There can’t be any more all-encompassing motorsport entry list published each year than the roster of drivers, riders and iconic machinery for the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
This weekend’s Silver Jubilee festival (July 12-15) in the West Sussex countryside has attracted another stellar entry with contributions from nearly every motorsports discipline.
Recent and historic Formula 1 cars, Le Mans prototypes and MotoGP bikes will run up the 1.16-mile hillclimb course along with the latest new car launches and supercar runs.
The Formula 1 world champions entered for the 2018 festival are Emerson Fittipaldi, Jenson Button, Mika Hakkinen and Sir Jackie Stewart.
The 1968 Honda RA301 Formula 1 car will be driven by Jenson Button. Photo / Supplied
Fittipaldi will be re-united with a McLaren M23 while Stewart will be driving Tyrrell and Matra F1 cars and his 1966 Indianapolis 500 Lola T90 Bowes Seal Fast Special. Button is on duty for Honda driving the V12-engined RA301 from 1968.
Multiple-time motorcycle world champions Giacomo Agostini riding MV Agusta machines and Freddie Spencer (Honda RS500) will be joined by world rally champions Sebastien Ogier (Ford Fiesta WRC) and Walter Rohrl (Germany) in a Paris-Dakar specification Porsche 911 SC.
Other drawcards are Hans-Joachim Stuck (Germany) in a pre-war C Type Auto Union GP car while Poland’s F1 and WRC ace Robert Kubica will pilot a Lancia 037 rally car.
There’s always a strong North American flavour at Goodwood and notable entries include NASCAR legend Richard Petty (Dodge Charger) and three-time Indy 500 winner Johnny Rutherford (Chaparral 2k).
Alpine will celebrate a milestone with the 1978 Le Mans winning A442B in action at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Photo / Supplied
A special US theme this year is the appearance of AMA Flat Track motorcycle racing stars. Indian racers Brad Baker, Jared Mees and Bryan Smith will be joined by Harley Davidson factory riders Danny Eslick and Jeffrey Carver.
Indy 500 winner Gil de Ferran (Brazil) — recently named as sporting director of McLaren’s F1 team — will drive a McLaren M23 and McLaren F1 GTR.
Le Mans winners Tom Kristensen (Audi R8), Derek Bell (Porsche 917K and 962) Richard Attwood (Porsche 804), Neel Jani (Porsche 919 Hybrid), Jochen Mass (Porsche 962), Jackie Oliver (BRM P153) and Pierluigi Martini (BMW V12 LMR) and are also on the roster.
Roborace autonomous race car will run up the famous course. Photo / Supplied
Injury prevented 23-time winner John McGuinness from racing at this year’s Isle of Man TT but he’ll make a festival appearance on the Norton SG7 he had planned to race in the Superbike and Senior TT races.
Other bike stars include World Superbike champ Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki), former GP star Randy Mamola (Ducati Panigale), 16-time TT winner Ian Hutchinson (Honda Fireblade) and TT Sidecar winners Ben and Tom Birchall.
Kiwi participation features a trio of Goodwood regulars - Toro Rosso F1 driver Brendon Hartley, Drift ace ‘‘Mad’’ Mike Whiddett and rally ace Rod Millen.
Le Mans winner and double world endurance champion Hartley is on duty as part of Porsche’s 70th birthday celebrations and is listed to drive the Porsche 911 GT1-98.
Kiwi drift star "Mad'' Mike Whiddett has become a Goodwood crowd favourite in recent years. Photo / Colin Smith
Whiddett has become a festival fixture drifting his Mad Bul Mazda RX-7 and Millen will have double duty driving his Pikes Peak-winning 1994 Toyota Celica and a 1906 14.25-litre Darracq Grand Prix car.
Competitors from the British Touring Car Championship will compete in a timed shoot-out while one of the cars expected to among the quickest up the hillclimb course is the Judd V8-powered BMW M3 of twice European hillclimb champion Joerg Weidinger.
Live stream action from Goodwood is available via YouTube and other sites through the weekend.
