First Timer Suggestions - Goodwood FOS

First Timer Suggestions - Goodwood FOS

Author
Discussion

KelvinatorNZ

Original Poster:

628 posts

69 months

Tuesday 4th December 2018
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Hi All,

My Wife and I are looking to make the trek from NZ over to the UK for Goodwood in 2019 and had a couple of questions we hope anyone that had been to the Festival Of Speed in the previous years could help with.

Obviously the FOS runs for four days, is it best to get tickets to all four days, or just specific days? It looks like day 1 is a goer for seeing cars in the paddock, and day 4 with the shootout cant be missed, but is it worth sticking around for day 2 and 3? Obviously 4 days at Goodwood is a big chunk out of our trip over to the UK, but i wouldn't want to miss out if something awesome normally happens on day 2 or 3.

Im presuming traffic on the days will be shocking around the venue, so getting there early is best, even if just for better parking? If we came from a nearby town (due to accomodation), would it take forever to get there in traffic? How bad is the parking (and it looks like there is allocated areas for parking depending on color, are there enough spots or might one miss out if they arrived late and have to find somewhere else to park)?

Are there any other events around the same time (Early-mid July) in the area that might be worth going to?

Thanks

thecremeegg

1,952 posts

202 months

Tuesday 4th December 2018
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Traffic wise, get there before 7.30 and you'll be fine in my experience. Any later and you'll risk a queue that gets huge! The parking itself will be in a field and is well signposted. The car parks are huge so you might have a bit of a walk if you're at the far end but it's not too bad.

As for which days, the Thursday is the best for seeing the cars in terms of how busy, however that said nowadays it's actually not much quieter tbh and a few of the cars aren't there/covered up.

Other than that, the Fri-Sun are pretty much the same in my experience, you just get the shootout on the Sunday.
You can't go wrong with any of them!

Pommy

14,229 posts

215 months

Tuesday 4th December 2018
quotequote all
Absolutely buy stand seats and ideally opposite the pit entrance before the sharp left handed - this way you can see the cars coming up the hill at their fastest and all of them when they come back down

ColdoRS

1,796 posts

126 months

Tuesday 4th December 2018
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I only done Sunday last year and it was fine - I never got up to the rally stage though and I did miss some stands/displays. I watched a lot of the shootout though which was brilliant.

Took my missus, who isn’t reeeeally into cars/motorsport and she enjoyed it although I wouldn’t ask her to endure 4 days of it, 2 at a push, unless I was going VIP and hob-nobbing every day with boozy lunches etc.

Traffic, as mentioned, get in before 0800 and you’ll be OK, expect to queue a little though.

Bobtherallyfan

1,262 posts

77 months

Monday 7th January 2019
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We’ve been going for years and have switched from Sunday’s to Saturdays, to Fridays and now Thursdays. We arrive at about 6.30 am when the car parks just open, have some breakfast in the car and then get in to the event as soon as it opens. Generally head to the Supercar paddock early as the cars are being uncovered and the people looking after them seem fairly relaxed about chatting. We only leave when the event shuts and have a picnic around our car while the rush to leave the car parks occurs. Never had to queue in or out. Local roads can be a nightmare if you get the timing wrong.
Good luck

KelvinatorNZ

Original Poster:

628 posts

69 months

Tuesday 8th January 2019
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Thanks for the advice everyone. Bit the bullet and purchased tickets to Thursday and Sunday. Can't wait!

Bobtherallyfan

1,262 posts

77 months

Tuesday 8th January 2019
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KelvinatorNZ said:
Thanks for the advice everyone. Bit the bullet and purchased tickets to Thursday and Sunday. Can't wait!
You will love it. Don't leave getting accommodation sorted too late though.

andy_mc

160 posts

150 months

Monday 11th February 2019
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Good choice of days. There are loads of places to grab food on-site but they can be quite expensive by the end of the day. if this is an issue then might be worth grabbing something to take in with you.

I've been going for the last 12 years. Always book 2 days and always promise myself to get up to the Rally stage and fail miserably. But this year ... smile

creaghadoos

93 posts

100 months

Tuesday 12th February 2019
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Bobtherallyfan said:
You will love it. Don't leave getting accommodation sorted too late though.
i know where there are 2 double rooms 10mins from goodwood. we have booked to many rooms

FIREBIRDC9

736 posts

136 months

Monday 18th February 2019
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Get there very early and you are laughing!

My top tip would be to head for the Cartier Style et Luxe first.

That way you can have a good look at the cars and take pictures there before the crowds appear.

Also i recommend getting either a Saturday or Sunday Ticket.
I have been going every year on Saturdays since 2012 and last year i decided to do the Thursday.

A lot of the cooler toys didn't run on Thursday.
No F1 cars or Endurance cars ran that day. It seemed to be the same group of supercars over and over.
So my advice is don't go Thursday!
I've learnt my lesson this year and am going on Saturday like i used to.






Edited by FIREBIRDC9 on Monday 18th February 09:59