If you weren’t able to get along to the Goodwood Festival of Speed at the weekend – don’t worry. You can get a flavour of some of the main attractions on the web, and even on the telly.
According to festival organisers, this year’s event attracted more than 140,000 visitors and was the best-attended yet. Lewis Hamilton received a rapturous reception from fans and drove one fortunate spectator, chosen at random from among ticket-holders, up the Goodwood hill in a Mercedes SLR McLaren Roadster.
Jenson Button had the kind of experience that has been only too common for him at Formula One circuits recently: “A remarkably lurid wheel spin off the start line, before the mechanicals of his F1 Honda expired.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly 12-time international trials rider champion Dougie Lampkin was another huge draw, “and had to be seen to be believed as he jumped over everything from priceless racing cars to the Festival’s founder Lord March.”
For a taste of what he was up to, watch the promotional film of him riding his bike round Goodwood House and up onto its roof embedded in this post.
The Festival website has a fantastic highlights video on its front page which comes recommended. Turn the volume down before loading if you’re sneakily watching at work, unless you want to treat the whole office to its raucous guitar soundtrack.
We’d have loved to embed it for your viewing pleasure, but no – it’s only available in situ via an proprietary flash player. Visit the site here >>
It would be great if the organisers decided to follow A1GP, IRL and the BMW F1 team and create an official YouTube channel and offer festival material to the wider audience that it deserves.
On Saturday July 26 a one-hour festival highlights package is due to be shown from 4.45pm on ITV4.