The theme of this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, 11th to 13th July, has been confirmed as ‘Hawthorn to Hamilton - Britain’s Love Affair with World Motor Sport’.

The aim is to celebrate Britain’s role in shaping the sport from the time when Mike Hawthorn became Britain’s first F1 World Champion back in 1958, right through to the influence of current F1 star Lewis Hamilton. In between these two heroes are an almost countless number of famous names, including Jim Clark, John Surtees, Colin McRae, Barry Sheene, Jackie Stewart, Derek Bell, Colin Chapman and Adrian Newey. Homegrown stars from the past and modern-day heroes are expected to line up alongside their friends and adversaries from around the world at the celebrated 1.16-mile hillclimb.

The Festival will also feature the world’s finest competition cars and motorcycles, many of which have been influenced by British engineering or built in partnership with British expertise. In action on the hill will be everything from the pure-bred Vanwall of the 1950s, through to the products of such manufacturers as Cosworth, Williams, Lola and Prodrive. There will also be two significant British anniversaries to celebrate in 2008 - namely 50 years of the BTCC and 20 years of the British Superbike Championship.

Complementing the overall Festival theme will be, as always, a host of other attractions. Away from the action-packed hillclimb and paddocks, Festival-goers will be able to relish some of the most stylish vehicles ever made at the Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’ concours d’elegance, glimpse into the future of personal transportation at the FoS-TECH technology pavilion, see many of motorsport’s famous faces up close and enjoy the ever-popular display of supercars.

To order advance tickets, call the ticket hotline on +44 1243 755055 or email [email protected]. For further information, see www.goodwood.co.uk.

Text: Charis Whitcombe
Photos: Roger Dixon - all strictly copyright. For further information please visit www.rogerdixonphotography.com