At the end of a tumultuous weekend, we arrived at Goodwood on Sunday to enjoy what we’d hoped would be a full day of stunning action. The weather finally abated so that we could enjoy the best that the Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard had to offer.
Of course, the headline act on Sunday was the Timed Shootout, where drivers competed for the crown of fastest up the Hill in 2023. Among the favourites were Adam Smalley in his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and Travis Pastrana in his Subaru GL Wagon Family Huckster. Both were beaten, however, by a first timer – the McLaren Solus GT.
Sunday was also the day when we got to see Sebastian Vettel in action. He drove both his Williams FW14B and McLaren MP4/8, completing some spectacular donuts as he did so, and had a brilliant moment in the limelight as we welcomed him up onto the Balcony for a special moment of recognition of his exploits both on and off the track.
It was also our last chance to make the absolute most of all of the great motorsport icons on display. We celebrated 75 years of Porsche, 60 years of McLaren, and 75 years of Lotus with three moments on the Hill, while several of the most significant Le Mans racers were also in attendance to celebrate the centenary of the great endurance event.
Thursday at the 2023 Festival of Speed was one of the busiest we’ve ever had, with a huge number of new cars making their public and dynamic debuts at Goodwood, and Sunday provided us with one more glimpse of all the most exciting road cars due to arrive on the market over the next 12-24 months.
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