OV9

Mrs Newt has bought me a ticket for the Friday session at Goodwood. Never been before, any tips on what to see / where to go?

Good wood ? This guy's got it.

It was a simpler time but so much is wrong with that pic...

It’s all interesting. Get there early otherwise getting in ends up a massive faff with the traffic jams. If you can avoid bringing bags then that saves time as it’s the bag check queue which really clogs up. (Thankfully no covid passport shite this year which took an hour to get through last time)

Start off going round the manufacturer stands at the south side of the hill climb as it’s still early and quiet and you can get a good poke around and chat or try and blag a ride at Porsche or Jaguar. Then have an early lunch (it starts to get overly busy after 12ish) and retire to a good viewpoint/grandstand to watch the hill climb as now is when when the good stuff goes past. Usually the Red Arrows do an air show around then too.

After this trundle across the foot bridge to the North side to see the paddocks, laugh at the chaotic Ferrari mechanics arguing then go back past Goodwood house where you then have the feature, the Cartier concours cars and then Rolls Royce/BMW and after that there’s another supercar paddock.

Retire back to the car having walked 10 miles, covered in dust/mud and aching.

Also there’s a rally stage which is really quite a slog to get to so I’ve only bothered once, and there’s a vast random market area at the South which sells mainly automotive related stuff along with garden furniture, summerhouses, random clothes etc.

The rally stage is right at the top of the hill in the woods - it's worth getting up there and going all the way through to the other side where the hillclimb cars all gather after their runs. There's a tractor bus service through the woods, well worth using. The walk up the hill on the south side of the track is pleasant and you get nice views over to the Isle of Wight if you look back too.

Make sure you're aware of the programme; there's no point getting to the supercar paddock to look at the cars only to find they're all on the hill. However, it can be fun to be in the relevant paddock as the cars are starting up to go to the hill.

Crossing the track is only possible at a few limited locations, and, other than the pedestrian bridge near the house, at limited times - can easily be a half hour or more wait while all the cars in a group pass through, and you get a very limited time to cross so don't miss it.

It's on a south-facing hillside so take a hat and sunscreen.

Jobbo wrote: ↑Mon Jun 13, 2022 10:50 am It's on a south-facing hillside so take a hat and sunscreen.

And a rain coat

Tbh there's a lot to cover in one day, and chances are you won't unless you kill yourself doing so. I'd suggest researching beforehand the key things you want to see and focussing on those first.

The rally stage area is good, but I'm not sure on a single day visit that it's worth the time taken getting up there. I'd get manufacturer stands done first, then cross the course and view theother displays, before mooching/hanging around the paddock. The paddock is the best bit imo, and somewhere you'll get to see drivers anc cars close up as well as actually hear them as they come in/out.

Swervin_Mervin wrote: ↑Mon Jun 13, 2022 11:15 am

Jobbo wrote: ↑Mon Jun 13, 2022 10:50 am It's on a south-facing hillside so take a hat and sunscreen.

And a rain coat

Tbh there's a lot to cover in one day, and chances are you won't unless you kill yourself doing so. I'd suggest researching beforehand the key things you want to see and focussing on those first.

The rally stage area is good, but I'm not sure on a single day visit that it's worth the time taken getting up there. I'd get manufacturer stands done first, then cross the course and view theother displays, before mooching/hanging around the paddock. The paddock is the best bit imo, and somewhere you'll get to see drivers anc cars close up as well as actually hear them as they come in/out.

My experience (albeit a while ago now) agrees with this.

Thanks all!

A colleague was telling me he always got there at 7am and made a beeline for the Porsche stand which apparently does a hearty breakfast while you hear them warming up the various automobilia, so I may well try that.