It’s a great time to be a motorsport fan in the UK. Lewis Hamilton just won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the European Rally Championship returns to Wales for the first time in almost 30 years next month, and this week marks the only real time you can see the world’s best rally drivers and cars in the UK.
The Goodwood Festival of Speed is upon us as, for the 31st time, the Duke of Richmond opens his estate to the great and the good of world motorsport.
At Goodwood there’s always something to see, but for rally fans the big news is all three World Rally Championship teams will be present across the weekend.
Hyundai brings the final boss of World Rally Cars, an i20 Coupe WRC, which Dani Sordo will drive throughout the weekend, with Hayden Paddon also attending – reunited with the last car he drove competitively at the very top level of rallying. M-Sport meanwhile will have its Puma Rally1 Hybrid present, with Adrien Fourmaux around on Thursday and Friday before Grégoire Munster takes over on Saturday and Sunday.
But it’s reigning world champion Toyota that will make the biggest splash. Not only will Kalle Rovanperä (Thursday), Sébastien Ogier (Thursday) and Elfyn Evans (Friday and Saturday) all be around along with Jari-Matti Latvala and Juha Kankkunen, but Toyota lands in West Sussex with both a Rally1 and Rally2 GR Yaris, as well as the latest evolution of the hydrogen-powered GR Yaris H2.
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Toyota will run its GR Yaris Rally1 on the Forest Rally Stage again this year
Toyota and Hyundai will both demo their cars on the Forest Rally Stage, while M-Sport will take on Toyota in the famed timed shoot-out later in the weekend.
The intrigue stretches far beyond the contemporary machines though. Look out for DirtFish owner Steve Rimmer’s exquisite machines, run by BGMsport, including a Lancia Delta S4, Fiat 131 Abarth and Ford Focus WRC. Whichever era of rallying gets you out of bed in the morning, you’ll be able to embrace it at Goodwood’s rally paddock.
But if you like your off-road motorsport that bit tougher, don’t despair. Toyota’s Dakar Hilux will be in action, while Ford’s all-new 2025 challenger, the Dakar Raptor, will make its first public appearance too. And don’t miss Subaru Motorsports USA, which brings its Gymkhana GL Huckster for Travis Pastrana and the all-new ‘Project Midnight’ for Scott Speed.
Beginning today (Thursday), the Festival runs until Sunday – you can view the full entry list of who and what to see right here.
And if you can’t make it, live coverage of the event is also available on the Goodwood Road & Racing YouTube channel.