The Duke of Richmond, the present proprietor and custodian of Goodwood Property, has the automotive equal of the Midas Contact.
Having established and curated the Goodwood Competition of Velocity since its inaugural occasion in 1993, no different automotive occasion has come near the range, depth, and sheer scale.
The occasion components is simple: Line the driveway with hay bales, ship out the invitations to automobile house owners and drivers of significance, and let the remaining handle itself. I’m massively downplaying the hassle put into the Competition of Velocity, however with out vehicular range, there could be no occasion.
This yr was no totally different, with the theme of ‘Horseless to Hybrid’ showcasing the technological developments within the motorsport area, from the primary formally organised occasion 130 years in the past till now.
Having been lucky to attend the Competition of Velocity for a number of years, you’d assume I’d have a strong sport plan forward of the occasion. However regardless of how a lot planning I do, the primary day of the four-day occasion is at all times overwhelming. There may be a lot to see, that in case you stopped each time one thing caught your eye, you’d danger not even making it out of the carpark.
For fellow Speedhunter Stefan, who was attending for the primary time, it was much more of an assault to the senses. However together with his digital camera in hand and a few pointers, he was straight into it.
For the reason that demise of many worldwide auto exhibits, the Goodwood Competition of Velocity has change into a sizzling occasion for producers to launch new automobiles. The massive variety of folks in attendance and dwell protection on-line means extra visibility than some other sort of occasion. This yr was no totally different, with a number of notable automobiles and ideas being revealed.
In case you choose modified and competitors automobiles, these have been equally effectively catered for.
Mad Mike Whiddett debuted his newest creation – a McLaren 650S GT3 chassis with P1-style bodywork supplied by Lanzante named MadMac. In true Mad Mike style, a customized Mazda 20B turbo rotary engine has changed the automobile’s authentic twin-turbo V8. Moreover, its wide-body exterior has been enhanced by an excellent wider Rocket Bunny package.
It was a whirlwind 100-day construct, coming proper right down to the wire earlier than being air-freighted from New Zealand. Just a few minor points introduced themselves on the occasion, however the group mounted them shortly. Stefan shot MadMac, so look out for a full characteristic quickly.
The Shadow Can-Am automobiles – a few of which we featured right here – made their closing UK look on the 2024 Competition of Velocity earlier than returning to the USA, with many drivers taking turns piloting them up the driveway. Jake Hill on most assault within the Mk1 confirmed simply how ferociously fast they are often.
Pink Bull Racing selected the pageant to have a good time the twentieth anniversary of their Components One efforts, taking up all the Cathedral Paddock. Whereas I’m not an avid F1 fan, it’s not possible to dismiss the hassle that goes into the automobile design, manufacturing and working.
The paddock additionally supplied the stage for Adrian Newey to disclose the RB17. This track-only hypercar attracts on Newey and Pink Bull Racing’s 20 years of expertise. Beneath 900kg and over 1,200hp means the RB17 will match F1 automobile lap instances within the arms of a succesful driver.
The Central Characteristic sculpture exterior Goodwood Home was barely totally different to earlier years. MG was the main target, and though now Chinese language-owned and predominantly producing reasonably priced on a regular basis automobiles, the sculpture had a basic MG B Roadster at one finish of the crimson spar and a brand new MG Cyberster on the different, with no inflexible attachments conserving them in place.
Yearly, the Goodwood Competition of Velocity weekend culminates with a timed shootout between the quickest automobiles throughout varied courses. For 2024, Ford returned with a revised Supervan 4.2, flying the flag for the EV contingent with Pikes Peak Worldwide Hill Climb stalwart Romain Dumas on the wheel.
The combustion counterargument to this was a automobile developed particularly for occasions like this. Challenge Midnight, a collaborative construct between Vermont Sports activities Automotive and Subaru Motorsport USA, is about as contrasting because it will get however is constructed for a similar objective. The all-black WRX was introduced out alongside the crowd-favourite GL Huckster pushed by Travis Pastrana.
In the end the Supervan 4.2 with 1,400hp, a 150mph (241km/h) entice pace, and two tonnes of downforce have been arduous to argue with, regardless of the perfect efforts of Scott Velocity in Challenge Midnight. Dumas set a blistering time of 43.9 seconds up the hill for the 2024 bragging rights.
It’s widespread to come back away from the Competition of Velocity needing a number of days to course of all the things you’ve seen. And that’s earlier than the flood of social media posts showcasing automobiles you fully missed begins.
That feels like an ideal excuse to come back again subsequent yr. Keep tuned for tons extra from the 2024 Goodwood Competition of Velocity.
Chaydon Ford
Instagram: chaycore
Pictures by Stefan Kotzé
Instagram: stefankotzemedia
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www.stefankotzemedia.com
