Finding ‘The Winning Formula’ at the Festival of Speed

Heading up the Hill in a single batch, the list of cars involved in this thematic celebration is broad and illustrious. From the cars that thrust motorsport into the public eye during the birth of Grand Prix racing, to cars that competed just a month ago at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Speaking of Le Mans, the 1995 race-winning McLaren F1 GTR has been in action here, alongside several of its stablemates from that remarkable era of endurance racing. A few short years later, Audi grew to enjoy a hugely successful period at the Circuit de la Sarthe, first with the R8, which won five-times in six years, and later the R18, which took a further three Le Mans wins for the marque.

In more recent years, the World Endurance Championship has been a stage for Hypercars, and we’ve been treated to a pair of current cars that have most recently raced at Le Mans, the Cadillac Hertz Team Jota V-Series.R and the Aston Martin Valkyrie.

But it’s not all about circuit racing, the development of rally cars over the years has been equally dramatic. Current machinery from Ford, Hyundai and Toyota are all busy on the Hill showcasing the performance of modern rally cars.

There is, however, perhaps no sight more impressive than that of a Ford Supervan absolutely flying up the Festival of Speed Hill. The most recent Supervan 4.2 is the reigning Timed Shoot-Out winner, but the Supervan legacy goes all the way back to 1971. There have been five iterations overall, each with more power and a more exuberant design than the one before, but the concept has been modified slightly into the new Ford Supertruck for 2025, which is preparing to try and retain the Shoot-Out title for Ford.

One particular car is telling a very memorable story, as we remember Danny Sullivan’s remarkable ‘spin and win’ at the 1985 Indy 500. The man himself has been reunited with that car at the Festival of Speed for several runs up the Hill.

It’s a wonderful snapshot of what makes motorsport at Goodwood so special. There’s a little bit of everything here, but these have all been, at one time or another, have all found the winning formula.

The 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed is underway! You can watch every moment of the action by watching our livestream.

Photography by Jordan Butters, Rob Cooper, Toby Whales and Joe Harding.