Stars out for glorious Goodwood

It's firmly established as one of the finest celebration of motoring culture in the world - and the 2008 Goodwood Festival of Speed attracted some 150,000 visitors over the weekend.

Few events cram so much in for the motorsport fan: six Formula One teams had displays and drivers ranging from Lewis Hamilton to Jenson Button attended.

Previous F1 heroes, including Sir Stirling Moss, Sir John Surtees and Damon Hill entertained the crowds by tackling the challenging 1.16-mile Goodwood hillclimb course.

Rallying was similarly well catered for with more than 40 historic rally cars in action on the enhanced Goodwood Forest Rally Stage.

Current WRC heroes like Petter Solberg were joined by past masters including Timo Makinen, Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist and Gwyndaf Evans, showing how it used to be done.

A special tribute to rallying giant Colin McRae featured at the event, including a paddock full of the machines that made him famous, such as his Subaru Impreza and Ford Focus WRC, along with lesser-known vehicles that he drove, including the Le Mans Ferrari 550 Maranello GTS and Jordan-Peugeot 196 F1 car.

The biking fraternity were equally well represented with big name guests includign Carl Fogarty, Troy Corser, Mick Doohan and Yukio Kagayama.

Motorcycle dispay highlights included Barry Sheene's 1975 Suzuki XR14 RG500, Mick Grant's 1981 Yamaha OW53 YZR500 and Randy Mamola's 1989 Cagiva,

The theme of this year's event was Hawthorn to Hamilton - Britain's Love Affair with World Motor Sport - but arguably the most striking display was the giant sculpture directly outside Goodwood House celebrating the diamond jubilee of Land Rover.

The 35m structure was so tall it had to be fitted with a red warning light to alert low-flying aircraft of its presence.

There was a homage to the exotic vehicles which have featured in James Bond films, while the historic Goodwood Cricket Pitch housed a dozen top-fuel dragsters from the 1950s and 1960s.

By Peter Carroll