Festival of Speed – Weekend Moments
Grant Ford spends another day around Goodwood House
The weekend has ignited and Friday morning presents a chance to admire the full display at the Cartier Style et Luxe; a very fancy name for a display of the fanciest automobiles. Years of battling the crowds inside the FOS has ensured I get in early and acquire the pictures prior to 100k other enthusiasts. Ultra-rare is the Ogle designed Aston Martin DBS V8 built as a promotional tool for a cigarette manufacturer, this car came courtesy of the same company that penned the Chopper bike, Bond Bug and the Reliant GTE; complete with 22 tail lamps that appear according to brake pressure, all contained in a rear panel cut from a single sheet of stainless steel. Goodwood released some amazing facts and figures about the event that includes the print count for tickets and wristbands; just under half a million! They also hold a million litres of bottled water on site and if they all sell at £2 per 500ml, well you do the maths.
With over 450 vehicles on show (either static or hill bound) there is always plenty to view, including the historic Lancia D50. It would be the Italian manufacturers final throw at Grand Prix racing and its pilot Alberto Ascari enjoyed precious little time on track. Unready to compete until late 1954 before finally taking pole in its first outing of that year in Spain. In 1954 the Monaco GP would see the Lancia and Ascari end up in the Mediterranean when a misjudged corner resulted in a near miss with him having to be saved from drowning. The D50 promised much but following financial woes plus the death at Monza of Ascari sports car testing in May 1955, the project was taken over by Ferrari.
The Lancia-Ferrari D50A appeared with several upgrades the following year and in the hands of Fangio became a championship winning car; both versions are at the FOS celebrated with 70 years of Ferrari single seaters. Although it may have slipped from the memory, the 1985 Toleman TG185 brought the camera shutters clicking when it took to the hill. 1986 saw Toleman’s sponsor Benneton take control of the operation and this car achieved the original teams first and only pole; the weather helped a young Teo Fabi top the timing screens at the Nurburgring. Whilst we all have our favourites, for me this year it has to be the Alfa Romeo Tipo B from 1935, the steed of my vote for the greatest ever driver of all time, Tazio Nuvolari. This car was three years old when it arrived at the German GP and against the might of that year’s title winning Mercedes W25 the feisty Alfa silenced the Nurburgring with a historic victory before retiring in style. The 2017 Festival has once again brought together an incredible collection of race cars with more history than the average enthusiast can possibly absorb; tomorrow I head for the rally stage and clock the top ten fastest logged times.
Tags:
Festival of Speed
Grant Ford spends another day around Goodwood House
The weekend has ignited and Friday morning presents a chance to admire the full display at the Cartier Style et Luxe; a very fancy name for a display of the fanciest automobiles. Years of battling the crowds inside the FOS has ensured I get in early and acquire the pictures prior to 100k other enthusiasts. Ultra-rare is the Ogle designed Aston Martin DBS V8 built as a promotional tool for a cigarette manufacturer, this car came courtesy of the same company that penned the Chopper bike, Bond Bug and the Reliant GTE; complete with 22 tail lamps that appear according to brake pressure, all contained in a rear panel cut from a single sheet of stainless steel. Goodwood released some amazing facts and figures about the event that includes the print count for tickets and wristbands; just under half a million! They also hold a million litres of bottled water on site and if they all sell at £2 per 500ml, well you do the maths.
With over 450 vehicles on show (either static or hill bound) there is always plenty to view, including the historic Lancia D50. It would be the Italian manufacturers final throw at Grand Prix racing and its pilot Alberto Ascari enjoyed precious little time on track. Unready to compete until late 1954 before finally taking pole in its first outing of that year in Spain. In 1954 the Monaco GP would see the Lancia and Ascari end up in the Mediterranean when a misjudged corner resulted in a near miss with him having to be saved from drowning. The D50 promised much but following financial woes plus the death at Monza of Ascari sports car testing in May 1955, the project was taken over by Ferrari.
The Lancia-Ferrari D50A appeared with several upgrades the following year and in the hands of Fangio became a championship winning car; both versions are at the FOS celebrated with 70 years of Ferrari single seaters. Although it may have slipped from the memory, the 1985 Toleman TG185 brought the camera shutters clicking when it took to the hill. 1986 saw Toleman’s sponsor Benneton take control of the operation and this car achieved the original teams first and only pole; the weather helped a young Teo Fabi top the timing screens at the Nurburgring. Whilst we all have our favourites, for me this year it has to be the Alfa Romeo Tipo B from 1935, the steed of my vote for the greatest ever driver of all time, Tazio Nuvolari. This car was three years old when it arrived at the German GP and against the might of that year’s title winning Mercedes W25 the feisty Alfa silenced the Nurburgring with a historic victory before retiring in style. The 2017 Festival has once again brought together an incredible collection of race cars with more history than the average enthusiast can possibly absorb; tomorrow I head for the rally stage and clock the top ten fastest logged times.
Tags:Festival of Speed