Volkswagen And The Legend Of Goodwood

September 17, 2020 by Volkswagen

• Volkswagen Motorsport to line up at SpeedWeek with the fully-electric R in 2020

•The history of Volkswagen at Goodwood Motor Circuit stretches back as far as 1958

•Volkswagen Motorsport is forming the link to the modern day with the R

For decades, Goodwood has been a Mecca for fans of horsepower from all over the world. Whether the Festival of Speed (FoS), Revival, or the Members' Meeting. The mere mention of these events is music to the ears of automobile and motorsport enthusiasts. Every year, hundreds of thousands make the pilgrimage to the time-honoured site in West Sussex (GB). This year, however, the coronavirus pandemic has upset these plans. All three iconic events were unable to go aheadd. However, necessity is the mother of invention, and so the organisers have come up with Goodwood SpeedWeek (16.–18.10.2020). The three-day event at Goodwood Motor Circuit combines the best elements from the familiar events – by livestream and behind closed doors. Volkswagen Motorsport lines up with the fully-electric ID.R. The winner of the FoS shootout in 2018 and 2019, and the outright record holder on Goodwood Hill, will face a new challenge in the south of England: a fast, flowing racetrack instead of a winding hillclimb.

Goodwood SpeedWeek showcases the 'Best of Motorsport'

The organisers have put together a programme that pits vintage race cars against each other and features a host of different races, in which many cars from every era of motorsport will battle it out for glory. The event will also include a rally route both on and off the track. For Volkswagen Motorsport, the main focus is on the Shootout. The format will be similar to the Goodwood Hillclimb at the FoS. Roughly 30 spectacular race cars from across the ages will take to the track individually in different classes – the ID.R in the Prototype class. As at the FoS, there will be practice and qualifying runs on the Friday and Saturday of SpeedWeek. These will be followed on the Sunday by the final Shootout, in which each competitor will complete a timed lap from a standing start. Romain Dumas ultimately has just one attempt to set the fastest time.

Goodwood Motor Circuit (1948–1966)

The races and competitions will be held at the 3.809-kilometre Goodwood Motor Circuit. Opened on 18 September 1948, the circuit hosted regular non-championship Formula 1 races from 1948 to 1965. One man in the Volkswagen Motorsport team who is already very familiar with the track, which features five right hand turns and one left, as well as the legendary Goodwood Chicane, is Romain Dumas: 'Driving at the racetrack and not on the hillclimb at Goodwood is completely different, but I have already made a number of appearances at Goodwood Motor Circuit at the Revival,' said the 42-year-old motorsport all-rounder, who also drives a wide range of vintage race cars. The official lap record is held by two motorsport legends: Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart both set a lap time of 1:20.4 minutes during the final Formula 1 race in 1965, before official racing ceased on 02 July 1966.

Goodwood Motor Circuit (1998–today)

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On 18 September 1998 – exactly 50 years after it was first opened – the circuit was reborn with the first Goodwood Revival. Only vehicles that started as genuine race cars between 1948 and 1966 are eligible to take part in the event. 'It is a high-speed track with very fast corners and it will be very impressive to drive there with the ID.R,' said Dumas. 'To be quick there with vintage cars, you always have to do a bit of drifting. You can't do that with the ID.R. I will now be able to take a number of corners, in which I have previously had to brake, at full speed.'

Volkswagen at Goodwood Motor Circuit

The history of Volkswagen at Goodwood Motorsport Circuit stretches back to the 1950s. In April 1958, Mike Griffin and Roy Vaughan attended the 28th Goodwood Members' Meeting with two Volkswagen Beetles. They may have missed out on a podium finish in their underpowered cars, but they did race their way into the hearts of the spectators. One year later, they returned to the Members' Meeting at Goodwood. The media was particularly complimentary to Griffin's 'extra-quick Volkswagen'. For the two Brits, the sporting showdown laid the foundation for their professional careers. In 1961, they founded Cartune Limited, the first company in England to offer tuning and performance parts for air-cooled Volkswagen cars like the Beetle.

Volkswagen had left its first footprint on the British Isles in 1952, with the sale of the first two Beetles. One year later, Volkswagen Motors Ltd. became the official importer for Great Britain. While Volkswagen established itself in Blakelands, Milton Keynes, and developed into the country's biggest importer of automobiles, the manufacturer was quiet for a long time at Goodwood Motor Circuit. For a number of years, only Jim Morris was a regular at the Members' Meeting in his 1979 Volkswagen Golf GTI. The story that started with Griffin and Vaughan came full circle in 2018, when Andrew Pritchard lined up at the Goodwood Revival – in a 1958 Volkswagen Beetle.

This year, Volkswagen returns to Goodwood Motor Circuit with the fully-electric ID.R, forming the bridge to the present day. The ID.R is the sporty figurehead of Volkswagen's electric offensive. The first models in this completely new generation of fully-electric cars are the ID.31 and the ID.42. The first delivery of the ID.3 1st Edition, which is limited to 30,000 cars, will begin in September. In many European countries, it has been possible to order the ID.3 in dealerships since 20 July. The world premiere of the ID.4 will follow shortly. This sees Volkswagen underline its ambition to become the global leader in electromobility. The brand is expecting to have produced 1.5 million e-cars by 2025.