BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME

The 30th Goodwood Festival of Speed begins tomorrow. Simon Hucknall finds out how they prepare for a global event that attracts over 200,000 visitors

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I first came to the Goodwood I Festival of Speed 20 years ago, and I bet the event that took place in 2003 couldn't happen in 2023 - at least, not when it comes to driving on the track. Back then, I hooned up the hill in a Noble M12, wearing jeans and a shirt, after a cursory check of my race lid by some chap near the start line. When I drove last year, my mandatory race suit and approved helmet had to be scrutineered by Motorsport UK officials, and a current race licence presented to BARC staff. And that was just to pilot a three-wheeled EV.

But while the nitty-gritty of running the FoS has evolved hugely, its fundamentals remain unchanged: a rip-roaring celebration of all that's fast and fun on two and four wheels (...and three), with a now-legendary hillclimb at its core. Surrounded by an array of full-access paddocks containing the height of automotive eclecticism, it's a magnet for the motor and motorsport industries, with more new car previews than you can shake a stick at and a plethora of A-list drivers and teams providing high drama and spectacle for the 200,000-plus visitors who flock to the South Downs venue each year.

That volume of visitors means that, save for the Formula 1 British Grand Prix, the FoS - now in its 30th year - is the UK's largest automotive event and, along with Glastonbury, this country's biggest gig of any kind held on a greenfield site. Which got me thinking: how are the bucolic surroundings of the Duke of Richmond's country pile transformed into motoring nirvana for a daily audience of around 55,000?