★ Goodwood Festival of Speed

01Perché è rilevante

No other event puts this range of machinery in motion in one place. Goodwood's advantage is that the cars run rather than sit: a concours shows what a car looks like, and the Festival shows what it sounds like at full throttle between two banks of straw bales. Commercially, it has become the fixed point in the European motor industry's calendar, more useful to manufacturers than any motor show now that the traditional shows have declined, and it draws marques, collectors and dealers from across the world in a way a British summer event has no obvious right to. In our reading, the Festival's most valuable quality is proximity: the paddocks are open, the cars are unroped, and a general admission ticket puts an ordinary visitor within a meter of things that are normally behind glass.

02La settimana intorno all'evento

West Sussex fills. Chichester, six kilometers south, is the practical town and takes most of the visiting trade, along with Midhurst, Petworth, Arundel and the villages along the Downs; the coast at Bosham and West Wittering carries the overflow. Hotels within an hour are committed months ahead and many apply minimum stays. On the estate itself, the hotel, the golf courses and the aerodrome all operate through the event, and the Duke's own house is open in part.

The motor industry brings its own week. Manufacturers hold press launches on the Thursday and dinners across the estate through the weekend, dealers and auction houses take rooms in the country hotels, and the collector-car market treats the days on either side as trading time. Reporting each July describes an extensive programme of brand hospitality on the estate; the public counterpart is the paddocks, the rally stage and the concours lawn, all included with a day ticket.

03Quando arrivare

Thursday if you want to see the cars without a crowd around them, since it is by some distance the quietest day and the paddocks are at their most approachable. Friday and Saturday are the fullest. Sunday carries the timed shootout, which is the only genuinely competitive part of the weekend. Most visitors come for one or two days rather than four; those staying locally should arrive the evening before and leave the morning after, because the estate's approach roads are slow at both ends of each day.

04Dove alloggiare

Chichester is the obvious base, on the London rail line and close enough to reach the estate by shuttle. Midhurst, Petworth and the villages beneath the South Downs are prettier and quieter, with a scattering of country hotels and pubs with rooms that fill first. Arundel is a good compromise. The coastal strip at Bosham, Itchenor and West Wittering suits visitors combining the Festival with sailing. Goodwood's own hotel on the estate is the closest option and is committed far ahead. London is two hours away and is used as a base by day visitors who take the train.

05Accesso e ospitalità

Goodwood sells day tickets in advance, with separate pricing for young people between thirteen and twenty-one and for children, and a roving grandstand pass that allows access to seated viewing around the hill. The estate publishes a range of hospitality packages alongside general admission. Attendance is capped and tickets are not sold at the gate, so planning ahead is not optional. A general admission ticket covers the paddocks, the rally stage, the concours lawn and the exhibition areas, which is unusually generous; the restricted areas are the hospitality enclosures and the parts of the paddock reserved for entrants.

06Dove si svolge l'attività sociale

The paddocks, which are the real meeting place and are open to all ticket holders; the concours lawn in front of the house; the grandstand terraces at the start line and at Molecomb; and the estate's own hotel and clubhouse in the evening. Off the estate, the pubs of the South Downs villages and the restaurants of Chichester carry the nights, and the country hotels within half an hour host the industry's private dinners.

07Come arrivare

08Aspetti pratici

09Storia

Lord March, now the Duke of Richmond, staged the first Festival of Speed in 1993, having been refused permission to reopen the estate's motor circuit and having decided instead to run cars up his own driveway. The event grew quickly from a few thousand visitors to a capped attendance in the six figures, with an advance-ticket-only policy introduced after a record crowd in 2003. The Cartier concours arrived in 1995, the forest rally stage in 2006, and the annual sculpture in front of the house became a commission of its own. The circuit itself reopened in 1998 for the Goodwood Revival, and the estate now runs three motorsport events a year, with the Members' Meeting in spring.

10Chi è presente

The motor industry in force, from manufacturers and their engineering staff to dealers, restorers and auction houses; collectors and marque clubs; a very large British enthusiast public across all four days; families, for whom the estate works better than a racetrack; and international visitors, particularly from Europe, North America and the Gulf, who plan a summer trip around it.