the Goodwood Festival of Speed not only their latest models but also several prototypes. Names like Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo or Porsche have already confirmed their place, as well as Citröen, BAC (creator of Mono) or the reborn…De Tomaso!
Alfa Romeo brings to Goodwood two special versions of the Stelvio and Giulia Quadrifoglio designed to celebrate the return to Formula 1. Compared to the "normal" versions, they only gained a bicolor paint job.
Goodwood's Names and Honors
Among the names in motorsport already confirmed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, current Formula 1 drivers Daniel Ricciardo, Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Alex Albon stand out.
Also taking part in the event will be names like Petter Solberg (former WRC and WRX driver), Dario Franchitti (Indy 500 winner) or NASCAR legend Richard Petty.
Finally, this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed will also be the scene of celebrations related to the career of Michael Schumacher and, very likely, will also be the scene of a tribute to Niki Lauda.