Formula 1, WRC, Le Mans and NASCAR champions confirmed for 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed while the Volkswagen I.D. R will defend its electric record
Goodwood has released its provisional list of riders and drivers for the 2019 Festival of Speed on July 4-7.
Current Formula 1 drivers set to attend the 2019 Festival of Speed include Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren pair Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris who will be driving a McLaren M8D and Toro Rosso driver Alex Albon, who will drive the electric Honda e.
And the teams will be running recent F1 cars, with Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull showing off their power on the hill, and Williams, Alfa Romeo and McLaren attending with static displays.
The list includes more than a dozen past F1 champions, including René Arnoux, who will return in a Ferrari 126. He will also driving the Renault RS10 F1 car – the first turbocharged F1 winner – and various Ferrari supercars.
Joining him from the F1 contingent will be two-time champion Emerson Fittipaldi in the Lotus 72E, Karun Chandhok in a number of Williams Heritage machines and David Coulthard in the McLaren MP4/15.
This year’s Festival is celebrating the career of Michael Schumacher, who celebrated his 50th birthday at the beginning of this year. Damon Hill is expected to drive one of his championship-winning Benettons, while Mika Häkkinen is likely to drive a McLaren that he used to compete against the seven-time F1 champion.
The celebration for Sir Jackie Stewart’s 80th birthday will also take centre-stage, as the three-time F1 champion will take the wheel of his winning Matra and Tyrrell F1 cars. His sons Paul and Mark will drive the Tyrrell 003 and 006, respectively.
Red Bull F1 chief technical officer Adrian Newey will be driving a Leyton House CG901, one of the first F1 cars that he designed.
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The 1969 Le Mans 24 Hours victory of Jackie Oliver and Jacky Ickx will be celebrated as both take the helm of the Le Mans-winning GT40. Other Le Mans winners will take to the hill, too.
That list includes Tom Kristensen in an Audi DTM car, 1970 Le Mans 24 Hours winner Richard Attwood in a Porsche 917, and Jochen Mass in various Mercedes sports and F1 cars.
Bentley will have Guy Smith driving the Bentley Speed 8 (in which he won the 2003 Le Mans 24 Hours) and Continental GT3 racer, while Aston Martin will field Darren Turner in its GTE challenger.
Romain Dumas is also confirmed to attend, driving the Pikes Peak and Nürburgring-conquering Volkswagen I.D. R at the Festival of Speed.
The I.D. R set a time of 43.86 seconds last year and will be set-up for the short hillclimb, gunning for the overall record of 41.6sec this year.
“This year, we will field an ID.R that has been prepared specifically for Goodwood,” said VW Motorsport director Sven Smeets.
“The engineers’ focus is on a drive configuration designed specifically for the short route.”
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Technical director François-Xavier Demaison explained: “We have developed another evolutionary stage of the ID.R – a sprint version with smaller batteries, in order to further reduce weight.”
“We have also opted for a far more aggressive energy management strategy for the short distance. You need very high output for a very short time for the sprint in Goodwood.”
Motorcycle racers will have a healthy representation too, including 15-time grand prix champion Giacomo Agostini, five-time champion Mick Doohan, motorcycle museum owner Sammy Miller and two-time MotoGP champion Casey Stoner.
Drifting will return to the Festival of Speed with Ken Block and Mike Whiddett among others
And famous names from the World Rally Championship such as Rauno Aaltonen – who will compete in his Mini Cooper on the Forest Rally Stage – Petter Solberg and Elfyn Evans will try their best to keep off the grass.
Finally, seven-time NASCAR champion and team owner Richard Petty will drive a Buick stock car, joined by 2000 Bobby Labonte in another NASCAR Cup Series car.
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