Lord March has given the press a preview of the theme for the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed: “Full Throttle – The Endless Pursuit of Power”.
Celebrating the most epic machinery ever to grace the race tracks of the world, this year’s Festival will feature the racing machines that, more than any others, have pushed the power envelope, and the intrepid pilots who tamed them.
From monstrous aero-engined leviathans to flame-spitting turbo F1 cars, titanic pre-war Silver Arrows to thundering Can-Am monsters, and fearsome two-stroke Grand Prix bikes to brutal Group B rally cars, the 2016 Festival will feature cars and motorcycles which prove beyond doubt that, where power is concerned, bigger really is better.
Alongside this central theme, the 2016 Festival will pay tribute to BMW’s rich motorsport heritage, as the German manufacturer marks its centenary, with an amazing line-up of cars and bikes. BMW will be 'Honoured Marque' and collaborate in the creation of the Central Feature at the world’s largest automotive garden party.
Celebrating the Bavarian marque’s with many varied motorsport successes on two wheels and four, a line-up of cars and bikes will be present including; the BMW 328 Touring Coupé ‘Superleggera’ which won the Mille Miglia in 1940 andthe BMW 1800 TiSA which won the Spa 24 Hours in 1965. BMW will also be bringing the BMW R 50S Kaczor named after bike racer, designer and BMW engineer Ferdinand Kaczor, who set a new lap record on the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 1969, riding a BMW of his own design, as well as the BMW M1 Procar and Brabham-BMW BT52 which won the World Championship in 1983, driven by Nelson Piquet – the first in a turbocharged car.
Also celebrated will be 50 years since the inaugural Can-Am championship and the first of the GT40’s four Le Mans win, and 40 years since James Hunt’s World Championship victory.
Thursday 23rd June will launch the Festival with Press & Preview Day, when the Moving Motor Show will see many cars revealed by their manufacturers in this country for the first time, giving Press and visitors the rare opportunity to get behind the wheel on a drive up the Goodwood Hillclimb.
Festival of Speed founder Lord March said: “This year’s Festival will see the wildest, fastest, craziest, baddest cars and bikes ever to ascend the Goodwood Hill. Not to mention of course the heroes that tamed those mighty machines. There will be lots of noise, speed, colour and, of course, power. That’s what the Festival of Speed’s all about. I’m really excited about it and hope it will be an absolutely spectacular and memorable weekend.”
The Goodwood Festival of Speed runs from 23-26 June 2016 with tickets on sale now.