On each day of this year’s Festival of Speed there was a moment on the balcony of Goodwood House to mark something or someone special. Sometimes it was emotional, but each moment was a memorable highlight that added to the glamour of the festival itself.
This year saw the largest collection of Formula 1 cars ever seen at Goodwood to celebrate 75 years of the Formula 1 World Championship along with a record number of ex-Formula 1 drivers getting behind the wheel of their old F1 cars. And on Saturday afternoon a reception took place on the balcony of Goodwood House to mark the remarkable racing career of four-time Formula 1 World Champion Alain Prost.
However, it was not only Formula 1 drivers who were celebrated, as the weekend got off to an emotional start when Le Mans legend Derek Bell had his balcony moment to reminisce on his incredible racing career along with his family and Karun Chandhok.
Bell made his way to the main house in his iconic Le Mans 24 Hours winning Porsche 962 in front of a large crowd who had gathered in front of Goodwood House to show their appreciation to one of motorsport’s legends.
To this day, Bell remains Britain’s most successful driver at the Le Mans 24 Hours race, putting his success down to his sheer love of racing, which everyone was only too happy to share with him during this genuinely lovely moment on the balcony.
Whilst it is his achievements at Le Mans in sportscars that has made Bell a motorsport legend, Bell also raced in Formula 1 for both Ferrari and McLaren.
Hailing from West Sussex, Bell’s first taste of racing ironically came at the Goodwood Motor Circuit, which was also the circuit at which he took his first race victory. This year however, Bell returned to Goodwood to celebrate 50 years since his first Le Mans victory in 1975.
Author Bio:
Simon Burrell is a UK-based motoring and travel journalist and editor, a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers and former saloon car racing driver.
Photographs by Gary Harman
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