‘Super Special’ competition coming to SpeedWeek | GRR
Does a Group B blow-off valve get you hot under the collar? Would seeing a Lancia Delta Integrale doing handbrake turns require you to have a lie down? Well, rally fans, Goodwood is very excited to announce two ‘Super Special’ rally stages for Goodwood SpeedWeek presented by Mastercard.
SpeedWeek, a one-off behind-closed-doors event that’ll be free to watch online at Goodwood Road & Racing and our social channels, takes some of the best bits from the Members’ Meeting, Revival and Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard and throws them all together. There will be racing (a lot of it), modern supercars, and some seriously fast racers on track that normal events with spectators and the like just wouldn’t be allowed to run.
Having a stream-only event has also given us the opportunity to do things we wouldn’t normally be able to, like, for example, send some Group B rally monsters around Goodwood Motor Circuit, both on and off the track.
So how will it work? The two short-format rally stages, named the Northern and Southern loops, will use the track itself, the infield area, the perimeter road and the outskirts of the Motor Circuit site, as well as the main vehicle tunnel. The mixture of high speed corners, tight hairpins, surface changes and the close confines of the Circuit site will create a formidable challenge for drivers and co-drivers. And because SpeedWeek will only happen once, you know the drivers will be pushing hard for a unique honour… The first runs will take place as darkness descends in the evening of Thursday 15th October, and the cars will run several times on both stages and in different directions.
The “SpeedWeek Super Special” will bring together cars representing nearly half a century of the World Rally Championship, competing in separate classes and for outright victory. There will be Group 4 cars like the Lancia Stratos, Ford Escort RS2000 and ultra-rare Ferrari 308GTB, along with the car that changed rallying forever, 40 years ago, the Audi Quattro. Following these will be the monsters of the Group B era, cars like the Lancia 037, Delta S4, Metro 6R4, Audi Sport Quattro S1 and Peugeot 205 T16. Ushering in the modern era will be the Group A cars, the likes of the Subaru Legacy and Impreza WRX, Lancia Delta Integrale and Toyota Celica GT4. Finally, the very latest and quickest cars of the WRC will also be tackling the stages with representation from Ford, Subaru and Toyota amongst others.
To test the rally stage we needed some professional help, so some calls were made, a new Toyota GR Yaris appeared and, then, one morning, WRC and Goodwood regular Kris Meeke turned up at the circuit gates to try out the course.
The tight and technical sections mixed with open corners and short straights were ideally suited to the agility of the Yaris, and Meeke’s flair… The answer is yes, a GR Yaris will do doughnuts, and with the car set to assume ‘zero car’ duties for the weekend’ you might even get to see it do some live…
If you want to know more about SpeedWeek, make sure you read our story ‘What is SpeedWeek’ to get all the details.