Goodwood Festival Of Speed - A - Z

N

Noise

I have spoken a lot about the loud engines, the screeching of tyres, the rumble of planes overhead. I have spoken of the electric vehicles that roll past with just the sound of the tyres to let you know you are there. I have even spoken about the music and the sound systems which deliver commentary throughout the weekend.

There is the usual hustle and bustle of people at the front of the house and then across the track to the shopping options with crowds that oohhh and ahhhh in-between, wherever you wander you will be surrounded by some noise but here is something I love to do…

Head out to the cricket green, find a place in the middle that is not very busy, lay down on the grass looking at the skies (obviously a warm dry day is best for this), close your eyes and just take 10 or 15 minutes to lay and soak everything in. The warm sun on your face, still able to hear the cars launching off the start line but far enough away that it's not overpowering to your ears, the announcements and music like a faint soundtrack to your moment of quiet, you will hear children running around and laughing, the odd snippet of conversation as friends wander pass discussing where they are going next but more importantly you will be in your own still and quiet moment just fully soaking everything in.

I assure you that no matter how many days you have been wandering the festival or what hour of the day it is, after those 15 minutes you will feel refreshed and ready to go again.

Non-Stop

It may seem strange to go from suggesting a moment of calm and quiet to being non-stop however that is the nature of the festival I am afraid. From the moment those gates open to the moment you walk wearily back to your car or caravan you really must be prepared to be on the go if you want to see everything, and even then, I cannot guarantee that you will.

There are of course natural breaks in proceedings, between the different car classes going up the hill, whilst there is an air display in progress and of course, our favourite people in the world, the marshals need to stop for their lunch. You may decide that in one of these breaks you can also take a moment to yourself which is fine of course.

If however, you are like me then these natural breaks are when you make those longer dashes to another part of the festival, if I can get up the hill whilst the marshals are on lunch I can be at the top in time for the re-opening of the stage. If I am at Molcecombe can I make it to the cricket green to watch the red arrows which then puts me in the perfect place ready for the next display in the G.A.S. arena.

If I am near the exhibitors and can hear the F1 cars revving and spinning up their engines as they wait at the start line, can I get to the side of the track quick enough to get photos of them with the central feature and Goodwood house in the background.

Even after all the years I have been to the festival and having a regular route my mind is always working as I try to place myself in the best location for the next event or set of cars and bikes that I want to see.

Nimbus

No, we are not drifting into the world of Harry Potter and flying broomsticks although give it a few years and who knows what kind of flying, ridable technology we might be playing with.

Nimbus in this sense relates to the aura and atmosphere that surrounds the festival, now I know I may appear to be wearing not only rose-tinted glasses but also wearing rose-tinted contact lenses whilst looking through a rose-tinted screen as I write this but I do genuinely see the festival in this way and when I talk about it to other people I am just as enthusiastic.

Even in an article like this that stretches to thousands of words and covers a wide range of what you can expect to see I still don’t feel that I can ever fully explain what it is about the festival of speed that has such a hold over me. It just grabs you and draws you in and it never fully lets you go ever again.

Necessary

Unsurprisingly, for me, my annual trip to the Goodwood Festival of speed is 100% necessary. In 2021 we were allowed to book an extra day’s holiday from work to help deal with the mental stresses we had been going through since the start of 2019. I instantly booked myself off for the Thursday of the festival and happily marked it as my well being day. When my manager approved the request, we even laughed because it was clear this was the reason, I had marked it as my additional day.

This was after the disappointment of not being able to go the year before, I know there was a streamed event (which I was avidly glued to) rammed with content and interviews, which was even more impressive given the short turnaround time and departure from usual activities, it was never going to be enough to fill the void of going up to the event myself.

Even in a normal year, my excitement starts the moment I am able to order tickets and carries right on through to the moment I close my eyes to sleep after the last day of the festival. Just knowing it's in the calendar makes me happy, the build-up to the day, even the early starts and late finishes are worth it.

I always take it as a huge reset of my year too, firstly I made it through the first half and this was my reward, it also charged my batteries and revitalised me ready for the next 6 months before I can order my tickets and start the countdown again.

Novantique

Now there is a word you weren’t expecting, I am guessing some may never have even heard it before, seriously wait until you get to the letter O and X, there has been some serious shoehorning and hoop-jumping to get some of the words in for those.

Anyway, back to Novantique which means both new and old through repair or imitation. I hope you will all agree that this word and description can easily be applied to many of the vehicles we see at Goodwood, A huge respect given to the legacy whilst at the same time giving things a modern twist.

And there are various ways in which this new and old marriage can work be it the complete floor up re-design and build of an icon car such as a Jaguar E-Type which looks identical to the originals however underneath the bodywork there is a modern engine, suspension, brakes, steering and a whole host of other gadgets.

There are the cruder repairs where some of these old pieces are just not available anymore so as mentioned before there is a lot of mend and make-do, an MG with BMW wheels, a body panel which is a different colour or out of place just to ensure the car can still keep moving.

There is a lot of this in the exhibitor’s area where you can even buy bikes and cars which are new, old and somewhere in-between, you can buy classic American mustangs, there are reproductions and tribute cars like the GT40s in Le Mans / Gulf colour scheme and finally, I know I have already mentioned CCM motorcycles but I will do so again, the bikes these guys produce are stunning and some of them epitomise novantique perfectly