By Greg Stidsen

It’s so very British.  A sort of Automotive Preservation Society. A Who’s Who and What’s What of motorsport and everything else ‘automobilia’. Hedgerows, gardens, and twisty B roads with ancient pubs and funny names create a dreamlike backdrop to the most incredible of all automotive celebrations.

This was my second visit to the Festival of Speed, Lord March’s three-day automotive orgy held annually at his Goodwood manor. Unlike my last visit in 2007, when I got my tan by standing in the English rain, this year was sunny and warm. I attended ‘The Sunday’, but it was not nearly enough time to take in everything ‘on offer’ (as the Brits say) at Goodwood. This event started out 15 years ago as a timed hill climb for vintage race cars, using the 1.16-mile manor driveway as the ‘hill’. It has evolved to include a rally stage through the woods, a Cartier-sponsored Concours, an air show including the British Air Force Red Arrows, an exotic supercar paddock, fairground rides, food and drink concessions (from good to don’t ask the price), and new car exhibits by leading automotive brands, including Alfa Romeo!

If the sights, and especially the sounds, of some of the most significant race cars in the world weren’t enough, then the interviews with celebrity drivers broadcast on billboard-size LCD TVs kept me in automotive overload all day! And the cars — did I mention the cars? — were simply incredible. Since Audi was the honored marque (centenary), the world’s largest gathering of Silver Arrows was running up the hill, one by one, driven by Stirling Moss, Jackie Ickx, Jenson Button, and Nick Mason, among others. Jesse James was thrilling the crowd with his outrageous 940hp Baja ‘Trophy Truck’ (in one interview, he impressed the Brits with his West Coast cool when he responded "Goodwood is the only place I can drive like a complete idiot and people think it is way cool!"). Then Peter Fonda rode the Captain America motorcycle from Easy Rider up the hill while waving to the crowd of over 150,000 attending. Other famous drivers behind the wheels of the very cars they once raced included Jackie Stewart, Eddie Irvine, Sebastian Loeb, Damon Hill, Desiré Wilson (the only female driver to win a F1 race), Lewis Hamilton, Mark Webber, Timo Glock, Allan McNish, Rinaldo Capello, Hannu Mikkola, Rod Millen, Derek Bell, and even Rusty Wallace was there drifting his 2005 NASCAR Dodge Charger up the narrow, twisty drive.

There were lots of Alfas at Goodwood too, with two Tipo 33s and an 8C 2300 blasting up the hill. There were also concept cars — the Bertone Carabo and Navajo, both based on Alfa chassis. The new 8C Competizione in both Spyder and Coupe versions were there and sounded fabulous accelerating up the drive. The Alfa showroom gave visitors a chance to check out the new Spyder, MiTo, and 159.

Everything about the day was delightful. Even the drive down from London was fun, driving England’s B Roads at speeds not seen in America. As we approached the festival, the cars all around us became more interesting as we caravanned along with a Triumph Spitfire, Lotus 7 and an E Type leading the way. We finished the day over a curry in one of those cozy little pubs we had spotted along the way, exhausted but exhilarated.

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