Driving home for Christmas: Goodwood’s countdown to Christmas

 Driving home for Christmas: Goodwood’s countdown to Christmas

Celebrating a remarkable year at Goodwood as 2024 draws to a close
We are counting down the days until Christmas with our own advent calendar which has been running throughout December on Instagram
Early bird tickets for the 2025 motorsport events are available now at goodwood.com
As 2024 draws to a close, join us in celebrating the highlights and reflecting on an extraordinary year with our very own Goodwood Christmas countdown.

 

ONE incredible year at Goodwood
From thrilling racing at the Members' Meeting presented by Audrain Motorsport, to celebrating 20 years of Oracle Red Bull Racing at the Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard and becoming the world’s first historic motorsport event to race on sustainable fuel at the Goodwood Revival, it's been an incredible year. And the 2025 events are set to be just as spectacular

 

TWO Wheels for Life were the official charity partner of the Festival of Speed
This year's Festival of Speed was proud to support Two Wheels for Life, a charity dedicated to transforming healthcare across Africa using the power of motorcycles. The charity ensures the delivery of medical supplies, vaccines, and healthcare workers to remote communities.

Two Wheels for Life were on site across the weekend with volunteers sharing details of the vital work they do, raising an impressive £93,056 to fund motorcycle-driven healthcare delivery in rural Africa.

 

THREE-time W Series Champion Jamie Chadwick made her Goodwood racing debut
Goodwood was excited to welcome Indy NXT driver and three-time W Series Champion Jamie Chadwick who made her Goodwood historic racing debut at the 81st Members' Meeting, competing in the all-Ford Mustang Ken Miles Cup presented by LGT Wealth Management and the Gordon Spice Trophy.

 

The 81st Members’ Meeting welcomed FOUR new House Captains
The 81st Members' Meeting saw a changing of the guard as the event welcomed four new House Captains. World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx (Aubigny), nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen (Darnley), three-time British Touring Car Champion Gordon Shedden (Methuen) and IndyCar Champion Dario Franchitti (Torbolton) led their houses in the annual competition for the House Shield. Torbolton were the overall victors taking home the trophy with 19,876 points.

 

FIVE international driving tour destinations for Members of the Goodwood Road Racing Club
Members of the Goodwood Road Racing Club had the opportunity to join one of the GRRC's five international driving tours this year. Destinations included Tuscany, Route Des Bulles in Northern France, a trip to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Croatia and the Daytona 500.

 

SIX Formula 1 teams attended the 2024 Festival of Speed
This year's Festival of Speed was thrilled to welcome six current Formula 1 teams. 

Alongside the celebrations for Oracle Red Bull Racing, the event hosted five additional current Formula 1 teams: BWT Alpine F1 Team, Scuderia Ferrari HP, McLaren Formula 1 Team, Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team and Williams Racing. Fans had the opportunity to see legendary cars from across the decades and meet the teams and drivers, with crowds flocking to see Alex Albon, Fernando Alonso, Oliver Bearman, Jack Doohan, Logan Sargeant, Yuki Tsunoda and James Vowles across the weekend. 

The 2025 Festival of Speed theme will celebrate ‘The Winning Formula - Champions and Challengers’ -inspired by the 75th anniversary of the Formula 1 World Championship.

 

SEVEN-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Richard Petty was celebrated at the Festival of Speed
Goodwood was honoured to welcome seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Richard Petty to this year’s Festival of Speed, as the Petty family celebrated 75 years of their involvement with motorsport. Returning to the event, Petty was joined by his famous 1970 Plymouth Superbird, driven by son Kyle, as Goodwood celebrated “The King” and his extraordinary career. 

 

EIGHT modern racing sidecars went head-to-head at the 81st Members’ Meeting
At the 81st Members' Meeting eight modern racing sidecars went head-to-head across the weekend for the first time at the Goodwood Motor Circuit. Showcasing the precise teamwork between driver and co-driver, the eight pairs tackled the challenging combination of high-speed straights and tight turns around the track. Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clément won the spectacular Shoot-Out on Sunday afternoon.

 

NINE students were helped by the Rob Wildeboer Flying Scholarship
In 2024, nine students were enrolled on the Rob Wildeboer Flying Scholarship at the Goodwood Flying School. In 2021, the Goodwood aviation community suffered an immeasurable loss with the passing of Rob Wildeboer, the Goodwood Flying School Manager. To remember and honour Rob in accordance with the wishes of his family, a number of scholarships were made available to help students on their aviation journeys.

 

TEN years of the Members’ Meeting
The 81st Members' Meeting marked ten years since its revival in 2014.

The Members' Meeting dates back to 1948 when the 9th Duke of Richmond opened the Circuit and held the first in a series of meetings for members of the British Automobile Racing Club. There were 71 such meetings, the last one held on 2 July 1966. The Members' Meeting was revived in 2014 for Members of the Goodwood Road Racing Club.

 

ELEVEN first solo flights with the Goodwood Flying School
The Goodwood Flying School offers a range of courses and training to take people from their first flight to advanced courses for a qualified pilot. This year, eleven first solo flights were achieved with the help of the Flying School.

 

TWELVE speakers at the first Future of Vintage Summit
In March, Goodwood hosted its inaugural Future of Vintage Summit at Goodwood House, bringing together a group of fashion experts, vintage traders and collectors to connect with one another and to deepen our understanding of the challenges this sector of the fashion industry is facing. Chaired by Anne-Marie Curtis, attendees included Herbie Mensah, Virginia Bates and Paula Sutton.

 

THIRTEEN sustainably-fuelled races took place at the 2024 Goodwood Revival
In a landmark moment, the 2024 Goodwood Revival proudly became the world’s first historic motorsport event to run its entire race schedule solely on sustainable fuel. In 2025 the 82nd Members' Meeting and the Goodwood Revival will follow suit, requiring all competitors to use a fuel with a minimum of 70% advanced sustainable components.

 

FOURTEEN-time winner and Mountain Course lap record-holder Peter Hickman attended the Festival of Speed
This year’s Festival of Speed was delighted to welcome 14-time winner and Mountain Course lap record-holder Peter Hickman as the event brought together a number of riders from the iconic Isle of Man TT including Michael Dunlop – the most successful rider in the history of the racing event.

 

FIFTEEN overtakes by Olly Bryant in the first lap of the RAC TT at the Goodwood Revival
The Royal Automobile Club TT Celebration features closed-cockpit GT and selected prototype cars, evoking the history and heritage of the Motor Circuit which hosted the RAC TT from 1960 to 1964. The fastest and most iconic grand touring cars from Goodwood’s golden era go head-to-head in the 60-minute two-driver contest, and this year Goodwood regular Olly Bryant made an impressive fifteen overtakes in the first lap in his AC Cobra.

 

SIXTEEN Cobras at the Goodwood Revival
At this year’s Goodwood Revival, sixteen Cobras took to the historic Goodwood Motor Circuit, racing as part of the Whitsun Trophy, Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy and RAC TT Celebration.

 

World debut of the RB17 at the 2024 Festival of Speed
At the 2024 Festival of Speed Red Bull Advanced Technologies and Oracle Red Bull Racing unveiled the highly-anticipated RB17 Hypercar, designed by Group Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey, which made its world debut at the event.

 

The Cartier Style et Luxe Lawn welcomed vintage tractors, including the Porsche AP18
For the first time since its inception in 1995, the Cartier Style et Luxe concours featured a variety of vintage tractors, including the Porsche AP18.

Every year the Lawn welcomes some of the most intriguing and beautiful vehicles at the Festival of Speed, in a celebration of the very best in automotive design and restoration. Judges this year included Thomas Brodie-Sangster, David Gandy, Kenya Hunt, Mai Ikuzawa, Flavio Manzoni, Marek Reichman, Micheal Ward and Adrian van Hooydonk. 

 

NINETEEN Revive & Thrive workshops at the Goodwood Revival
In 2024, the Goodwood Revival’s Revive & Thrive Village hosted nineteen heritage skill-focused workshops and demonstrations, which shared way to reduce, reuse, repair, restore and recycle for authentic circular consumption.

A series of live demonstrations gave visitors the chance to see artisans and experts revive time-worn treasures, while a programme of drop-in sewing workshops gave visitors the opportunity to embellish and mend their own clothes and accessories.

 

TWENTY years of Oracle Red Bull Racing at the Festival of Speed
Celebrating its 20th anniversary and marking Goodwood’s biggest celebration of a Formula 1 team to date, Oracle Red Bull Racing brought together an incredible lineup of drivers from across the team's history. The now four-time Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen made his Festival of Speed debut, driving the RB16B in which he claimed his first world title in 2021. 

He was joined on the balcony of Goodwood House by teammate Sergio Pérez, Team Principal and CEO Christian Horner, Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey, as well as Red Bull drivers Hamda Al Qubaisi, David Coulthard, Christian Klien, Daniel Ricciardo and Mark Webber.

 

TWENTY-ONE classic Land Rovers in the Goodwood Motor Circuit fleet
The Goodwood Motor Circuit is home to 21 classic Land Rovers from the 1960s which are used across the Estate for off-roading experiences - all with their own names of course.

 

1:22.314 – the quickest lap at the Goodwood Revival in 2024
The fastest race of the Goodwood Revival, the Whitsun Trophy spotlights sports-racing prototypes that raced between 1960 and 1966 including Lola T70 Spyders, McLaren M1Bs and Ford GT40s, making for some of the fiercest racing across the weekend.

Jamie Davison took the fastest lap time at the event this year with a time of 1:22.314 in a 1966 McLaren-Chevrolet M1B.

 

TWENTY-THREE finishers in the Surtees Trophy at the 81st Members’ Meeting
Goodwood-great John Surtees would have celebrated his 90th birthday this year, and in 2024 the Surtees Trophy made a welcome return to the Members’ Meeting race list. For sports-racing prototypes of a type that raced between 1960 and 1966, the race saw twenty-three cars cross the finish line. 

 

TWENTY FOUR schools and colleges visited the Festival of Speed as part of its STEM programme
As part of Goodwood’s commitment to inspire the next generation, the Festival of Speed’s STEM programme for 11–16-year-olds, was delighted to welcome 1,000 students from 24 schools and colleges. Students took part in a specially curated programme which included talks and workshops with Future Lab exhibitors, as well as a series of seminars from the Goodwood Education Trust.

 

It has certainly been a year to remember at Goodwood and the 2025 events are set to be just as unforgettable. Further details about next year’s events will be announced in the coming months.

Early bird tickets are available at goodwood.com.


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