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It’s been an interesting experience so far at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard, but fortunately it looks like we’re ready for things to return to somewhere near normal on Sunday, which of course means the return of the Timed Shootout.
Video: The 10 fastest Timed Shootout practice runs 2023
The chaotic nature of the weather this weekend means we don’t really have any idea who the favourites are. We had the preliminary dry running on Thursday, which was little more than a chance for the drivers to get their eye in this challenging hillclimb course, while also getting a feel for their cars.
By the time of Friday practice, persistent rainfall had turned the Hill into a treacherous expanse of standing water devoid of grip, but that didn’t stop a plethora of talented drivers from showcasing their skills in a broad range of machinery.
We had Joseph Hopkins showcasing the imperious performance of the all-new Rolls-Royce Spectre, seemingly unperturbed by the appalling conditions to set a time of 61.07 seconds, just a smidge slower than Michael Lyons in his 1976 McLaren M26 F1 car, whose run was strangely reminiscent of the scenes we’ve all seen of that legendary Japanese Grand Prix in which James Hunt battled torrential rain to claim the F1 world championship.
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Of course, with the weather somewhat reducing the amount of grip on offer, it was no surprise to see the top ten dominated by rally cars. There’s a classic Ford Escort WRC, joined by the more modern Hyundai i20 N Rally 1 car and Ford Puma WRC, which of course made the most of their off-road setups to master the conditions.
Rory Butcher kept it tidy in his Toyota Corolla BTCC racer, as did Travis Pastrana in the Subaru GL Wagon, while Adam Smalley was on his usual form in his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup to come close to sitting at the top of the times.
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