Goodwood Festival Of Speed - A - Z

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Social Media

Another thing that has grown exponentially in the last couple of years is the Goodwood social media offering, this side of the festival has really exploded over the last couple of years and it does not stand alone, it is perfectly aligned with other events and groups across the Goodwood estate and events such as the GRRC, Goodwood Motor Circuit, Goodwood Revival and even the Marshals have social media accounts. You can even download the Goodwood App which covers all areas of the estate so you can keep up to date with other motorsport and horse racing events.

The best thing about all this is that you have content provided all year round, in today's world where not everyone will visit your website and read the articles you have written about drivers and cars from different eras or the back catalogue of car reviews, you must keep your audience engaged.

On top of this, I am not just talking about one post or article a month or a week, the Festival of speed accounts will post out items almost daily, sometimes they might miss a few days and for others, you will get two or three posts across a few hours, just a quick scan this morning and you have such varied subjects as drifting cars around an industrial estate in Poland, a vote on which F1 livery most people prefer, An article about an electric ford mustang, a breakdown of the recent F1 test in Bahrain, an interview about inventions that could turn the tide on the planets biodiversity crisis and six times a driver has snapped and thrown racing respect out of the window.

The sheer variety that is on offer is insane, and that’s before you include all of the clips and photos that appear and grab your attention for a few seconds as you daydream at your desk about when you can be back at the festival again.

Start Line

The calm before the storm as each car is held in a queue waiting for their turn to stream up the hill or into the rally stage, these relatively small areas are always alive with activity, with multiple marshals bringing cars up and ensuring that they are in the right place ready for launch. Always an overhead camera looking down on the vehicles below, sat revving and twitching ready for the split-second cue that enables them to light up their (in most cases) rear wheels and add their rubber to the already darkening line down the centre of the track.

If you are working or watching at the start line then you really must do everything you can to protect your ears and you may also need to hold your breath a few times for the smoke to clear but it's well worth the visit each time.

There is also a lovely little paradox between the start line on the hill climb and the one on the rally stage in that the start line for the hill climb is set between a lovely row of trees which provides some relief from the sun and the rain but after the initial blast the rest of the track is almost entirely run in the open with only the odd pocket of trees here and there, as you go past the flint wall, for instance, then the finish line is placed within another two rows of trees

On the other hand, the rally stage start line is completely open to the elements and the drivers are either sitting with their doors wide open as they wait, trying to keep themselves cool or they approach the line with wipers going ten to the dozen, after their initial blast they then enter a pretty solid covering of trees for almost the entirety of their lap, before exiting the tree line and crossing their finish line exposed to the elements once more.

Shootout

Ahhh the shootout, even though everyone loves the festival and are happy to be in and around these magnificent bikes and cars there is a small section that just can’t resist an element of competition. Who can get up the hill fastest? And what car will they be driving?

The shootout always happens on the Sunday towards the end of the festival, this allows plenty of practice runs and the time to tweak settings and make changes to your car throughout the rest of the festival-ready for your one shot on a Sunday. Now everyone hopes for a nice clean and dry afternoon because if those skies darken then those traction limited cars would not be able to post representative times.

It’s all about accuracy and momentum as the whole run is uphill on a narrow strip of tarmac between immaculately kept green lawn, hay bails which are right on the limit of the track in some places and a huge and daunting flint wall that suddenly appears as you sweep tight then left as you move through the second half of the run. Your start is important and the power under your right foot plays a large part of the course but a lot of the time is made up or lost by how neat and tidy you can be and how brave you are for the 40 odd seconds you are on track.

There is always an eclectic mix in the final shootout from 60hp vintage racers from 1903 complete with two riders to balance and lean out into the corners whilst sitting atop the old racers right up to the modern maxed out track cars like the McLaren 720s GT3X, touring cars from across the ages to low slung single-seater sports cars and even an adeptly named psycho Subaru. In recent years we have seen the rise of the electric cars who are immediately making an impact at the top of the timing charts with the Volkswagen I.0.D R Pikes Peak beating the previous record by Nick Heidfeld in his F1 car.

After the F1 car set the original record they banned them from setting times, I can’t see the same happening with the electric cars so just how low that record can go is anyone’s guess.

Shuttles

At a much more sedate pace is the shuttles, these complementary tractors run all day, ferrying you up and out to all corners of the festival, you can even hop on board one by the exit and be taken back out to your car, well at least somewhere close to where you think it might be. These are great additions and help with accessibility across the whole event.

You just go to one of the shuttle stations and join the queue (fingers crossed it's not too long) then there is a fairly steady stream of these shuttles that work on rotation so pretty quickly you climb aboard a trailer with little wooden benches and you bounce and bump your way to your next destination in a surprising amount of comfort, I mean don’t get me wrong it's not like travelling along a silk road but it's still a lot better than you might think.

If you get the timings right and you can climb aboard in a couple of minutes it really can save you so much time rather than winding your way through the crowds or waiting for a track crossing, yes, the route might be a little further from the action but this is only for a very short time and well worth it if you are in a hurry or are only here for one day.

The other thing the shuttles help with are little legs and tired legs, I know quite a few people who will take the strain out of their day by riding the shuttle up to the top of the hill and then taking the much easier walk back down again. If you are very tired then there is nothing to stop you from riding the shuttle both ways, I have seen with my own eyes an unhappy child instantly switch to smiling when the parents relent and they agree to ride the shuttle again. Yet another winning decision by the organisers.

Smiles

And talking of smiles you will be hard-pressed to see anything other than smiles (tired and grumpy children excluded), in fact, I would suggest that the only other facial expression you will see is the Ooooo faces people make when they see something impressive or as they look at their mates as if to say, man, that was loud.

Every single place you look there will be people smiling, pointing in the window of their favourite car, being allowed to sit in another one and smiling through the windscreen as their picture is taken. This is also the case whenever you see a driver being interviewed at the end of their hill run, ear to ear having climbed off a bike that their idol once drove or sitting in the same car and seat as a father or grandfather used to drive.

As fans and drivers interact, eyes lighting up as the driver signs her name on your cherished piece of memorabilia, the smiles in return at a kind comment or a well done for so and so race. It's hard not to be happy here, the general mood of the place is so upbeat and happy that even if you were not happy enough with the cars then just seeing and talking to people around you will give you a great lift.

Now one of the things that makes me smile the most is a game I like to play called – It’s not my money – now it is a little mean to my wife but it does entertain me so much I have to play it every single year. So, here’s how it goes, when we are on an exhibitors stand and I am patiently waiting ever so lovingly for my wife to sit in and inspect, pretty much every car and test all of the seats and mirrors and most importantly the gear sticks to ensure it is up to her standards, I am often approached by a representative from said manufacturer who very kindly asks if I am interested in any of the cars.

Now just to be clear I know they are doing their job and by asking me, a man in shorts, a t-shirt and carrying a camera there is clearly no prejudice at play here and I should take it as a compliment they think I can afford the latest Jaguar XF (or similar), rather than see the compliment for what it is I see an opportunity to play the game.

It’s at this point I simply reply with something along the lines of “oh sorry no, it’s not my money” now a good portion just thank me for my time and move on however there are just enough who are intrigued enough to question what I am suggesting, at this point, I point directly at my wife and make a general suggestion that she is the one looking to purchase a car.

Cue the rep rapidly making their way across to my wife, opening the door for her and helping her out of the car before initiating a conversation about making a booking for a test drive or something similar. This is also the cue for my wife to give me the look of, you did it again didn’t you, at which point I laugh my ass off while my incredibly polite wife tries to escape a conversation entirely of my making without upsetting anyone. It often leads to me getting a punch in the arm and a mild telling off but it is well worth it.

Just for information, my record is 4 completed rounds in one day.