GRR

The best places to watch the action at FOS

30th June 2021
Laura Thomson

So the Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard has got the tick, you’ve got your tickets, and we’re all counting down the days until the biggest celebration of motoring since 2019.

The site build is well underway, and we can’t wait to welcome you to the beautiful West Sussex Goodwood estate. With a full timetable of epic hillclimb runs, plus a rally stage and off-road arena, prepare yourself for a weekend of epic proportions. But where should you place yourself to make the most of the action? Here are a few suggestions…

And if you haven’t quite managed to get your hands on motoring’s most exciting event, fear not! Enjoy all the action from the comfort of your own sofa, through our livestream.

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Startline

Okay, so you may miss some of the doughnuts and wheelies from down here, but you’ll get to experience the furore surrounding some of motoring’s most iconic motors. Watch as famous drivers mingle and warm up their engines, before their ensuing departures from the Indianapolis bricks leave you enveloped in a cloud of smoke.

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In front of Goodwood House

Position yourself between past and present and enjoy the hillclimb from underneath the Central Feature (no, we can’t reveal what it is yet). From here, you will not only see furious flybys, but also enjoy the very best burnouts, doughnuts and wheelies the pilots have to offer. Alternatively, pitch yourself on the opposite side of the track for that picture-perfect view of the House itself.

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Molecomb Grandstands

If a driver is going to get it wrong on the Goodwood Hill it’ll be at Molecombe. Turning while braking, with a blind apex and mix of cambers from ontry to exit, there’s always something to see at Molecombe, and the straight after it is the spot for the fastest of flybys – the final stretch of furious speed before the finish. Try not to blink as the cars and bikes head towards the famous flint.

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Top paddock

This is where to go if you’re after the true post-run experience. Breath in the smell of smoking tyres and burnt clutches as the drivers catch their breath and chat to the crowds. You may even bag a signature here…

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Forest Rally Stage

When (if ever) you tyre (get it) of the tarmac, take yourself for a little leg stretch to the famous Forest Rally Stage, where dozens of legendary cars from various eras of dirt and tarmac series will be thrown around in the capable hands of rally royalty.

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Off-road Arena

And finally, if the above options don’t cut it, and you’d rather see something a little looser, head to the Off-Road Arena, and watch as furious dirt challengers fly around the convoluted course, tyre treading the fine line between control and chaos.

Photography by Dominic James, Matt Sills, Harry Elltio, Nick Dungan, Sam Todd and Drew Gibson.

  • FOS 2021

  • Festival of Speed

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    Festival of Speed

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