Goodwood FoS Cancelled But Concours Of Elegance Set For September

Event cancellations continue in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, with Goodwood organisers announcing that this year’s Festival of Speed, already postponed from its original 9-12 July date, has now been pushed back to 2021.

This year’s Goodwood theme was set to celebrate ‘The Maestros’ of motor racing, specifically Jacky Ickx, former Formula 1 champions John Surtees, Jim Clark, Graham Hill and Sir Jack Brabham, Dan Gurney, and the late Sir Stirling Moss all of whom enjoyed success across multiple motorsport disciplines during their respective careers. Unsurprisingly, Mr Motorsport himself, Mario Andretti, was later added to the aforementioned list.

Organisers of the Festival of Speed though have now confirmed that adequately policing social distancing throughout the weekend will not be possible – attendance is capped at 150,000 for each of the three days – meaning the event will no longer go ahead in 2020.

Tickets that have already been purchased for the 2020 FoS will be honoured in 2021.

“For a business like ours, which is all about bringing people together to enjoy the things they love, social distancing has had an unavoidable impact on our ability to operate,” explained event patron, the Duke of Richmond. “The Festival of Speed and Revival events will return in 2021 and, in the meantime, we are delighted to give our incredibly loyal members and dedicated followers a unique opportunity to increase their connection to Goodwood by becoming part of our new Goodwood Supporters Association initiative.

“In addition, we are still hoping that we may be able to keep the flame alive with a ‘behind closed doors’ motorsport occasion later this year for motorsport fans and enthusiasts worldwide to enjoy at home and look forward to making an announcement in the coming weeks.”

News of the cancellation follows a similar announcement that Goodwood’s 78^th Members’ Meeting is now scheduled for 10-11 April next year, while the Revival is still tentatively scheduled for 11-13 September this year.

Classic car fans in the UK though may have been given a reprieve with news that London’s annual Concours of Elegance will take place as planned on 4-6 September, following the opening last week of the 60-acre Fountain Gardens at Hampton Court Palace.

Now into its eighth year, the Concours of Elegance has been hosted at Windsor Castle (’12 and ’16), St James’s Palace (’15) and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh (2015) but is now traditionally hosted at Hampton Court Palace (’14 and from ’17 onwards) at the behest of HRH Prince Michael of Kent. With up to 1000 classic cars expected to be on display, the event is headlined each year by a selection of 60 pristine models rarely, if ever, displayed in the UK before.

Headliners for this year’s event include two one-of-one pre-war Alfa Romeos 6Cs, a model that won the 1950 Targa Florio and early variants of which claimed victory on the vaunted Mille Miglia three years in a row from 1928 to 1930. The first, a 1938 6C 2300B, is one of only four examples boasting ‘cabriolet style’ bodywork from Swiss coachbuilder Graber, and the only one of its kind still in existence that features Mille Miglia-specification engine and chassis.

The second, a 1951 6C 2500 SS by Ghia, is one of four ‘Supergioiello’ (‘Super Jewel’) bodied by Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Ghia, and, interestingly, a sole example running a tubular chassis built by Gilco. And if that name rings a bell, the Italian engineering firm built the chassis for Ferrari’s first model, the 125.

The two cloverleafs will be joined by the very McLaren F1 GTRs that finished 1^st, 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans on the model’s debut. Fans of the track-going Macca may also want to check out this ‘race-weathered’ example up for grabs from Amalgam Collection, though bear in mind only five will be made.

The Concours of Elegance is also set to be “the first major international concours d’elegance event” since Amelia Island in March.

*Images courtesy of Ted Gushue (full story HERE) and Concours of Elegance