The Balcony Moments at the 2026 Festival of Speed

Thursday

Ducati’s centenary celebration  

Kicking things off on Thursday will be a moment to honour Ducati’s centenary, celebrating 100 years of performance, innovation and unmistakable Italian flair. As one of the most successful marques in motorcycle history, Ducati has claimed more than 50 world titles, forging a legendary reputation through high-performance engineering.

Goodwood House will welcome an incredible cohort of Ducati greats to the Hill, before this showcase of racing royalty makes its way to the House. Four-time World Superbike Champion Carl Fogarty will stand alongside fellow icons Casey Stoner, Dario Marchetti, Marco Melandri, Michael Rutter, Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne, and Troy Bayliss, joined by fresh-faced talent straight from the WorldSBK grid: Ducati Corse Aruba riders Nicolò Bulega and Iker Lecuona as well as Alvaro Bautista, Tarran Mackenzie, and Tommy Bridewell.

Every one of these riders achieved their greatest milestones powered by Ducati, and this blend of legendary titans and current stars perfectly mirrors the brand’s deep racing heritage and forward-looking spirit.

Alongside the Balcony moment, Ducati will mark its century of design by offering visitors a rare opportunity to see its new Collezione 100 collection, a limited run of ten bespoke bikes with liveries inspired by some of its most influential and memorable machines. This will be the only time you’ll be able to witness the entire collection displayed together outside of Italy — an ultimate opportunity to immerse yourself in the brand’s rich racing history.

Friday

John McGuinness 

Adding to the two-wheeled pedigree of the weekend, road racing royalty John McGuinness will grace the Balcony on Friday as he celebrates 30 years since his event debut and 20 years since his legendary hat-trick of victories in the Superbike, Junior 600cc, and Senior TT classes.

Following in the tyre tracks of fellow road racing titan Michael Dunlop, who electrified crowds with his own Balcony appearance in 2024, we’re keeping the Isle of Man energy alive as the 'Morecambe Missile' brings five heavyweight machines from his formidable career, spearheaded by his weapon of choice: the 2026 Honda Fireblade. Of course, it wouldn’t be the Festival of Speed without seeing this racing titan out on the road where he belongs, but when it comes to the details of McGuinness’s on-track display we will all have to wait and see what’s in store.

Lando Norris & Valentino Rossi

Friday afternoon will see the Balcony burst into action as two motorsport titans launch their Festival of Speed weekends. Reigning Formula 1 World Champion Lando Norris and nine-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi, both Monster Energy athletes, will appear together for a profound collision of worlds.

The energy will be electric when these two icons — who have openly inspired one another across two wheels and four — unite for what will be an unforgettable moment, as a sea of McLaren papaya will collide with a vibrant wave of Rossi’s famous fluorescent yellow ‘46’ fans, marking The Doctor's highly anticipated return to the event for the first time since 2015.

With ten World Championships and a lifetime of mutual respect between them, this monumental Friday Balcony moment promises a sensory overload — loud, atmospheric and impossible to ignore. 

Saturday

Lando Norris

Following a mega Friday, Norris will return to the Balcony on Saturday to celebrate his F1 World Championship success with McLaren. Fresh from his home Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone, Norris will step away from the cockpit to take a moment to receive the affection of the crowds and share his reflections on his lifechanging achievement with the team he’s been with since 2019.

This moment follows an impressive recent legacy of World Champions welcomed to Goodwood House, from Max Verstappen in 2024 to 2025’s remarkable line-up of seven title winners spanning generations, from Sir Jackie Stewart to Mika Häkkinen. Norris’ appearance on the Balcony is sure to be one of the biggest draws of the weekend — if you’re trying to find the crowd ahead of this moment, just follow the sea of papaya. 

Gerhard Berger

Formula 1 fever continues its takeover on Saturday with the Balcony set to welcome Gerhard Berger, 40 years on since his maiden F1 victory at the 1986 Mexican Grand Prix. That iconic win — fuelled by a bold tyre strategy and a turbocharged Benetton B186 — launched a legendary career that spanned some of the sport’s most fiercely contested eras, and the charismatic Austrian will take centre stage, jumping back into the cockpit of an iconic machine from his racing career.

We can’t wait to see exactly what Berger will be driving when he heads out onto the Hill, before fans will have their opportunity to cheer on a driver who defined a generation across two unforgettable stints with Benetton, three ferocious years with Ferrari, a star-studded partnership alongside Ayrton Senna at McLaren, and triumphal return to Maranello. 

Sunday

Damon Hill 

A spectacular finale awaits on Sunday as we look forward to celebrating Damon Hill, 30 years after he won the 1996 Formula 1 World Championship. Hill will be reunited with his legendary, title-winning Williams FW18 with a run up the Goodwood Hill, before his special moment on the Balcony where crowds will gather to hear stories from the career of one of the country’s most loved motorsport stars.

Intriguingly, Hill will also be accompanied by the very machine that ignited his love of racing: the Yamaha TZ350. While his two-wheeled exploits never quite matched his F1 heights, winning a 350cc Clubman’s Championship at Brands Hatch served as the ultimate catalyst, forging the gritty competitive edge that would eventually carry Damon Hill to the top of the world. We can’t wait to witness Hill reunited with these significant machines on Sunday.

Timed Shoot-Out Winner 

In a first for the Festival of Speed, the winner of Sunday’s legendary Timed Shoot-Out will celebrate their victory with a moment on the Balcony after crossing the finish line. The entire event weekend builds to this definitive, high-stakes finale, where drivers throw caution to the wind for one final, flat-out charge up the 1.16-mile course, and now with the newly crowned champion taking to the balcony in celebration with the crowds, this year's finale elevates the spectacle more than ever before. We eagerly wait to see who will take the Timed Shoot-Out title in 2026…

Tickets for the Festival of Speed are limited. Only Thursday admission remains but hospitality packages for all four days are available. Missed out on a ticket for Friday or Saturday? Find out how you can access our sold-out days with one of our new packages.

If you’re not already part of the GRRC, joining the Fellowship means you can save ten per cent on your 2026 tickets and grandstand passes, as well as enjoy a whole host of other on-event perks.  

Ducati photography by Jochen van Cauwenberge.