Drifting after dark on the Goodwood Hill

As post-dinner entertainment goes, the sights and sounds of the Drift Brothers and Ahmad Daham drifting and donutting in the dark takes some beating. The three of them ripped up and down the straight and under the bridge to the delight of the assembled crowd. Once the engines had been killed and the tyre smoke had died down, it was time for the official reveal of this year’s Central Feature.

MG, which reaches its centenary in 2024, is this year’s celebrated marque. The timing is perfect: with the Cyberster EV, the now brand is making its return to the sports car market. The Gerry Judah-designed sculpture takes the form of a giant spoked wheel, a Cyberster and MGB sitting at the extreme ends of the imposing structure on a red cross member.

The Duke of Richmond gave a speech that revealed Goodwood’s close association with the MG marque. His grandfather, Freddie March, established the very first MG racing team, and without doing so his passion for motorsport may never have grown to the extent of opening the Goodwood Motor Circuit. Likewise, MG itself benefitted from the publicity surrounding Freddie March’s motorsport activities during economic turmoil caused by the Wall Street Crash. Goodwood and MG, therefore, had a symbiotic relationship in their early days.

The evening’s entertainment was rounded off by a light and fireworks display that dramatically illuminated the Central Feature against the inky black night sky. And with that, the Festival of Speed had begun in earnest with a bang.

The 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed is underway, and you can watch every moment of the action on our live stream right here on GRR!

Photography by Peter Summers