Hi all. Sorry the late posting, but here's a few pics from my Saturday at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

There is really nothing in the classic/vintage sports car calendar worldwide that compares to this illustrious event. The coolest thing of all is you can actually walk around the paddocks, see, smell and hear the cars up close, and chat to the mechanics and drivers. The event is a timed hillclimb ie. the drivers are not racing neck and neck on a track. Lord March's estate in West Sussex where the event is held has a long winding sort of driveway which is comandeered to act as the circuit for these cars. And these priceless cars are REALLY driven. Quickest time of the day was a mind-boggling 127MPH in a modern rally car - this is on a tiny circuit with many places having no crash barriers. I saw three accidents, nothing too serious, but no doubt causing many hundreds of thousands of pounds damage. As well as the mindblowing selection of classic cars and bikes, there was a fly-by of the worlds only remaining and working RAF Vulcan bomber from the 1960's (this thing looks UNREAL in the sky), plus aerobatic displays.

There were so many classic and historic racing cars and motorbikes going back to the early 20th century it was hard to pick a bunch of favourites, and we all have the teams and drivers which mean something personal. However seeing Ayrton Senna's JPS Lotus - the actual car he did over 6000 miles in and won his fist GP in - was quite emotional for me, as it had featured in a Goodwood calendar with pride of place on my bedroom wall as a young lad. Plus seeing and HEARING the 1960's factory four cylinder Honda racebikes was unreal!

TAGHeuer had a strong presence at the event with a special TAGHeuer drivers club section (and a TAGHeuer liveried timing building which looked great), and of course a retail sector where you could try out and purchase a new TAGHeuer. I wore my 3646 Autavia, which caused a bit of a stir in the retail area with two salesmen/technicians giving it the once over. "Why have you not got a classic section here of the old 'real' Heuers" I cheekily asked, only to be met with a non-commital shrug. Oh well - we Heuerista's know the importance our watches played in the world of GP on and off the track.

The pics were taken on my phone so the quality is not great. However I thought it was better than nothing - and I hope you enjoy. And for fans of classic racing, I can wholeheartedly recommend the Goodwood Festival of Speed as one of the best possible ways to spend a day out. Hearing these cars is something you just can't put in words - it really is one for the petrolheads. If you don't like unashamedly loud race cars that have MPG figures below 10 then this day out is not for you.

At the TagHeuer stand

The TagHeuer sponsored McLaren driven by Prost

A very very smart transporter/Mercedes 300SL duo - the transporter was capable of 105 MPH!

A priceless pre-war Mercedes W125 GP car - what a sound!

The New-Zealand designed 1969 McLaren GP car - driven by Bruce McLaren! If you look carefully you can see a small Kiwi by the rollover bar...