1st time at Goodwood, your thoughts?

[VladtheImpala]

I'm a huge car fan, hence why I'm writing a post on the internet for people who also like cars.

Having returned from my first visit to Goodwood, I have to say I didn't enjoy it very much at all.

I will say before I give my opinion which no one has asked for, that the drive there from Oxford was amazing, due to the Vanquish and black M3 CSL on whichever rural motorway I encountered. Whoever you were, well done generally, for everything.

Anyway, I was grateful to receive a free ticket from BMW due to the M anniversary, and with hindsight I am pleased I didn't have to pay for it. I don't think I would pay to go in the future.

I can't quite put my finger on why I didn't enjoy it though, I think there are several small reasons and I'm probably wrong/spoilt for internally whinging.


I found it to be so brazenly elitist, it was nauseating. Yes I get you have to be loaded before you can even make eye contact with someone 'important' in the motorsport world, but I felt there could have been more of something less elitist. I'm not sure what, but I've found myself feeling totally uninterested by these brands now. Roger Dubuis, a watch maker with a giant stand, don't you dare be inquisitive and go in though. Saville Row blazers only please.

Only air and gravity are free once you've entered. £7.50 pints of Moretti? Come on.

This is almost pointless to say, but there were too many people there. Some caterers had run out of food and drinks by 2pm. The toilets, well, you can imagine.

The stewards had a very tough job, purely down to the volume of attendees, but that didn't justify some of their stasi type behaviour.
Look, I get it, these cars are valuable, but most people there were not 7 years old, eating a melting ice cream whilst spinning round. I've got a car, I know things already.

There's no real engagement on offer to attendees. I wasn't able to see inside many cars, under the bonnets etc, of the non-racing cars which were there.

They did have a Jaguar tyre screeching thing and a Land Rover experience. Passenger rides only. Sigh.

If your feet hurt from standing all day, don't you dare try to sit in one of the not-full spectator stands. How dare you, peasant, and no you may not buy access once you're in.

All this was sort of summarised in my head when I saw a man wearing his Goodwood Road Racing club polo shirt. There was a man so committed to the place that he literally bought the t shirt. He was sitting on the ground near me, one of the lowly general public though. No special treatment for them there either.

Other than the real life noise made by some of the cars there, it was an overly complicated yet boring event, which made you feel a little ashamed for not being on first name terms with all the VIPs there.

I get it's not a track day, I get it's not a proper racing event and I get it's not a sales event, but I don't get it.

Just a tanned Bond villain having fun with all his other rich mates, and we should be grateful, apparently.

[KobayashiMaru86]

I went two years running 10 years ago thanks to free tickets. Even back then you could see it starting to get big which was affecting the feel. There's lots I did like about it. I saw cars I'd never be able to see normally, some driven in anger which was cool. I anticipated food and drink would be extortionate so I brought my own and really glad I did. I definitely felt too commonly dressed at times but on a boiling hot day there was no way I wasn't wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Today I really wouldn't care.

I would like to go next year as it's been 10 years since the last time, I'm not the same as I was back then plus I have friends who want to go too. Not sure how much it will be, may just go for the Friday and have a long weekend going other places, before driving home late Sunday. I wouldn't pay to go every year.

[WhyOne]

I am guessing that the FoS (and other Goodwood events for that matter) are not for you!

I am one of the great unwashed, but despite this I love the event and the opportunities it offers to get close to cars I grew up watching race, and chat to the people who engineered and raced them.

This year Andy Wallace, chief engineer at Williams during the Mansell / Hill Villeneuve years (we spoke for a good 10 minutes and he had panels taken off the FW14B just to show me some of the active ride gubbins) Gordon Murray, a senior guy at Rimac, John Watson, Rene Arnoux and Stig Blomqvist were all more than happy to talk to me....gosh, we even made eye contact!

I think it is a world class event we are extremely fortunate to have on our doorstep...I met people this year from Europe, USA and Japan who had travelled to the UK to attend.

Re. Somewhere to sit down....as an elite BMW owner there was a grandstand just before Molecombe with access for BMW owners only I believe?

[damowhiskeyman]

I couldn't agree more.... I've been a few times going back about 10 years.... Gets more and more like a rich boys playground. Apart from the Alfa stand was there another mainstream (realistically priced manufacturers) displaying?
I walked the whole place paid my £7.30 for my pint and £11 for a mangey burger and £20 for a programme (yes I was done) ... spent a bit of time on "peasant Hill" as I call it (the banked bit on the way upto the rally area) ...the only place you get a decent view without having to pay for it.
Weather was good though

[VladtheImpala]

WhyOne said:

I am guessing that the FoS (and other Goodwood events for that matter) are not for you!

I am one of the great unwashed, but despite this I love the event and the opportunities it offers to get close to cars I grew up watching race, and chat to the people who engineered and raced them.

This year Andy Wallace, cheif engineer at Williams during the Mansell / Hill Villeneuve years, Gordon Murray, one of the guys who heads up Rimac, John Watson, Rene Arnoux and Stig Blomqvist were all more than happy to talk to me.

I think it is a world class event we are lucky to have on our doorstep...I met people this year from Europe, USA and Japan who had travelled to the UK to attend.

Re. Somewhere to sit down....as an elite BMW owner (I assume) there was a grandstand just before Molecombe with access for BMW owners only I believe?

Well done for managing to find them amongst the 14 million people there!

It was nice seeing big Nige there, albeit on a screen, and seeing (apparently) George Russel drive past (he has a helmet on, could've been anyone!).

Jokes aside, oh wait, no, let's talk about the BMW seating area. 2.5 hour wait to sit down, and then you could only have it for an hour, so I was told. The steward couldn't believe the look of disbelief on my face.

I suppose she thought I could just go and sit in my BMW if I wanted to sit down so much.

[damowhiskeyman]

I couldn't agree more.... I've been a few times going back about 10 years.... Gets more and more like a rich boys playground. Apart from the Alfa stand was there another mainstream (realistically priced manufacturers) displaying?
I walked the whole place paid my £7.30 for my pint and £11 for a mangey burger and £20 for a programme (yes I was done) ... spent a bit of time on "peasant Hill" as I call it (the banked bit on the way upto the rally area) ...the only place you get a decent view without having to pay for it.
Weather was good though

[VladtheImpala]

damowhiskeyman said:

I couldn't agree more.... I've been a few times going back about 10 years.... Gets more and more like a rich boys playground. Apart from the Alfa stand was there another mainstream (realistically priced manufacturers) displaying?
I walked the whole place paid my £7.30 for my pint and £11 for a mangey burger and £20 for a programme (yes I was done) ... spent a bit of time on "peasant Hill" as I call it (the banked bit on the way upto the rally area) ...the only place you get a decent view without having to pay for it.
Weather was good though

I too ended up on peasant hill with all the other undesirables.

Weather was really good, which was its saving grace. If it had rained, I'd have left instantly.

£20 for a program, I didn't know that. I'd be done too.

[toasty]

My personal take on Goodwood is that, for a day, you're allowed to escape the mudanity of everyday life and dream you're loaded.

Where else are you going to see 5 McLaren F1s within feet of each other, one off Pagani Zondas in the car park, Rolls Royces in colour schemes only The Joker would choose, hear the wailing sounds of V10s climbing the hill and the President of the AA persuading us to slow down to save money and extend electric mileage capacity?

It's Goodwood, it's not going to be cheap to attract a billion pounds worth of automotive porn. Even multi-millionaires can feel hard done by there.

If you want 99p pints, go to Wetherspoons. Nowt wrong with that either but sometimes it's worth splashing out.

[WhyOne]

VladtheImpala said:

Well done for managing to find them amongst the 14 million people there!

It was nice seeing big Nige there, albeit on a screen, and seeing (apparently) George Russel drive past (he has a helmet on, could've been anyone!).

.......

I wasn't looking for any of them, just wandering the paddocks between 8am and 10pm you'll always find someone willing to make eye contact and interesting to chat too.

I watched Nigel race a lot back in the day and it was great to see him genuinely enjoying himself at Goodwood.




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I agree though that it was asolutely ludicrous that the drivers....some driving cars up a narrow Sussex lane at over 150mph.... were wearing helmets - what were the organisers thinking?!

Edited by WhyOne on Tuesday 28th June 16:50

[foxbody-87]

I enjoyed it although I take your point about not getting much on the ‘pauper ticket’, I was sat in my folding chair on the hill up the bit before the flint wall as really that’s the only place you get a good view without being on a grandstand. Food and drink is always dear at large events, the caterers pay a fortune for a spot, just bring your own sarnies and a flask.
The BMW stand, nice display of cars but the inclusion of the beatboxing act and banging tunes was a bit too cringe for my liking, not sure what BMWs brand image now but it seems to be basically brash styling, yoof, gym owners in diesels with M stickers etc.
The toilets though, I’ve seen worse but they definitely need more or get them emptied out more as the blue stuff was up to the rim on a lot of them!

[sahajesh]

Wheee else in the world will you find an event like this, with the cars on display, drivers and others happy to talk and getting close to the cars from all ages and drivers.

If the cost is too much for a bit of food and a programme (that you don’t actually need), you’re free to go to Fast Ford at Santa Pod or wherever.

[VladtheImpala]

foxbody-87 said:

I enjoyed it although I take your point about not getting much on the ‘pauper ticket’, I was sat in my folding chair on the hill up the bit before the flint wall as really that’s the only place you get a good view without being on a grandstand. Food and drink is always dear at large events, the caterers pay a fortune for a spot, just bring your own sarnies and a flask.
The BMW stand, nice display of cars but the inclusion of the beatboxing act and banging tunes was a bit too cringe for my liking, not sure what BMWs brand image now but it seems to be basically brash styling, yoof, gym owners in diesels with M stickers etc.
The toilets though, I’ve seen worse but they definitely need more or get them emptied out more as the blue stuff was up to the rim on a lot of them!

Diesels with M badges, hahaha! Spot on.

I wonder if the classic M3 ran out of battery, I noticed they'd left it locked with the lights on.

[the tribester]

I was just walking towards the House on Saturday morning when Nige was coming the other way towards the GP paddock. He was happy to sign my programme and those of a crowd who soon descended on him.
After he'd just driven up the hill in the Williams on Sunday, the standing crowd at Molecomb thinned out remarkably.

He was definitely very popular and also did his best to give back to the crowd and the event.

[VladtheImpala]

toasty said:

My personal take on Goodwood is that, for a day, you're allowed to escape the mudanity of everyday life and dream you're loaded.

Where else are you going to see 5 McLaren F1s within feet of each other, one off Pagani Zondas in the car park, Rolls Royces in colour schemes only The Joker would choose, hear the wailing sounds of V10s climbing the hill and the President of the AA persuading us to slow down to save money and extend electric mileage capacity?

It's Goodwood, it's not going to be cheap to attract a billion pounds worth of automotive porn. Even multi-millionaires can feel hard done by there.

If you want 99p pints, go to Wetherspoons. Nowt wrong with that either but sometimes it's worth splashing out.

I get what you're saying but my point was the complete opposite of your first sentence.

I'm loaded in Wetherspoons, but at Goodwood I couldn't feel further away from being loaded, pretending or not, their attitudes towards the great unwashed was just so obvious.
Even if they weren't being brazenly obnoxious about their wealth, it seemed that simply having that status made them particularly unpleasant. Perhaps my subconscious jealousy was popping up every so often, but it wasn't generally fun to be reminded that you can't be an actual part of it, really.

[VladtheImpala]

sahajesh said:

Wheee else in the world will you find an event like this, with the cars on display, drivers and others happy to talk and getting close to the cars from all ages and drivers.

If the cost is too much for a bit of food and a programme (that you don’t actually need), you’re free to go to Fast Ford at Santa Pod or wherever.

You're just not a part of it, not really, and you're reminded of that every second.

I'm alright for Fast Ford, sounds st

[NerveAgent]

Can’t say I had the same experience at all, though not my first time, was there thur/fri/sat and camped.

Most of the toilets were pretty decent, good range of food and drinks (expensive yes, but big festivals are), loads to do etc.

Edited by NerveAgent on Tuesday 28th June 18:07

[toasty]

VladtheImpala said:

toasty said:

My personal take on Goodwood is that, for a day, you're allowed to escape the mudanity of everyday life and dream you're loaded.

Where else are you going to see 5 McLaren F1s within feet of each other, one off Pagani Zondas in the car park, Rolls Royces in colour schemes only The Joker would choose, hear the wailing sounds of V10s climbing the hill and the President of the AA persuading us to slow down to save money and extend electric mileage capacity?

It's Goodwood, it's not going to be cheap to attract a billion pounds worth of automotive porn. Even multi-millionaires can feel hard done by there.

If you want 99p pints, go to Wetherspoons. Nowt wrong with that either but sometimes it's worth splashing out.

I get what you're saying but my point was the complete opposite of your first sentence.

I'm loaded in Wetherspoons, but at Goodwood I couldn't feel further away from being loaded, pretending or not, their attitudes towards the great unwashed was just so obvious.
Even if they weren't being brazenly obnoxious about their wealth, it seemed that simply having that status made them particularly unpleasant. Perhaps my subconscious jealousy was popping up every so often, but it wasn't generally fun to be reminded that you can't be an actual part of it, really.

Fair enough, it's not your bag.

The £7 Moretti didn't seem so bad after being charged more for 500ml of Carlsberg at Le Mans the week before. Yes, it's a rip off but everyone's doing it. If only the 'spoons did motorsports events.

I love the fact Goodwood has exclusive areas when inclusivity is being shoved down our throats from every angle everywhere else, even when I'm the one being excluded, oik that I am.

There's so much that is available to see and do at Goodwood that I don't see the point in getting hung up over not being able to do absolutely everything. I certainly didn't have the time to do it all in one day.

[Cold]

The last few years I've gone with a group of friends who limited their spend on tickets to just getting in through the gate.
I bought roving grandstand tickets for us all this year simply because I'm old and quite like sitting.
Sitting helps. However, many other people like sitting too and the grandstands sell out quite quickly which is why there are no tickets available to purchase on the day.

Still, we spent the day mooching about while consuming overpriced alcohol and scoffing food that might not be considered to be value for money. At one time I was holding £34 of drink - in two plastic cups. (Pimm's in pints, £17 each!)

But it's always an enjoyable day and is what you make of it. You go and gawp at the stuff you like (future tech, overly large off road racers and 80s nonsense in my case) and you disregard the things you don't (watches, old F1 and motorbikes).
I'm certainly not fussed about the pretentiousness of some brands and/or market placed trinkets. In fact they can be amusing, but it's probably easier to ignore them.

We chatted with the knowledgeable staff on the Land Rover stand, the interesting staff on the McMurtry stand, the very enthusiastic Rolls Royce staff and a helpful young chap showed us around the tech on board the BMW i7.
The rally guys and girls were always up for some friendly banter and the touring car entrants were happy to show us the engine installations of their vehicles.
None of us were in blazers.

I also exchanged smiles and a hello with Sophia Floersch, so it was worth going.

[ridds]

I'm a member of the GRRC and have been for many years now. GW is literally down the road from me and I usually attend most events.

Unfortunately, as you've found FoS just doesn't cut it for me anymore. When I do go, it's on the Thursday or Friday as those days are much quieter.

The content at FoS has also reduced considerably since Covid happened. Much fewer stands from manufacturers and trades.

Same with the Breakfast Club events. It's full of families now, not fellow car fanatics as it was when the Breakfast Clubs started.

Members Meeting and Revival is all I really attend now along with the quieter events that are held there.

[otolith]

I've not been for a long time, but always loved it, despite recognising some of the moans.

I think it's what you make of it.