BGMSport’s major contribution to the Goodwood Festival of Speed has been recognized with this year’s Hannu Mikkola Award.
Named after the 1983 World Rally champion – who designed Goodwood’s Forest Rally Stage – and presented by the Duke of Richmond, the Award recognizes competitors for exceptional sportsmanship, entertainment and crowd engagement during the Festival.
BGMSport looks after an array of modern and classic competition cars spanning 70 years – including DirtFish owner Steve Rimmer’s collection – and has been ever-present at Goodwood since 2006, the year the Forest Rally Stage opened.
Owner Ian Gwynne accepted the Hannu Mikkola Award on behalf of his team after yet another successful Goodwood Festival of Speed for the Brackley-based outfit.
“This is our 20th anniversary of coming to Goodwood, so I think this is great recognition for us as a company and a team for not just what we’ve done at Goodwood this year, but what we’ve done over the last 20 years,” Gwynne told DirtFish.
“It’s an honor, and fantastic to be recognized for what we do every year. This is all about the team, and the team is a group of people and customers that just work so well together.
“Through various customers, especially Steve Rimmer, we’ve brought some fabulous cars and some world-class drivers over the years,” Gwynne added. “If we go back a decade and a half, we were bringing Markko Märtin and Ott Tänak, today we have Alister, Max and Jimmy McRae, and Bruno Thiry in more recent times. There’s so many others I could mention.
The BGMsport team celebrate their well-deserved success
“This year was also a very special event for my daughter, Jess, because she drove the [1992 Subaru] Legacy for the first time. And then Steve Gallagher, another one of my customers, gave up the McRae Mk2 Escort for her on the Saturday. He just said: ‘It’s yours for the day, go and enjoy it’, which was fabulous.”
Duke of Richmond Charles Gordon-Lennox said BGMSport was a “very worthy recipient” of this year’s Hannu Mikkola Award.
Addressing a gathered crowd outside Goodwood House, the Duke said: “This year the Hannu Mikkola Award goes to someone who year after year has played an invaluable role in making the Forest Rally Stage such a success, bringing an outstanding collection of rally cars and ensuring they are presented and run to the very highest standard.
“Their commitment and enthusiasm and professionalism have become an integral part of the event.
“Just as importantly, their whole team consistently goes above and beyond by generously giving their time to provide unforgettable experiences, creating memories that last a lifetime for all of our guests.”
Gwynne was touched by the Duke’s “amazing” speech, but paid his real tribute to the team he works with.
Bruno Thiry is one of famous drivers to have worked with BGMsport
“Honestly, they never ever let me down, ever,” Gwynne praised. “It’s a big effort for all the technicians in the workshop – the number of cars we bring to this event is always at least two digits.
“Goodwood probably takes two months out of the workshop calendar because of all the pre-event prep, post-event prep and the event itself, so it’s a massive team effort.
“But when I talk about the team, I also mean our customers. I’m eternally grateful for people like Steve Rimmer, Calum MacLeod and Steve Gallagher who are all so supportive of our business, and are part of the team. It’s not just people that work for me and the company, the whole team is all our customers.
Having attended the last 20 Goodwood Festivals of Speed in succession, expect BGMsport to return in 2027.
“It would be rude not to,” Gwynne smiled. “It would be hard to imagine not coming to Goodwood. And it’s not just about the driving, it’s about giving all of the customers the experience they want at an event like this with the social side as well.
“Everybody gets on so well with each other, everybody has a good laugh. Nobody takes things too seriously or gets upset with things. It’s kind of a magical, perfect scenario. I couldn’t imagine it being any better.”
