2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed: the cars, the drivers and how to watch

Summer is the time for garden parties, and there’s none quite like the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the petrol heads’ king of all gatherings. And this year the Festival marks a special occasion, celebrating both Goodwood’s 75th year of operation, and also 30 years since the inaugural Festival of Speed took place back in 1993.

To mark the occasion, there will be a host of special activities and displays planned, as well as some of the world’s finest automotive exotica racing up the famous hillclimb. Make sure to grab your tickets early to bag a discount too.

Here are some of the highlights we know of so far…

Central theme

With two milestones to mark, it will come as little surprise that Goodwood will look to celebrate itself at this year’s Festival of Speed, with Goodwood 75 becoming the over-arching theme of the event. Exact details of all the celebrations have yet to be confirmed, but we do know that a special collection of cars will be assembled from each era of the track to tackle the hillclimb.

The categories will be as follows: The Racing Years (1948-1966), The Testing Years (post-1966), 30 Years of the Festival of Speed (1993-2023), Racing Returns (1998-2023) and The Next 75 Years. Each class will assemble both cars and bikes representing those eras of the circuit’s history.

Who is driving at Goodwood Festival of Speed?

In short, we currently don’t know for sure, but what we do know is that you can bank on a lot of star names turning out for the event. Why? Because they always do! Stars from Formula 1, Le Mans, veterans and legends regularly appear to wow the crowds at the Festival of Speed. And there will also undoubtedly be some stunning machinery in action too. Last year the radical McMurty Speirling snatched the outright hillclimb record with a scarcely believable 39.08sec run in the hands of Max Chilton, bettering Romain Dumas’ previous record set aboard the Volkswagen ID.R. For context, the Formula 1 car record is 41.60sec, set by Nick Heidfeld in a McLaren MP4/13.

Le Mans centenary celebrations

It’s a big year for anniversaries, and they don’t get much bigger than 100 years of the Le Mans 24 Hours. While this year’s running will actually be only the 90th edition of the race – owing to its cancellation for wartime and worker’s strikes/civil unrest in the early days – the first 24 Hours took place at La Sarthe in 1923, won by André Lagache and René Leonard aboard a Chenard-Walcker Type U3 15CV Sport. They completed 128 laps and 1373 miles during the time. Safe to say things have changed a bit since then, with a modern Le Mans achieving almost triple that mileage with its significantly more modern cars and track.

Expect Goodwood to put on a showcase of some of the finest metal (and carbon) from across the last 100 years of Le Mans, so sportscar fans certainly won’t be disappointed.

What else is there to do at Goodwood Festival of Speed?

Those attending don’t just get to watch the action – some of the most thrilling driving experiences available to purchase are on offer across the weekend too.

Off-road and trial bike experiences can be sampled, along with the Jaguar Drift Experience, a test drive of the new all-electric Polestar2 and, for the bravest out there, the Land Rover Off-Road Arena obstacle course.

A wide range of dining options are available, from restaurants and bars to quick bites, while there is also a wide range of vendors selling the highest quality motor sport wares, from fine art and photography to clothing and merchandise.

How do I watch Goodwood Festival of Speed?

The FoS will be streamed live from its YouTube channel. Details will be confirmed closer to the event.

ITV also broadcast last year’s event, so hopefully you’ll be able to catch it again on ‘the box’ this time around.

When is the Goodwood Festival of Speed?

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is held from July 13 – 16, with a packed schedule of action across all four days.

How to buy tickets for Goodwood Festival of Speed?

Tickets are already on sale for the 2023 Festival of Speed, but you need to hurry to both get the best deal and to make sure you secure your entry as they tend to shift fast. Tickets booked before March 31 are eligible for a 10% discount.

Details of all ticket and hospitality packages can be found here.