Homage to speed

A photo diary of a day out at the Goodwood Festival of Speed at Goodwood House.


An eerily beautiful fantasy car from America dated 1938. Would this be allowed on the road today?

Ferrari mechanics fine tune their lap tops!

Not being an ardent petrol head I didnt know the details of all the cars, but couldn't help admire the lines of the older classic cars in the Cartier section, or enjoy the noise and spectacle of the Formula One cars hurtling up the hill in front of us.

I left capturing the atmosphere of the vehicles roaring past to the experts with long lenses, who were in serried ranks behind the protective straw bales at the side of the track. I sat back in the shade and watched the action on the conveniently placed large screens - joined at one point by my eldest daughter and her fiancé. So I took the opportunity for a "boot photo" !

Can you believe that this F1 Renault's engine can play God Save the Queen? Unlikely, but true - I heard it!

Only one minor crash during the day, and it happened almost in front of where we were eating our picnic - and the lads missed it! They had gone to get in pole position for the fly past of a huge Boeing 747 doing "aerobatics".

And the safety car is the newest Rolls Royce!



You can buy this one at auction, for an estimated £140,00



A classic BMW



Nico Rosberg, who drives for Williams, is pushed back into his "garage"



Glamorous classic Ferrari



What a great design, front and back! - Alfa Romeo

I got a bit blasé towards the end of the day about expensive motors (stands visited included BMW, Mercedes Benz and Rolls Royce) and was happy to sit in the sun on Lord March's immaculate cricket pitch, sipping Pimms. I was pleased to have bought something! A baseball cap at Mercedes - a bargain at 2 for £4 as they wanted to pack up their stand and go home.

But the best part of the day? Having the Red Arrows fly almost directly overhead. Wow! You would be convined they are colliding. At one point they were actually plaiting themselves - you could see it from the red, white and blue smoke. Two of us were waiting to go back to the car park to collect the picnic had to wait as we couldnt go underneath their flight display area! They were so low and close I swear I could count the hairs in the pilot's moustache. It made me proud to be British, and paying the tax to keep them up there. The noise! The power! Better than all the fireworks that Disneyworld ever produced, and better than all the F1 cars! An overwhelming experience, and pure joy!