Goodwood SpeedWeek: what to watch
You can watch all of the Goodwood coverage on Motor Sport but here's a list of things to watch out for over the weekend
Speedweek will combine all three Goodwood events into a weekend of action
Goodwood.com
Three days of spectacular motor sport action begin tomorrow at Goodwood, as SpeedWeek begins: a Covid-beating festival with no spectators, but no shortage of action.
You’ll be able to watch live coverage over the whole weekend free of charge with a live stream available to view on the Motor Sport site.
Designed to replace this year’s cancelled Revival, Festival of Speed and Members’ Meeting, SpeedWeek will feature live races, demonstrations and activities, plus in-depth stories, history and reviews from the racing and automotive world.
There’s a packed schedule that you could happily view for the full three days, but if time is tight, here are ten picks that you certainly won’t want to miss.
The shootout
The absence of spectators does come with some merit for Goodwood: what would usually be viewing areas are now large patches of runoff. And this means that speed and commitment can increase.
That’s going to be most visible in a high-speed shootout on the circuit, where supercars, touring cars and prototypes will be able to lap flat-chat. As well as the spectacle of modern GT3s and Le Mans racers darting through the chicane, a new circuit lap record is in sight — and not just the 1min 20.4sec set by Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart in 1965, a year before the circuit was closed. We could see the unofficial record of just under a minute, reputed to have been set by Nelson Piquet testing a Brabham BMW BT52, tumble.
Among the line-up is Ford’s performance version of its electric Mustang Mach-E; the 1750bhp SSC Tuatara, a 1979 Porsche 935; 1976 McLaren M23 and 1989 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500.
Any new record is likely to be set by the prototypes. Alongside a 1970 Ferrari 512M and ’95 Porsche WSC-95 is the favourite: Peugeot’s diesel-powered 908 from 2012. Cautiousness over Covid means Volkswagen’s electric ID.R is a late withdrawal from the line-up.
Friday, 11.25am Practice
Saturday, 2.10pm Qualifying
Sunday, 11.10am Final
Super special stage
Expect crackling exhausts through the circuit tunnel and hairpins shrouded in tyre smoke for this celebration of modern and classic rally cars with a strong flavour of Group B.
Largely run at dusk, when the flame-spitting exhausts will be easy to spot, the stage, taking in the track and its surroundings will feature rallying royalty.
There will be a Lancia Stratos, Audi Quattros, Metro 6R4s, Ford RS200s and Peugeot’s 205 T16. Among the ’90s representatives are Subaru Imprezas, a Toyota Celica and Lancia Delta Integrale, while A Ford Fiesta, VW Polo and Toyota Yaris are part of the modern contingent. Elfyn Evans, Jari Matti Latvala, Kris Meeke and Stig Blomqvist are among the drivers.
Thursday, 6pm & 8pm
Friday 1.10pm, 4.45pm, 6.20pm
F1 demonstration
As part of the series’ 70th-anniversary celebrations, Goodwood brings out some of the all-time classic cars to have left their mark on Formula 1. With historic race-winning machinery and some of the prettiest F1 has concocted over its storied history featuring, this will be something to keep an eye on throughout the weekend.
From its inaugural season in 1950 through to the modern tubro-hybrid era, the advancments in technology, philosophy and understanding of racing will play out over the three days at Goodwood in a glorious showing of how F1 has evolved over the decades.
Making an appearance over the course of the three days includes the likes of the Maserati 250F, Lotus Climax 25, McLaren’s MP4/4 and 2009 Brawn GP car.
Friday, 16.20pm
Saturday, 12.15pm
Sunday, 09.10am
TWR celebration
The stars of Group C racing, Tom Walkinshaw Racing Jaguars will form a thunderous display in celebration of some of the most distinctive and iconic endurance racing machines of all time.
A trio of Jaguars will be on show over the weekend, with the 1987 World Sportscar championship-winning XJR8/9, 1990 XJR12 and the Jarama-winning XJR-9 brought together to form a formidable trifecta of engineering.
Saturday, 12.35pm
Sunday, 13.45am
Porsche commemoration
More endurance racing royalty will be honoured at the SpeedWeek celebrations, with the legendary Porsche Le Mans-winning 917k just one of the cars that will be appearing over the weekend.
As part of the celebration of 50 years since the marque’s first win at the 24-hour event, the display of racing machines from Porsche will be a must-see for any endurance racing fan, and there will be plenty to keep up with over the three-day event.
Demonstrations from the 917k, 956B, WSC-95 and the latest 919 Hybrid will form an awesome tribute to an endurance racing titan.
Sunday, 17.55pm
Fittipaldi restored Lotus
Restored by the crew at Hethel and Team Lotus Classic, the Lotus that Emerson Fittipaldi drove to five race victories will be part of the F1 celebrations.
The 72/7 chassis was used in 19 Grands Prix, and Fittipaldi scored victory at the 1972 Spanish, Belgian, British GPs as well as the Argentinian and Brazilian rounds the following year driving it.
With correct specification original parts now fitted and black and gold livery lovingly restored, the Lotus will be a part of the F1 at 70 celebrations throughout the weekend and an unmistakable part of a packed line-up.
Friday, 16.20pm
Saturday, 12.15pm
Sunday, 09.10am
Stirling Moss Trophy
Formerly known as the Kinrara Trophy, the Stirling Moss Trophy will pit pre-1963 closed-cockpit GT cars against one another for an hour-long race, with Jaguar E-Types going head-to-head with Ferrari 250 GTs and many more.
Dedicated to the racing great, the Saturday will be one to keep an eye on with practice and final race sessions taking place. The race is one of the highlights of the Revival weekend and though this year’s circumstances will make it a different experience, it is certainly an unmissable part of the SpeedWeek line-up.
Saturday, 08.40am Practice
Saturday, 16.50pm Race
Gerry Marshall Trophy
45-minute Group 1 saloons will battle it out for victory in the Gerry Marshall Trophy race, named after one of Britain’s most renowned saloon car drivers of all time.
Machinery from between 1970 and 1982 will take to the Goodwood Motor Circuit on both Saturday and Sunday in its traditional sprint slot, and has always been one of the most popular parts of the Goodwood Revival schedule.
Friday, 10.15am Practice
Friday, 17.25pm Trophy Race
Sunday, 12.00pm Sprint Race
St Mary’s Trophy
Some of the most exciting races scheduled at Goodwood comes from the St Mary’s Trophy races. 20-minute saloon car races full of types that raced between 1960 and 1966 makes for some unmissable action.
With professional drivers from a wide variety of series’ pitted against one another, the likes of endurance racing champions to tin-top masters can come up against one another in a sort of fantasy grid but with Lotus Cortinas and Minis battling Jaguar Mk 2s and Ford Galaxies.
Practice sessions and both races will feature across the weekend, so there’s plenty of opportunity to catch what will likely be some of the most entertaining racing from the SpeedWeek event.