Like many auto shows this year, the 2020 Goodwood Festival of Speed and Revival was canceled due to the pandemic. Replacing them was Goodwood Speedweek, combining the best of the Festival of Speed and Revival into a media-only event with new model debuts including the Ford Mustang Mach 1, spectacular drifting displays, and historic races. Worryingly, the future of the event was left in doubt and a fundraising campaign was launched to recuperate the financial losses. Thankfully, organizers have confirmed the Festival of Speed will return in 2021 on July 8-11 and promise the show will be better than ever.
Next year, the Festival of Speed's theme will be 'The Maestros - Motorsport's Great All-Rounders.' Originally planned for 2020, the event will feature drivers, teams, and manufacturers that have succeeded in a variety of motorsport disciplines including legendary American racer Mario Andretti.
"Goodwood in July sounds wonderful to me right now," said Andretti. "I welcome the invitation and look forward to being there for the third time. It is truly one of the most fan-friendly motorsports events. A very unique jewel. There is simply nothing like it on the planet."
Cars and bikes from all the major motorsports will be represented, along with the latest supercars and new model debuts. For the first time, Speedweek hosted a Driftkhana competition starring Vaughn Gittin Jr.'s insane 1,400-hp Ford Mustang Mach-E 1400 Prototype, and next year's Festival of Speed will also feature plenty of sideways action from some of the world's most skilled drifters. To showcase future automotive technology, next year's FOS will have more exhibits and interactive zones than ever before. After the Festival of Speed, the Goodwood Revival will return on September 17-19 2021.
Taking place at the historic Goodwood Motor Circuit, the Revival is a rare opportunity to see some of the most valuable classic race cars battle it out on the track. The 78th Members Meeting race has also been rescheduled from March 2020 to May 15 and 16, 2021. All events will comply with any social distancing rules in place at the time.
"More than anything else it is the people who make our events so special; the drivers, the teams, our staff and above all the fans. We were incredibly disappointed not to be able to welcome them to our much-loved events in 2020," said the Duke of Richmond. "Now we are thrilled to be able to announce that all three motorsport events are planned to be back next year. Thank you to all our loyal followers who either rolled over their tickets or joined the Goodwood Supporters' Association, which helped us immeasurably in a very tough year. We absolutely cannot wait to see them and plenty of new fans in 2021."