Goodwood Festival of Speed 2026: Singer honoured as Dumas seals third straight Shootout victory

The Goodwood Festival of Speed once again reaffirmed its status as the world’s premier celebration of motorsport as the 2026 edition transformed the grounds of Goodwood House into a showcase of racing history, cutting-edge technology and automotive innovation. Held over four days from 9-12 July, this year’s Festival centred on the theme “The Rivals”, celebrating the great competitive battles that have shaped Formula 1, endurance racing, rallying, touring cars and motorcycle racing.

More than simply an exhibition, the Festival continued its unique formula of blending historic machinery with the latest competition cars and production vehicles, allowing manufacturers, race teams and legendary drivers to demonstrate their machinery on the famous 1.16-mile hillclimb before hundreds of thousands of spectators.

The Festival’s iconic Central Feature sculpture once again dominated the front lawn of Goodwood House. Designed by renowned British sculptor Gerry Judah, the 2026 installation honoured Singer Vehicle Design, making the California-based Porsche specialist the first vehicle restoration and reimagining company to become the Festival’s featured marque.

Constructed from three sweeping steel arches, the sculpture suspended three of Singer’s most significant creations high above the estate, each representing a milestone in the company’s evolution. Displayed were the original Singer Classic, the recently unveiled Classic Turbo and the flagship Dynamics and Lightweighting Study (DLS). Unlike many previous Central Features that emphasised speed and motion, Judah’s latest design focused on elegance, allowing each car to stand individually while remaining visually connected through the flowing steel structure. Against the backdrop of Goodwood House, the sculpture reflected Singer’s philosophy of combining timeless design with modern engineering—a fitting representation of the Festival itself, where heritage and innovation continue to coexist. Since its introduction in 1997, the Central Feature has become one of Goodwood’s defining traditions, previously celebrating manufacturers including Ferrari, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Aston Martin, Jaguar and Lotus. Singer’s inclusion represented a notable departure from convention, recognising not an original manufacturer but a company whose meticulous reinterpretation of the Porsche 911 has earned worldwide acclaim.

Throughout the Festival, the “The Rivals” theme explored some of motorsport’s defining competitive stories. Displays celebrated legendary contests such as Ford versus Ferrari at Le Mans, James Hunt against Niki Lauda in Formula 1 and manufacturer battles across endurance racing, rallying and Formula E. Formula 1 machinery shared the hill with Le Mans prototypes, World Rally Championship cars, NASCAR stock cars, Dakar racers, MotoGP bikes, IndyCars and modern electric race cars, while visitors could move freely between the Formula 1 Pit Lane, Supercar Paddock, Future Lab and manufacturer displays before watching many of the same machines tackle the hillclimb only moments later. Formula 1 remained one of the Festival’s biggest attractions, with championship-winning cars joining current-era machinery on the hill and in the paddock, the accessibility placing fans within metres of machinery and drivers that would ordinarily be seen only from behind the barriers of a Grand Prix circuit.

As in previous years, Goodwood also cemented its reputation as one of the automotive industry’s most important launch platforms. Toyota presented its hybrid-powered GR GT Concept, Alpine showcased its forthcoming electric A110 prototype, McLaren revealed the limited-production 788HS, while Maserati unveiled its latest GT4 project. Chinese manufacturers BYD and Denza also expanded their European presence with extensive displays of new electric performance models.

Engineering innovation remained central to the event. RUF unveiled an all-new twin-turbocharged flat-eight engine producing more than 1,000bhp, while McLaren celebrated its heritage with the recreation of the legendary M6GT using original period components. Electric motorsport also continued its increasing presence at Goodwood, with Formula E demonstrating its next-generation GEN4 machinery on the hill, underlining the rapid development of all-electric racing technology alongside the Festival’s traditional internal combustion heroes.

Drifting also continued to strengthen its presence at the Festival, reflecting the discipline’s growing popularity among both traditional motorsport fans and a new generation of enthusiasts. The dedicated drift demonstrations combined precision car control with outright spectacle as drivers balanced commitment, speed and angle through the lower reaches of the hillclimb. One of the weekend’s biggest attractions was Steve ‘Baggsy’ Biagioni, who gave his spectacular new Toyota GR Corolla its first public dynamic outing.

Built by SB Motorsport, the radical machine replaces the production powertrain with a turbocharged 2JZ engine producing in excess of 1,000bhp and features aggressive Pandem bodywork developed specifically for professional drifting. Making its debut in front of the Goodwood crowds, Baggsy filled the estate with tyre smoke as he showcased the car’s immense performance and razor-sharp control, underlining both the engineering involved in modern drift builds and the discipline’s growing place within the Festival programme. Alongside fellow drift stars including Chris Forsberg, Ryan Tuerck, Mike Whiddett and the Red Bull Driftbrothers, the demonstrations proved once again that drifting has become an integral part of the Goodwood experience, sitting comfortably alongside Formula 1, endurance racing and rallying as one of the event’s most popular attractions.

Sunday’s Timed Shootout once again provided the competitive climax to the Festival. Following qualifying earlier in the weekend, the fastest competitors returned for a single decisive run against the clock on Goodwood’s narrow and unforgiving hillclimb. French hillclimb specialist Romain Dumas further cemented his remarkable Festival record by securing a third consecutive Timed Shootout victory, driving Ford’s all-electric Super Mustang Mach-E to a winning time of 41.98 seconds.

One of the standout performances of the weekend came from Formula E driver Dan Ticktum, who guided the new GEN4 Formula E car to second place overall. His committed run demonstrated the impressive pace of Formula E’s latest generation of machinery and briefly threatened Dumas’ dominance before ultimately falling just short. Although Dumas’ winning time secured another “King of the Hill” title, it remained shy of the outright hill record of 39.081 seconds established by Max Chilton in the McMurtry Spéirling in 2022.

The Timed Shootout once again illustrated what makes Goodwood unique. Historic Formula 1 cars competed alongside modern prototypes, GT racers, hillclimb specials, electric race cars and rally machinery, all attempting to master the same challenging 1.16-mile course. With nine corners, almost 93 metres of elevation change and unforgiving flint walls and straw bales lining the route, the hill offers little margin for error, while competitors receive only a handful of practice runs before committing to a single all-important Shootout attempt.

Beyond the competition itself, the Festival continued to offer an unrivalled celebration of automotive culture. The Forest Rally Stage, Off-Road Arena, Dakar showcase, Formula 1 Pit Lane, Future Lab and manufacturer exhibitions ensured there was something for every discipline of motorsport. Historic touring cars, Le Mans winners, Formula 1 legends, modern hypercars, electric prototypes and future concept vehicles all shared the same event, demonstrating the Festival’s ability to bridge motorsport’s past, present and future.

More than three decades after Lord March first invited competitors to tackle the driveway at Goodwood House, the Festival of Speed continues to evolve without losing the qualities that made it famous. The 2026 edition successfully celebrated motorsport’s greatest rivalries while simultaneously looking towards the future of performance, engineering and sustainable competition. Whether through Singer’s elegant Central Feature sculpture, Steve ‘Baggsy’ Biagioni’s spectacular GR Corolla debut, the spectacle of Formula 1 on the hill or Romain Dumas’ latest Timed Shootout triumph, the Festival once again demonstrated why Goodwood remains one of the defining events on the international motorsport calendar.