Festival of Speed 2025
Goodwood
17 July 2025
The Festival of Speed, held at the Goodwood estate, is a unique experience in the world of motorsport. A hillclimb, a celebration of motorsport, and a launch platform for the latest vehicles— it’s all of that and more. Attracting a huge number of spectators, it has grown in popularity since the first event 28 years ago. These days, it is getting to a saturation point in terms of spectators. Attending on Friday and Saturday, it was evident that the Festival of Speed has not lost any of its appeal. To say it was packed would be an understatement.
I don’t think the great weather we have been having in the UK had anything to do with the numbers attending. Tickets for next year are available now to a select few and will probably sell out later in the year when they go on general sale. No one knows what the weather will like be in 12 months, so weather is not a factor.
Why go to the Festival of Speed?
So what is the appeal of the Festival of Speed? What is interesting is that fans don’t know what is scheduled for 2026. The theme is announced later this year, and going on previous themes, it should be a good one. This year’s headline was the 75th anniversary of the Formula One World Championship.
The Festival of Speed always has F1 in some shape or form. Celebrations of various F1-related anniversaries have been held within the Goodwood estate over the years, but this one was spectacular. Seven F1 World Champions were gathered, with 14 World Championships between them, to celebrate 75 years of F1.
Festival of Speed moments.
One of the unique aspects of the Festival of Speed is reuniting drivers with the car they drove back in the day. Alain Prost and his 1988 Monaco Grand Prix-winning McLaren MP4/4. Nigel Mansell in the Williams-Renault FW14B red five. Seeing these two legends of motorsport would have justified the entry fee alone. But there was more; Sir Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti, Jacques Villeneuve, and Mika Häkkinen were also joining the celebration.
Sir Jackie Stewart and the rest of the champions were recognised in a balcony moment. Driving their iconic cars up to the front of Goodwood House, the champions were welcomed by a huge crowd of cheering fans. Sir Jackie Stewart greeted his sons Paul and Mark, who drove two of his iconic F1 cars up the drive, while the rest of the champions arrived in their own championship cars.
On the balcony, they were joined by the godfather of F1, Bernie Ecclestone, and pundit Karun Chandhok, who conducted the interviews. A truly memorable moment for those that were there.
Two-wheel fans were catered for on Friday’s balcony moment with four-time World Superbike Champion, Carl Fogarty. Foggy arrived in style on his Championship-winning Ducati 916, riding it into the house. He then reappeared to soak the assembled fans in champagne before heading up onto the balcony.
Festival of Speed Hillclimb.
For the spectator photographer, these moments are great to capture, but there is so much more going on. The main attraction is the hillclimb. At most hillclimbs, it’s a simple concept: go from the start to the finish at the top of the hill as fast as possible. For the Festival of Speed, this is true as well, but it also has a twist.
Some of the vehicles don’t even attempt to set a time. Rally, drift cars, and a few of the F1 will spin and smoke their tires at a few points on the track. Inevitably, these points are the most popular, not just for the fans but also for the media. Top tip: make a point of watching these and take a step to get above the crowds and the media if you can’t get to the front.
At the top of the hill is the upper paddock where the cars will park up, and the drivers will check out each other’s rides. Top tip number two: if you miss your favourite car on the way up, they will come down the hill at the completion of the run. A few spots are actually better for capturing the cars on the way down than on the way up. However, they will not be going at speed.
Festival of Speed Hillclimb Shootout.
The shootout is the headline event and a prestigious competition to win. It attracts the fastest cars from a multitude of eras, from the dawn of motorsport to the latest high-tech machines. Also, the newest supercars get to take on the hill, admittedly a little slower than the competition cars.
Max Chilton holds the record of 39.08 seconds, the fastest run up the 1.16-mile course. Set in 2022 in the McMurtry Spéirling, built by British electric car manufacturer McMurtry Automotive. The Spéirling concept car, constructed around a huge downforce fan, is now retired and was on display this year. There were plenty of road race and concept cars to take its place, vying to take the Shootout crown.
Romain Dumas, last year’s winner in the Ford Super Van 4.2, was back to defend his title. Driving a different Ford electric vehicle this year, the super-fast Ford F-150 Lightning SuperTruck. Having also claimed the Pikes Peak prize, Dumas was the favourite this year in the 1600bhp Ford monster. Sunday’s final saw him set the fastest time of the weekend to take the title. A blistering 43.22 seconds was way off the Spéirling record but enough to take the win.
I feel he could have gone faster, but the truck had to be raised up, reducing downforce. During a practice run on Friday, the SuperTruck set the tinder-dry hay bales on fire from a shower of sparks. This resulted in a significant delay on the hill as the smouldering bales were replaced.
Festival of Speed Rally Stage.
Opposite the upper paddock at the top of the hill is the Rally Stage. Most years, the stage is quite interesting, but this year, the Goodwood team pulled out all the stops. The largest number of the iconic Metro 6R4 gathered, probably since they first rolled off the production line, were on display. Also celebrated was the late Colin McRae, the first British driver to win the World Rally Championship in 1995. A selection of his winning cars were on display and would take to the hill over the weekend.
The Rally Stage had some excellent cars taking part, and for the fans’ enjoyment, the drivers were going for it, especially over the jump. For the spectators, however, it was a little uncomfortable in the forest. The shade from the trees was a welcome relief from the relentless heat. However, the prolonged dry spell we have had introduced another significant problem: dust. It was very bad on the stage. The fine particles hanging in the air made for some nice pictures, but it got everywhere.
The Goodwood staff were issued with face masks; it was that bad. It wasn’t just the rally stage that was affected; the dust drifted over onto the hill climb, reducing grip at the top of the track. The tractors transferring spectators to and from the top of the hill didn’t help. Towing open trailers with seating gave no protection to those that used this method of getting up and down the hill. Top tip number three: pack a camera cleaning kit.
Festival of Speed Motorsport Village.
To close off this report, I want to visit an area that I have neglected in my past visits: the Motorsport Village. Sited over the track opposite Goodwood House, this area contains vehicle manufacturers’ stands, future labs, the action sports arena, retail, and food outlets.
One of the reasons I haven’t given this area much time in the past is that you could spend all day here. My main focus when visiting the Festival of Speed is motorsports action. I’m not in the market for a new Lamborghini or a custom cotton shirt, but I made the effort to get around the village. Surprisingly, it was quite entertaining, but not wanting to be distracted, I did canter around the exhibits before heading back to the paddocks.
Goodwood Action Sports
One area I did take some time out at was the Goodwood Action Sports arena. This ticks all of the motorsports action boxes for the spectator photographer. A mix of pedal power BMX and motorcycles performing jumps, stunts, and tricks, it is a great distraction from the hill. The shows are held at set times, so a bit of planning is required.
That statement is true for the whole of the FoS experience. There is so much going on, you need to plan your day if you want to see everything. Even then, you would be hard-pushed to experience everything in one day; there is so much to see at the Festival of Speed. This is the main reason the fans keep returning year after year. There is always so much to see and do. Yes there are a lot of people but it’s a small price to pay for the unique motorsport experience that is the FoS.
Thanks to RPW Photography for the images in this report. Next year’s Festival of Speed will be 9th-12th July 2026.
