I greatly enjoyed my first adventure to the Goodwood Festival of Speed yesterday, courtesy of a good friend on the Board of Lotus Cars. What an amazing day out! It was vastly more extensive than I had ever imagined, and apart from a rather circuitous (not well sign-posted) route to the parking, everything seemed to be highly efficiently organised. There was generally plenty of space, despite the many thousands of people there, and almost magically one didn’t even really have to queue to cross the bridges! There was so much to see, from the current F1 teams to classic cars, from the wide range of contemporary electric cars to the future of robotics (and even a glimpse of Nigel Mansell reunited with his F1 Title Williams FW14B). I hope that the pictures below capture something of what an enjoyable and fascinating day it was – culminating in an impressive display by the Red Arrows!
Thanks so much again for the Lotus hospitality (including a delicious lunch in good company). It brought back fond memories of regularly having to fix the starter motor in cold and wet weather on my original Ford Escort, and always wanting a Lotus Europa! It was a reminder too of how driving has changed over the last 50 years, with a large slice of sadness that much of the fun has now gone out of driving – at least in the UK. It’s rather good to think that I have been able really to enjoy driving in a world before a future when all cars are made to drive us around. Am I one of the last to believe that autonomous humans are preferable to autonomous cars?
Tim Unwin's Blog 