The main theme for the 2021 edition was “The Maestros – Motorsport’s Greatest All-Rounders”, featuring
the achievements of the likes of Mario Andretti, Jacky Ickx, Roger Penske, Sir Stirling Moss, along with other
drivers who have been successful in different genres of motorsport. Equally there are manufacturers who have
enjoyed success in different fields, like BMW (on both two and four wheels), Ferrari, Lotus, McLaren and
Porsche, again to name but a few. There were also celebrations of the 30th anniversary of Ayrton Senna’s
final F1 Drivers’ World Championship title, the 50th anniversary of Tyrrell Racing’s first F1 Constructors’
Championship title. There were also a tribute to the late Sir Stirling Moss, with his Mille Miglia winning
Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR in a glass enclosure on the cricket pitch, surrounded by obelisks where visitors
could post messages of condolence on the Goodwood website via an app. A further tribute was to the late
Hannu Mikkola, the 1983 World Rally Champion, who designed the rally stage for the Festival of Speed, with
an array of cars driven during his career on display.
There were four days of high octane entertainment encompassing the hillclimb, the rally stage, the off
road course and in the action sports arena. Apart from all the various action in these localities there was the
more gentile Cartier Style et Luxe Concours d’Elegance, the Future Lab, the First Glance display featuring a
variety of concept cars, a new feature called Electric Avenue the Road to 2030 presented by Sky Zero, whilst
BMW had their own Electric Boulevard in the stable yard. Then there was a Bonhams auction, all the various
manufacturers stands, and of course the always popular expansive vendor area. The younger generation were
also well catered for with the Thakeham Family Enclosure, where children had a wide variety of activities to
enjoy, including using full size mechanical excavators in a treasure hunt.
In keeping with tradition, every year there is a central feature sculpture on the lawn fronting Goodwood
House, and this year it was a celebration the Lotus Marque, with a design inspired by company founder
Colin Chapman’s philosophy of simplicity and lightness. This year there were no cars in the display, solely a
complex juxtapose of slim tubes reaching skyward to a design produced by Lotus and innovation specialists
Unit 9.
The F1 paddock is always a centre of attention, as it gives attendees the rare opportunity to get close to
not only classic F1 cars, but also recent examples from current F1 teams, which this year featured Aston
Martin, Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull, and Williams There are always some “shows” on the hillclimb, whether it
be cars or bikes, with clouds of acrid rubber smoke from the former, notably from the drift cars, and plenty of
“wheelies” from the latter. Apart from the action on the ground there were also aerobatic displays from The
Blades and the always spectacular Red Arrows, leaving their red, white and blue trails across the sky. The
Sunday afternoon shoot-out for fastest time of the day, saw the laurels go to Rob Bell in a McLaren 720S
GT3X, just ahead of Travis Pastrana in a Subaru WRX STI.
Despite the logistical difficulties posed by the pandemic, the gathering fully lived up to its name and the
quality of its predecessors, providing a diverse array of machinery from almost the dawn of motoring to
concept vehicles of the future, along with plenty of star names from the world of motorsport.
Keith Bluemel
07/2021
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