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Watch the Goodwood Festival of Speed fly by once again

The Festival of Speed is nothing if not an overload of the senses — cars flying by your peripherals, engines revving in your ears, gravel kicking up and pelting your ankles, and the smell of petrol and exhaust fumes in the air — and this year did not disappoint…

Goodwood’s annual summer festival has already come and gone in speedy style, and choosing just one favourite moment from the past four days is nigh on impossible, as there are simply too many to choose from. So, here are just a few unforgettable moments that have remained at the forefront of our minds.

Forever Ferrari

As is the recurring theme at all motorsport events this year, Goodwood put on a special tribute to the 70th anniversary of Ferrari. In addition to a dedicated Ferrari class running up the hill throughout the weekend, an assemblage of cars gathered in front of the Goodwood House (under the goliath steel central feature that honoured the career of the great Bernie Ecclestone), where flags were waved, speeches were given, and photos of the famous cars and their drivers were taken with Lord March. Cars spanned the decades, from a 1947 125 S to a 2017 LaFerrari Aperta, with numerous Classic Driver dealers filling in some of the gaps in between, including DK Engineering with its 356 GTB/4 ‘Daytona’ Competizione and Tom Hartley Jnr with a very special (and one of the most expensive examples to have ever been sold) 250 TR.

Style et Luxe

Ferrari favourites could also be found on the concours lawn at the Cartier Style et Luxe Concours d’Elegance, from the special one-off 1961 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Speciale Pininfarina Prototype to the 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO. But there were also plenty of other beauties bathing in the sunlight over the weekend, including four Bugatti Veyrons, a McLaren F1, Maserati Ghibli 4.9 SS, Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, and JD Classics’ Aston Martin DB2 Bertone Spyder.

Up, down, and all around

This being the Festival of Speed, the action on the hill was non-stop, and from pre-War cars and bikes to supercars and sports cars, there was truly something for everyone. There was even a new class for those who love to handbrake around corners — the Competitive Drift Class, with professional drifters Vaughn Gittin Jnr, Chris Forsberg, and Goodwood fan-favourite ‘Mad Mike’ Whiddett all putting on shows worthy of a class trophy. And as the drifters shared the stage with their rally legend counterparts, Girardo & Co.’s Max Girardo had one of the best views of these spinning and sliding machines — from the rearview mirror of his Lancia 037. Inspiration for the next video, Max?

Goodwood royalty

Whiddett wasn’t the only motorsport celebrity in attendance this weekend. Nico Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas each took a turn to run the 2014 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport W05 Hybrid up the hill — and snuck in a few doughnuts along the way. Past Formula 1 legends also enjoyed the festivities, including Emerson Fittipaldi, Damon Hill, and Adrian Newey. And from over the pond, Kerry Earnhardt, the son of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, burned some serious rubber in his late father’s Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Goodwood regulars Rowan Atkinson, Nick Mason, Sir Jackie Stewart, and Jochen Mass were also on hand throughout the weekend. 

One-upmanship

With each year getting bigger and bigger, it’s hard to image how Lord March could possibly outdo himself time and time again — but the man has done it before and will do it again. We can’t wait to see what sort of speed demons 2018 will bring. 

Photos: Alex Lawrence (The Whitewall) for Classic Driver © 2017

You can find all our 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed coverage in our overview