Top 5 Highlights From the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed
The Goodwood Festival of Speed in the U.K. has wrapped up for the year, and there was no shortage of automotive excitement for 2015.
One of the main attractions at Goodwood is the hill climb, which sees everything from old-school muscle cars to the most exotic European hypercars run its length.
And like any race, there were exciting near misses, great triumphs and some spectacular mishaps. Here are the Top 5 moments from this year’s event, which is the best place on Earth to be if you love cars.
Mazda 767B Wrecks
Mazda was the featured marque this year at Goodwood, so the Japanese brand brought some of its finest race cars along to celebrate. Unfortunately, a 1989 767B race car met with a pack of hay bales and a wall, putting an abrupt end to its day.
The car was driven by its owner, Seniji Hoshino, who walked away from the incident without any injury. The same can’t be said for the car, which was chassis 001 and captured a win in the GTP class at the 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Aston Martin Vulcan Debuts
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Goodwood played host to the very first public running of the Aston Martin Vulcan. It was revealed at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show sporting a unique green paint job, though the car that made the run up the hill had a sharp grey and blue finish.
The pilot, a factory Aston Martin GTE driver, decided not to push the car too hard going up the hill, likely because only 24 of them will ever be built. Still, watching the car in action and listening to its 7.0-liter V12 is a treat.
Nissan Juke Sets Two-Wheel Driving Record
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Outside of the hardcore motorsports at Goodwood, there is plenty of trick driving going on. Terry Grant, who holds multiple records at the Goodwood hill climb, set a new one this year behind the wheel of a Nissan Juke NISMO RS that he drove up the hill climb on two wheels.
Grant now holds the record for the fastest mile travelled on two wheels in a car, completing it in two minutes and 10 seconds. Watch the video above to see the impressive stunt.
Ken Block Runs the Hoonicorn
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If you’ve seen Gymkhana, you’re familiar with the Hoonicorn: a custom 850-hp four-wheel-drive Mustang driven by Ken Block.
Block ran the car at Goodwood, but of course, he couldn’t complete the run without some Gymkhana stunts, sliding sideways around nearly every corner. He nearly lost control at one point, but made a good recovery.
Toyota Camry Nascar Lights Up the Rear Wheels
You have to do more than just a burnout to get noticed at Goodwood, so why not add some flames to the mix?
Patrick Friesacher lit up the back wheels, literally. He burns the rubber until flames engulf the entire rear end of the car and then continues up the entire hill. Apparently, he didn’t even notice!
Complete Coverage
Looking for more than highlights? Check out this video for four hours of Goodwood goodness.
Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>
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