Indy racers set to thrill at Festival of Speed

| 29 Jun 2011

With over 40 Indy 500 racers and an array of innovative racers, this year's Festival of Speed is set to be the most spectacular ever.

The four-day celebration of cars and motor sport kicks off tomorrow, June 30, with the Moving Motor Show., followed by three days of thrilling action on the hill and rally stage, in addition to countless unforgettable static displays.

Jaguar is the celebrated marque at this year's Festival of Speed and the 150,000+ visitors will be keen to see Jerry Judah's latest sculpture in front of the house - expect to see some of the marque's most famous racers climbing a hill-like structure while the Cartier Style et Luxe Concours d'Élégance will have a class dedicated to the E-type's 50th anniversary.

But its the line-up of more than 40 Indianapolis racers - the largest ever gathering in Europe - that's really set to thrill!

Famous Indy icons such as the 1947 Deidt-Offenhauser 'Blue Crown Special', the 1967 Lola-Ford T90 'Bowes Seal Fast Special' (below) and the1968 Lotus Pratt & Whitney 56 "STP Special' will join the 1911 Marmon 'Wasp' (which won the first Indy 500) as part of the Festival's 'Racing Revolutions: Quantum Leaps that Shaped Motor Sport' theme.

The Brickyard racers will be in action at the hands of many of the racing legends who raced them in period with more than 14 famous Indy winners including Bobby Unser and Al Unser Junior along with Bobby Rahal - at the wheel of the 1986 Indy winning March 86C - while Dario Franchitti will be blasting up the hill in the Lotus 38 that the late, great Jim Clark brought home to second place at the 1966 Indy 500.

Other racers set to impress include Jim Hall's fabulous Chaparral2J 'fan car' (above) along with early racers such as the mighty 1924 FIAT Mephistopheles - the 21-litre aero-engined monster (below) that set a world record for a flying kilometre at 146.01mph more than 80 years ago.

And there'll be plenty in the static displays to thrill too: the Cartier Style et Luxe will feature architect Sir Norman Foster's 1933 Dymaxion recreation (below) in a fascinating group of pre-war streamliners.

Tickets for the Moving Motor Show and the Festival of Speed are still for sale (not on the day at the gate) but they're likely to sell out soon. Call 01243 755055 or see: www.goodwood.co.uk to book.