Sunday 16th October 2022

Goodwood dates announced for 75th anniversary

And that's just the circuit - 2023 will also see Festival of Speed turn 30. Feel old yet?

---

If you’re good at organising your diary a year in advance, then get scribbling. The 2023 Goodwood events calendar has just been announced. And next year is a special year for Goodwood, because 2023 represents the 75th anniversary of the circuit, which opened in 1948, the 30th running of the Festival of Speed, and 25 years of Revival and the Goodwood Road Racing Club. It’s almost like they planned it.

• FoS is 13th-16th July
• Revival is 8th-10th September
• The 80^th Members’ Meeting is 15th-16th April.

The Duke of Richmond has already called it 'an unmissable year' and it seems hard to disagree. If you’re a Goodwood Road Racing Club Member you can buy FoS and Revival tickets from the 29th October 2022, or from the 31st October if you’re in the Goodwood Road Racing Club Fellowship. The general public, meanwhile, have to wait until 7th November to bag their entrance tickets.

You can also save money by booking early. Do so before the 31st March 2023 to save 10 per cent on Festival of Speed admission tickets with Goodwood’s ‘early bird windows’. The same discount applies to Revival tickets bought before the 30th April 2023.

As well as the ability to get early access to tickets, if you join the Goodwood Road Racing Club there’s also an additional 10 per cent off Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival tickets. To join costs £79 a year and comes with other benefits, including access to Club-only track events, factory visits, driving tours and regular social events. 

---

• McMurtry Spéirling takes FOS Hillclimb record
• 'No frills' Prodrive P25 already sold out

[cc8s]

What about it will be 'unmissable'? I assume that is a position that could be argued every year.

[timbo999]

Not sure the last paragraph is entirely accurate... it's the Fellowship that costs £79 (full GRRC membership is rather more at £315) and I don't believe being a Fellow allows access to club only events.

[SarahGoodwood]

timbo999 said:

Not sure the last paragraph is entirely accurate... it's the Fellowship that costs £79 (full GRRC membership is rather more at £315) and I don't believe being a Fellow allows access to club only events.

Dear Timbo,

Whilst it's true that only full membership of the GRRC allows access to the complete calendar of events, joining the Fellowship (the first tier of the GRRC) does provide access to quite a lot, including go-karting, summer and Christmas balls, a selected number of regional drives, track days, factory tours etc as well as now offering access to GRRC-only enclosures at both the Festival of Speed and Revival. To become a full GRRC member, you have to join the Fellowship first, as the number of full GRRC members is capped and retention is extremely high. The waiting time for full membership varies from 3 to 5 years, but the subscriptions paid whilst in the Fellowship are deducted from the joining fee for full membership.

I hope that explains it!

Best wishes,

Sarah

[ecsrobin]

Anyone looking at paying up and expecting a factory tour as one of the benefits be aware I applied for 9 years before getting on my first one an now they’ve opened it up next year to the fellowship so even if they increase the tours don’t count on it being a benefit.

And be aware you need to opt in if you want to be on the membership wait list.

[SarahGoodwood]

ecsrobin said:

Anyone looking at paying up and expecting a factory tour as one of the benefits be aware I applied for 9 years before getting on my first one an now they’ve opened it up next year to the fellowship so even if they increase the tours don’t count on it being a benefit.

And be aware you need to opt in if you want to be on the membership wait list.

Dear Robin,

As we have discussed before, both on the GRRC forum and on the Facebook group, I am sorry that it took so long for you to attend a factory tour - attendance on these tours is based on a ballot, with potential attendees being selected randomly from entries on a web-based form. With the number of attendees being limited by the venues, we feel this is the fairest way to select the attendees, although I appreciate that in some cases, such as your own situation, it can take a while to be randomly selected. I understand how frustrated you are by this. I am glad that you were able to attend a tour, and I hope that you will continue to apply in the future.

With best wishes,

Sarah

[ecsrobin]

SarahGoodwood said:

Dear Robin,

As we have discussed before, both on the GRRC forum and on the Facebook group, I am sorry that it took so long for you to attend a factory tour - attendance on these tours is based on a ballot, with potential attendees being selected randomly from entries on a web-based form. With the number of attendees being limited by the venues, we feel this is the fairest way to select the attendees, although I appreciate that in some cases, such as your own situation, it can take a while to be randomly selected. I understand how frustrated you are by this. I am glad that you were able to attend a tour, and I hope that you will continue to apply in the future.

With best wishes,

Sarah

I do get it but it really should have a caveat on many of these proposed benefits of an estimated time frame to being accepted based on membership numbers.

[Ultrafunkula]

Any idea when the ticket prices will be announced, given that the Glasto ticket price rose this year might I expect the same for the FOS?

[ecsrobin]

Ultrafunkula said:

Any idea when the ticket prices will be announced, given that the Glasto ticket price rose this year might I expect the same for the FOS?

Tickets go live on 29th for members so suspect around then.

[No ideas for a name]

Hi Sarah,
good to see Goodwood engaging with PH which previously seemed off limits...

I realise the artice is an advertorial, and Robin has probably covered the most important bit - that of tours being a ballot whereas the article appears to imply that 'Fellows' get factory tours when in fact they get the chance to ballot for factory tours which is subtly different.

SarahGoodwood said:

... now offering access to GRRC-only enclosures at both the Festival of Speed and Revival...

I hadn't spotted that Associates (Fellows in GW speak) now get access to the GRRC enclosures - isn't that a further erosion of the diferential Members' benefits? Or, does this mean Fellows get access to the NEW extra enclosures, not the main GRRC pavilions?

Please please talk to the powers that be - and sort this mess where the Fellowship which presumably then contains Fellows is a lower grade of membership than 'Members'. Bite the bullet, acknowledge the error and slide it over to Associates, Members and Fellows. You could even make it that Members apply to be a Fellow after 10 years, twenty years etc - and charge them more money.

[Ultrafunkula]

ecsrobin said:

Tickets go live on 29th for members so suspect around then.

Thanks. I'm assuming then that this year's Goodwood FOS theme will be simply 'Goodwood motorsport' or similar rather than a manufacturer...

[SarahGoodwood]

Dear all,

All factory tours - both those open to GRRC members, and those on which places are available to the Fellowship - are allocated by ballot. There is no fairer way to allocate places on tours which are always over-subscribed. We are adding extra factory tours to allow the Fellowship the opportunity to apply in 2023. Therefore, the membership will have extra opportunities rather than giving up places on planned tours to the Fellowship.

Secondly, we are adding extra enclosures at both Festival of Speed and Revival, to which the whole GRRC community has access (that is, members and Fellows). Therefore, the membership will have an additional enclosure to visit and in which to meet friends in the Fellowship. Each badge holder can bring a non-member guest, and children under 12 don't count towards this guest number (but must be accompanied).

Lastly, we won't be changing the name of the Fellowship - sorry!

With best wishes,

Sarah

[No ideas for a name]

SarahGoodwood said:

Secondly, we are adding extra enclosures at both Festival of Speed and Revival, to which the whole GRRC community has access (that is, members and Fellows). Therefore, the membership will have an additional enclosure to visit and in which to meet friends in the Fellowship.

For clarity;
Can 'Fellows' access the GRRC Members' tent along Lavant and in the centre of the circuit at Revival?
If so, has this always been, since the Fellowship was created?

[mk1coopers]

I *think* that fellows and GRRC members will get access to the ‘pit stop’ areas, I wouldn’t have thought that fellows would get access to the garage and Lavant enclosures unless, like at the FoS there is a system of one days complimentary access coming.

The ballots are indeed the fairest way of allocating tour places, I’ve not been on one, or a detailing day yet, I’ll keep applying and hopefully one will come up.

Everyone has a choice of staying as a member, or going to fellowship level, personal choices linked to personal circumstances.

It will be interesting to see what the event themes are, I’m not biased towards Cooper S 60 at all

[No ideas for a name]

mk1coopers said:

I *think* that fellows and GRRC members will get access to the ‘pit stop’ areas, I wouldn’t have thought that fellows would get access to the garage and Lavant enclosures

Hence my question to Sarah.

It is all a bit ambiguoius
https://www.goodwood.com/motorsport/grrc-membershi...
says
"Entry for the Fellowship badge holder plus guest to exclusive GRRC-only enclosures at both the Festival of Speed and Revival."

An Associate might well think they can have access to Lavant.

(For clarity - nothing at all against Associates, just trying to clarify the difference in benefits)

[mk1coopers]

In the member’s section it says

Enjoy the members' only enclosures across Festival of Speed and Revival

So I read that as the whole Club being called the GRRC, with the two levels of membership, however, I can absolutely see your point that it could be open to interpretation.

I’m sure Sarah will clarify

[timbo999]

If you look at this page:

https://www.goodwood.com/motorsport/grrc-membershi...

it appears that Fellows do not have access to the Garage or Lavant enclosures.

[visitinglondon]

Does the Fellowship nonsense mean it’s not worth paying the extra for full membership? Am struggling to see any tangible benefits for the extra cost.

[ecsrobin]

SarahGoodwood said:

Dear all,

All factory tours - both those open to GRRC members, and those on which places are available to the Fellowship - are allocated by ballot. There is no fairer way to allocate places on tours which are always over-subscribed. We are adding extra factory tours to allow the Fellowship the opportunity to apply in 2023. Therefore, the membership will have extra opportunities rather than giving up places on planned tours to the Fellowship.

Lastly, we won't be changing the name of the Fellowship - sorry!

With best wishes,

Sarah

A better way to do it would be to just increase the tours for members as you know they’re over subscribed and leave out the fellowship?

Regarding the name change, it is ok to put hands up and say we got it wrong…..

visitinglondon said:

Does the Fellowship nonsense mean it’s not worth paying the extra for full membership? Am struggling to see any tangible benefits for the extra cost.

I’ve always said the GRRC has continually eroded the margin between getting your moneys worth and not, it’s got very close to the line of not worth it and I’ve seen a few people mention they won’t be renewing so a few more fellowship members will get an invite than normal I suspect.

If you are not at every goodwood event or live over an hour away from the kennels then I’d probably suggest just join the fellowship and spend the money saved on not being in the GRRC on other motoring events.

[BigRobbo]

You are guaranteed to be a member in waiting for at least 4years. At £79 per year THEN they charge you £400 + to become a full member! The so called "benefits" only apply to a select few.
Goodwood is expensive, stringing along people just to keep their money

[mk1coopers]

From Sarah’s post above

“The waiting time for full membership varies from 3 to 5 years, but the subscriptions paid whilst in the Fellowship are deducted from the joining fee for full membership.”

So the money you have paid whilst waiting is beneficial to you if your intention is full membership, for some that won’t be their intention, they will be happy with fellowship membership and the cost for the benefits, as I’ve said before it’s personal choice.