( ©Ben Johnston 2014)
So, where do I begin? This weekend, I attended my very first Goodwood
Festival of Speed. I arrived in London on Thursday evening full of excitement
and anticipating a great weekend of Motorsport action. But what happened over
the weekend went far beyond what I was expecting.
We arrived at the Festival early on Friday morning and one of the first
driver's I met was Mercedes test driver Sam Bird who, was extremely friendly.
We watched some of the action as a variety of car's made their way up the hill.
After watching some cars go up the hill it was time to go back to the Driver's
area. I was standing right at the barrier and as I was waiting for driver's to
come down the red carpet I was taking photographs of McLaren Formula One car's
from the late 1980's.
I suddenly saw former Formula One driver, Karun Chandok coming up the
red carpet so I called him over and he very kindly posed for a photograph and
signed my ticket before heading back up the red carpet to get ready for his run
up the hill.
After getting Karun's autograph, I continued to take picture's of the
McLaren F1 car's and also some McLaren Road car's that were on display. I was
extremely warm on Friday at the Festival and despite being burnt to a crisp it
was a fantastic day and got even better when Sir Stirling Moss and his wife,
Lady Suzy arrived down the red carpet. He was really friendly and he signed my
Friday ticket which was absolutely fantastic and I was able to get a picture of
him. Lady Suzy was also really friendly and spoke to the fans too.
On Saturday, Christian Horner was also also at the show with former
Spice Girl Geri Halliwell. They were great stopping and posing for picture's
and signing autographs which was great. Former IndyCar Champion Dario
Franchitti was also at the show over the weekend and it was absolutely
fantastic because on the final day of the show I was down in the holding area
where all the cars are prepared for their run up the hill when my friend
whispered to me that Dario was coming and I got really excited and said where
and turned around to find him standing right in front of me.
I was extremely excited as I had followed Dario's career from 2007, the
first year he won the IndyCar championship. He was really friendly and I got a
great photo of him and he signed my programme. The atmosphere throughout the
weekend was absolutely incredible, on Sunday when we met Dario where they
prepare the car's for the hill climb they fired up the 2011 McLaren F1 right
beside us which was absolutely min blowing!! Even more so by the fact that I
wasn't wearing earplugs. It was absolutely sensational.
( © Ben Johnston 2014 )
Saturday was also a great day as I was able to get Jenson Button's autograph
which was fantastic. The 2009 world champion was driving his 2011 Canadian
Grand Prix winning McLaren MP4-26.
Saturday also Sky Sports F1 HD pundit and former F1 driver Johnny
Herbert drive the 2011 Mercedes W02. It was great to get to meet him and get
his autograph. However, for me, the highlight of the entire Goodwood Festival
of Speed came yesterday, the final day of the event. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen
made his first appearance at the Festival driving his 2007 world championship
winning car.
We didn't expect Kimi to sign any autographs, however in the morning he
appeared on the red carpet and to absolutely everyone's surprise he went up the
entire line of fan's signing autographs and I was shaking like a leaf when he
got to me and when I tried to ask him a question I hit a brick wall and
couldn't say anything. However I did manage to get a photo of him.
It was n absolutely incredible. We were also fortunate enough to meet
triple world champion Sir Jackie Stewart. He was incredibly friendly and it was
an absolute honor to meet him and he posed for a photograph.
On Sunday afternoon, McLaren Chief Executive Officer, Ron Dennis was on
his up the red carpet and when he got to me, I asked him if he was enjoying the
festival to which he replied 'I am indeed, thank you very much'.
The excitement didn't stop there, at the end of the Festival, everyone
who had stayed on was invited by Lord March, the owner of Goodwood estate to go
into the his massive house for a glass of champagne. It was an incredible end
to an absolutely sensational weekend.
I would highly recommend a trip to the Goodwood Festival of Speed to any
motor racing fan, as it is just Formula One orientated. There is plenty to do
at the Festival and is a fantastic and unique opportunity to up close to your
motor racing hero's. So if you can't get to a Grand Prix or aswell as a race
The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an absolute must with ticket's starting from
just £40.
© Ben Johnston 2014
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