2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Tip of the hat to Lord March and his entire crew who put up another terrific Festival of Speed (FOS). The entire program, meaning that what those present at the Goodwood estate saw on the big screens and heard over Goodwood radio, was broadcast via live feed to the world. Needless to say, I spend three full mornings watching the hillclimb and writing. Below follows some of what caught my attention.

One of the aspects of the FOS that always moves many are reunions between older race car drivers and their championship winning cars. This time again their were many, such as Sir John Surtees, Al Unser, Sir Stirling Moss and Damon Hill, who was reunited with his 1996 F1 championship winning Williams FW18. To watch the video, click here.

Also, the organizers used a simple but effective way to illustrate technological advancements over a fifty year period. Sir John Surtees took the start of the hillclimb in his F1 Tipo 158 1964 championship winning Scuderia Ferrari, followed closely on the track by Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 F1 championship winning Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro F1 car. This sight alone must have brought both tears and cheers to young and old. To watch the video, click here. It was absolutely magnificent.

Another great side by side hillclimb start was performed by Sir Stirling Moss in the legendary Mercedes-Benz W196 along side Lord March in the Streamliner version of the W196. To watch the video, click here. As a child I would play with my brother Dito's silver W196 Marklin electric race car. Just wonderful memories.

Everybody knows that aerial shows are a trademark of English Motoring events and this year's FOS would not be the same without the Red Arrows paying Chichester a visit. And as if that were not enough, the now retired but still incredible Avro Vulcan jet powered delta wing strategic bomber gave a truly unique show. The Vulcan bomber is the last of the cold war monsters that is still flying today. Some of you may remember it from James Bond's Thunderball.

Needless to say, there are many different classes of cars and race cars at the FOS. I won't try to touch on this for there is better reporting on the FOS section of Goodwood's website. If you have a chance, hop on over to the website to see footage and pictures of the weekend.

So OK, I have not forgotten about our younger motorsports fans. If you paid attention during the many videos you may have seen tire marks all over the road leading up to the Goodwood hill. Most of these were laid down by "Mad" Mike Whiddett in special highly tuned four rotor 530bhp Mazda RX-7. To go to a page with the video, click here.

I am not one to focus too much on crashes but if this is what amuses you, than the folks at Jalopnik have a page dedicated to many of the crashes at the FOS. Just click here.

And, cheers to The Telegraph for their wonderful support of the Goodwood FOS. Click here to visit their 2014 FOS page.

Thanks for reading and DO check back for updates!

Source: Goodwood, The Telegraph, Jalopnik
Photocredit: Goodwood

Daracq Sprint Special

A while back I wrote about a 1906 Darracq GP racer, and promised to spotlight the Sprint Special. It too held the land speed record, and with its 25.4 liter engine, it is one of the oldest surviving V8 cars in existence.
Built expressively as a sprint car it was successful right out-of-the-box, with a string of records undertaken on both sides of the pond. On December 30th, 1905, the Sprint Special reached the speed of 109.65, thus setting a new world land speed record.

After Darracq broke several records with this purpose built car, he shipped it back to Europe and sold it to Sir Algernon Lee Guiness. Over the next few years, Guiness set new British, European, and World records. It most be noted that in 1906 Sir Algernon Lee Guiness set the car's highest recorded speed of 121.57 mph.

Apparently, several years later Guiness' mother insisted he clear out his junk and so the car was sent to the scrap yard. However, he quickly realizes his terrible mistake and retrieves the car, which at the time already had its front and rear axles cut off the chassis. The crippled car remains in his estate until his death in 1954.

The third owner, appreciating the car's historical value, set out to restore it to its former glory and with 1906's documentation the unique two-speed transaxle was recreated. Through out the car authentic period chassis components were used wherever possible.

As one can see, this unique Darracq Sprint Special has been exhibited at various events, including the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Brooklands Society Reunion and Retromobile in Paris.

What is truly remarkable is that the engine was finally fired up for the first time in 97 years on April 1, 2006.

Some details about the car:

Engine: a naturally aspirated 90 degrees V8, displacing 24.5 liter, 2 valves per cylinder, longitudinally mounted in the front, and producing 200 bhp on carburators.

Drivetrain: It uses a steel ladder frame as chassis, with in the front: a live axle, semi-elliptic leaf springs, friction dampers, and in the rear: live axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs. Brakes were only mounted in the rear, drum of course. It uses a 2-speed manual gearbox and is rear wheel driven.

For more detailed information regarding the Darracq V8, there is a wonderful story called "Old Iron" and was dedicated for its centenary in 2005. For the story click here.

Source: Ultimatecarpage.com
Photo credits: Wouter Melissen

Best of Goodwood Festival of Speed 2011

If you consider yourself a petrol-head then there are some events you must visit at least once in your life. Goodwood's Festival of Speed, held each year in the summer in Sussex, Great Britain, is one of these.

The first half of the video below is of highlights of Audi's participation to this event in 2011, the second half gives an overall taste of the festival.



If you know you are going to be in the region, try your best to visit the FOS. Lodging is very difficult to find but it is well worth the effort.