After arriving safely at my Airbnb just outside Godalming, the kettle was promptly put into action and the laptop fired up. As Benjamin Franklin said: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Knowing I had just one day at Goodwood for this year's Festival of Speed meant I had to have a strong plan to make sure I could fit in as much as possible, and my Lord there a lot to fit in. 

A slight misdirection on the sat nav meant instead of heading to the press car park, I ended up joining the queue for the main car park on the south of the house - not ideal when you need to collect your press wristband from the car park to the north of the house. Seems like planning is all well and good except when you rely on modern tech instead of following your nose. Thankfully given that it was just before 7am, Goodwood traffic was quite kind and I still made it into the event while many of the day’s visitors were still enjoying their cornflakes and croissants. 

With sign on completed, I headed from the press centre through the paddocks as the festival began to wake up, as mechanics removed the protective covers and started the engines for the first time. 

In front of Goodwood House each year is one of the centrepieces of the Festival of Speed, the main feature sculpture. This year's theme was MG, and artist Gerry Judah had created a celebration of this iconic British marque which gave a nod to the Chinese owners of the brand with the latest Cyberster at one end of the red metal spar. It's not as impactful as some of the previous sculptures I have seen at the event, my personal favourite is still the 91 ft tubular Jaguar E-Type from 2011. 

The first item on the itinerary for me is always the Cartier Lawn outside Goodwood House for the Concours display. I like to do this while it’s still quiet and spend time appreciating the gathering of some rather special cars. This year had some especially interesting classes with celebrations of the Pagani Zonda and the Bugatti Type 57 along with commemorations of cars designed by the late Marcello Gandini. 

It was quite strange to see a stunning Bugatti 57S Atlantic which has a value of around £40 million just a few yards away from a Citroen BX 16V! Other classes would include Cultivating Classics: a celebration of tractors from brands like Porsche, Lamborghini and Renault. Jaw Droppers and Door Stoppers would further celebrate the work of Gandini specifically for Lamborghini with cars like the Diablo, Countach and Muira featured, and the Ethereal Excellence class would showcase examples of Rolls Royce’s iconic Silver Ghost.

The final class was perhaps not suited to the particularly grey skies that were over Goodwood on Friday morning and was entitled Sun Tan Motion – Jolly Good Beach Cars, with examples of the Volkswagen Beach Buggy, Fiat 500 Jolly and a very rare one-off Felber Ferrari: a Michelotto designed open top car based on the 365GTC/4. 

My time on the Cartier Lawn was disturbed as the cars in the Brooklands Paddock began to fire up and head for the assembly area to prepare for the first run of the day. This first run was a celebration of the main theme of the event ‘Horseless to Hybrid’ and would see cars from 1890 – 1960 take to the famous hill. I can never resist seeing these cars up close especially when Duncan Pittaway trundles past in the ‘Beast of Turin’ (a 1911 Fiat S76) and leaves it idling just near you. There is something mesmeric about watching the flames popping from the vents while listening to the deep thrumming of the engine. It’s a sight that still makes me smile as I write this article. 

With class 1 safely dispatched to the bottom of the hill, I headed to the courtyard for the BMW showcase which hosted examples of their current range along with a glimpse into the future, courtesy of the Vision Neue Klasse and Skytop Concept cars along with the very interesting i5 Flow Nostokana - the third concept to feature BMW’s colour changing technology.

The next port of call was Cathedral Paddock, usually home to rally cars and touring cars, however this year it would see a celebration of 20 years of Red Bull Racing. What an amazing display RBR had put on, with examples of cars from across the last 20 years being perfectly lined up along with memorabilia from the team and drivers. Although F1 is not really my thing it certainly made for an impressive sight, and I would return to this area later in the morning for the unveiling of the new RB17 Hypercar.

Keeping an eye on my watch and my prewritten plan it was time to head to the hillclimb and grab some pictures of some of the cars as they tackle the run from the start line, past the house round the legendary Molecomb corner and up towards the flint wall. 

It's always great to see the different cars and drivers take on the hill, some clearly just happy to be out in the cars and taking it quite leisurely, with others wanting to put an early time in for the Sunday shootout. I had a hit list of cars to photograph and spent much of the morning grabbing shots of classes that celebrated Joest Racing with cars like the Audi R8, and Bentley Speed 8 Le Mans cars, Shadow Racing with their mysterious racing machines of the 1970’s, Mercedes-Benz with a selection of cars from their 130 year motorsport history and Catch My Drift which included Mad Mike Whiddett in his new MADMAC Mclaren P1 inspired drift car with a 1,000hp, two-litre, triple rotor, turbo-charged rotary engine.

Following the motorsport and drift cars it was time for some road cars with the First Glance category. This gives the visitors of Goodwood a chance to see new offerings from the motor industry, which in recent years has featured more and more cars that are on display in Electric Avenue as the manufacturers move towards electrification. 

Now I like to think my knowledge of cars is pretty good, but I must admit seeing cars from Omoda, Ora, Hongqi and Jaecoo did make me think that I may be lagging a little behind with just how rapidly the Chinese brands are progressing into the UK market. This class also gave me my first look at the new BMW M5, the recently launched Bentley Continental GT coupe and convertible, and the production version of the Alpine A290, however I do wish they kept the central driving position from the Beta concept. 

The last category I would stay to photograph is one of my favourites: the Supercar Run. It's always superb to see the latest from the mainstream brands like Porsche and Maserati, along with more specialist manufacturers like Czinger and Pagani. Aston Martin in particular put on a superb showcase with examples of the Valkyrie, Vantage and DB12 plus the one-off Victor. 2024 would also see the brand debut the Valour, along with the new limited edition Valiant, which was piloted by factory F1 driver and two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso. 

With the supercars done on track, it was time to head to the Performance Parking area at the top of the event to see what interesting bits owners had bought along to the festival. This year was a little disappointing when compared to previous years, but maybe I am just getting used to seeing Huracans, 911s and 488s, however it's always nice to see a Mclaren SLR, particularly one that has been fettled by the experts at MSO. 

Heading back through the Ballroom Paddock, it was time to grab some pictures of the race cars, although shots without a stray head or rogue leg became challenging as more people arrived. I did capture some relatively people-free pictures with the 1955 Mercedes-Benz Transporter affectionately known as ‘Blue Wonder’ - complete with a classic Mercedes-Benz racer on its back. Even though this is a recreation of the historic vehicle, as the original has been long since lost, it’s something I have wanted to see for a long time. This was noted on the entry list as a static display, however when relaxing back at my accommodation on Saturday afternoon, I tuned into the live stream to see that Blue Wonder had joined the Mercedes-Benz celebration parade, which I am gutted I didn't get a chance to see/photograph. 

The remainder of the paddock is where most of the race cars and bikes are housed. Here you can wander among Le Mans winners, Formula 1 contenders from over the years, rally cars and world championship winning bikes. It’s a superb spectacle where you can spend time with mechanics and if you are lucky enough, the drivers as they prepare themselves and their cars for runs up the hill in the July sunshine. Highlights for me were seeing the new Oil Stain Lab Half 11 which is a mad thing! It looks and sounds great, and it would join Richard Petty’s Plymouth Superbird as part of a celebration in front of the main house later on the Friday afternoon. 

Also amazing to see the large selection of cars celebrating Mercedes-Benz’s 130 years in Motorsport and for me as a huge Le Mans fan the celebration of Joest Racing gave me chance to see Audi LMP cars from over the years including the gorgeous R8C from 1999 which had not taken to the track in the morning sessions.

It became time for me to head over the track to the manufacturer stands, but just prior to crossing the foot bridge I stopped off at McLaren to see the very special F1 road car they had on display. This car, chassis #72 had recently been completely overhauled by MSO to return it to its original factory specification after a previous visit to MSO had seen it being heavily ‘personalised’. The car looked superb in the deep black paint and the addition of the High Downforce Kit (HDK) and LM wheels really suited this car. It's certainly one of the nicest ones I have seen. 

Reaching the other side of the track, my first visit was to the Bugatti stand where they had an example of the new Tourbillon on show. This is their new hypercar and will replace the Chiron, production of which has recently ceased. In the flesh it's breathtaking, taking the Bugatti design language seen on previous models and elevating it with some great touches. I look forward to seeing more examples of this at events in the future as the interior really warrants closer inspection. 

Following Bugatti I head to the Porsche stand. This brand has a firm place at Goodwood as they always occupy a space just on the outside of Molcombe corner. Their display gives visitors a chance to view their current offerings up close but also a chance for Porsche owners to park in a dedicated parking lot which creates a mini show of its own with everything from classic 356s right through to the latest 911.

Much of the rest of the far side of the Festival is home to the manufacturers. Some of these don’t hold loads of interest, and a remnant of the moving motor show from a few years back is that many OEMs bring along their latest hatchback, a new EV or limited edition model created for some spurious reason. 

It's often the sort of thing you could see if you popped to your local dealer, however there are some highlights on my tour around this part of the event; Alpine had taken a big presence at the event as they debuted the production version of the A290 both on their stand and in the first glace paddock, alongside this was the recently updated A110, the vivid green ‘Turini’ they had on their stand certainly stood out, drawing almost as many admiring looks at the Alpenglow Concept car. MG had two cool concepts on their stand in the form of the Cyber GTS Coupé and the new MG EXE181, visitors could also have a close up look at the Cyberster EV now that cars are beginning to hit dealerships. 

Ford had a wide selection of current models, the new Capri warranted a closer look. It’s certainly not one for the purists that cannot imagine Bodie and Doyle cruising the mean streets of London in one of these. I didn’t see an example of the new seventh generation Mustang in its regular form on the Ford Stand, nor in the first glance paddock but what they did have was an example of the new Mustang GTD which I had earlier seen tackle the hillclimb. That looks just like a GT3 car without the stickers and I look forward to seeing more of these in the future. 

Morgan is a brand I have always followed with interest. On a recent factory visit I was told about a new concept car they were working on with legendary Italian design house Pininfarina and having seen pics of this I really wanted to see it in the flesh, and seeing the Midsummer speedster on the Morgan stand at Goodwood I can say it definitely didn’t disappoint. 

Next up Polestar: their range is expanding with new models and its beginning to look like a really good offering. The Polestar 6 that had been on the hill earlier looked great and the BST Concept on their stand shows what this EV sportscar could be when dialled up to 11. Next to Polestar, my eye was drawn to an example of the new Bentley Continental GT which appeared to be housed in a giant fish tank complete with live fish seemingly enjoying the sun that was shining high over West Sussex. Thankfully Bentley had brought examples of the coupé and convertible to the first glance paddock so I could have a closer look without getting my feet wet. 

Electric Avenue has been a feature of the Festival of Speed for a few years now as the rise of EV’s continues, again this is a bit like your local showroom but a production example of the new Renault 5 and another look at the Callum Skye concept were the only two things that interested me as I passed through this area while making my way towards the bottom of the festival site. 

As I approached the startline area of the hillclimb, the noise of F1 cars taking to the hill meant that many of the stands get a bit quieter. Formula 1 does tend to draw people to spectate which is good for me as I get to have a good nosey around the Lanzante and Pagani stands admiring the beauty of many of the gathered cars in relative peace. Lanzante had their usual fayre of Mclarens including F1, Senna and P1s along with examples of the TAG engined 911 and a road going Porsche 935. Next to them was a newcomer to the festival as HWA debuted their recent Mercedes-Benz 190 EVO II reincarnation. As a huge fan of this winged beast, the restomod certainly was of interest in a similar way to the Prodrive P25 which I had seen previously at Goodwood. 

One of the most special moments at this year's event came when I was browsing the two cars Pagani had bought along to the event. The white/cream Imola Roadster was really well done but for me the Huayra Epitome stole the show. Sometimes I do feel Pagani can go a little OTT with their cars as they are launched in pure and pretty forms, but as the model line progresses wings, fins and other mods are added which are not always pleasing to my eye at least, however this car with the addition of its manual gearbox was stunning.

Glancing to the left of the Epitome I saw the great man himself Horacio Pagani and couldn’t resist popping over so I could shake his hand, thank him for his continued work in perfecting the motor car and to grab a selfie. I am not sure that he has gone home, written an article about Goodwood and mentioned meeting me, but who knows.

My time at Goodwood was drawing to an end but I still had a few things to tick off my list; the first was the lower performance parking area. This was a bit better than the one at the top of the hill with no less than 5 different Lamborghini Reveultos, a smattering of Huracan STOs and Sterratos and surprisingly a Donkervoort F22, not something I had expected to see at all. Being a huge fan of Lotus Seven style cars, the F22 was of real interest and it was great to have a good look over the mud splattered car which did at least show it was being used. 

The penultimate destination was a visit to the Michelin Supercar Paddock, an area of the event which is always busy and this year was no exception. However the draw of the F1 cars did mean that my time here saw me able to have a close up look at cars such as the Bugatti Mistral and Bolide, Aston Martin Valiant, GMA T50S along with their T33 mule, and the one of one Ferrari SP8. 

To the side of the main paddock were stands from Zenvo, Koenigsegg, Czinger and Hispano Suiza. Thursday and Friday had seen the appearance on the Koenigsegg stand of the Chimera - a special one off commission based on the Agera but featuring running gear from the Jesko and CC850. It’s like a Michelin starred dish which takes all the best ingredients and combines them to produce perfection. Over the weekend the Chimera would be replaced by a very pretty in purple example of the 4 seater Gemera which I would have liked to see, as the new super saloon from the Swedish maker does intrigue me. 

Next door to the Koenigsegg stand was a large glass box and I could see from my vantage point an Alfa Romeo logo, Inside was the new limited release 33 Stradale but given that they are only producing 33 cars it's not the sort of thing Alfa would want the general public crawling all over. I could have waited for access to the box as members of the media and specially invited and customers were being allowed a closer look but for me it was time to think about finishing up for the day.

Last up, as my legs were beginning to tell me it's time to head home is a trip through the front doors of Goodwood House and through the corridors to the Bonhams auction. This was originally not on my list of things to do as having browsed the catalogue there was nothing that piqued my interest, however social media showed images of a special car that would be auctioned at a future sale being shown at Goodwood.

It was Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss, itself a rare sight, however the example on display was car number 75 out of a production run of 75 and was finished in a very brave bright red paint complete with red leather interior and Silver Carbon Fibre cues around the body and dashboard. I am glad I made the trip to the auction to see this, as I believe the sale of this car will be an auction outside of the UK so not sure I would get to see it again. 

So that’s it, Goodwood Festival of Speed 2024 is done and dusted. Another truly amazing event, if you have not done it, do it - you won’t regret it! I for one will be back next year but this time for more than one day as there really are not enough hours in the day to try and see it all.