September 8 2021 dawned bright, sunny and very warm. As the cars featuring in this year's Veloce charity trackday began to assemble on the historic Goodwood grid, it became apparent that Peter Neumark and Chris Bucknall had once again managed to surpass themselves.
Guests were treated to the sight of Derek Bell being reunited with the McLaren F1 GTR in its famous bright yellow and green Harrods livery – the very car that he, his son Justin and Andy Wallace brought to third place at Le Mans in 1995.
This was joined by a McLaren Senna GTR in a livery that paid homage to its famous ancestor and a P1 sporting a similar colour scheme.
Testament to the pulling power of Veloce, these three amazing machines were joined by other equally incredible cars, including the “Beast of Turin” – Fiat's monstrous pre-war racing car – quite literally spitting flames and making all present jump (and also giggle) every time it backfired. This was paired with the 1903 Mercedes GP car, piloted as precisely as ever by Ben Collings.
If this wasn't enough, attendees were also treated to the Bentley Speed Six “Old Number Three”, a Ferrari 250 GTO, a Porsche 911 RSR – resplendent in its “Wally's Jeans” livery, a pair of AC Cobras, plus a Ferrari Daytona Spyder, 330 LMB and F40. Jaguar was well represented with C and D Type, XKSS and XK140.
Modern cars included a Pagani Zonda (which may have stolen the loudest car award) and a Porsche 911 GT3RS.
The driver line-up was equally incredible. Led by Damon Hill and Derek Bell, we were joined by a group of owners and historic racers, all of whom gave their time and in some cases, their cars to provide guests with an unforgettable experience, at one of the fastest racing circuits and in some of the best road and racing cars ever made.
Brand new cars were available for road test drives, including Porsche Taycan, Aston Martin DBX and Ferrari Roma.
It is hard to isolate any one element of this event which stands out as being a “best bit”, such was the sensory overload for anyone with a drop of petrol in their veins. This was apparent as everyone who attended spent much of the day with a smile on their face, enjoying the cars, the drivers and the fantastic weather.
As far as the cars were concerned, there were some unforgettable sights, including The Beast and Mercedes GP car running in parallel, the Zonda chasing down the F1 and the Cobra(s) leaving the pitlane. Of course we also add the joy of passengers experiencing open vintage cars for the first time and the unique smell of hot oil, metal, clutches and brakes to that list. The highlights are endless, but suffice to say everyone who left Goodwood did so with their own indelible memories of the day.
How can such an incredible day be topped?
Firstly, the incredible news from Peter and Chris that Veloce has, since its inception, raised over £500,000 for the event's chosen charities, which are The Halow Project and Hope for Tomorrow. www.halowproject.org.uk and www.hopefortomorrow.orhg.uk. We salute them for this achievement and thank them, their team and the drivers and car owners who made it possible.
Secondly? We get to do it all over again next year. Lockton remains a proud sponsor of this amazing event. To call Veloce a trackday like no other is do it an injustice – it remains a day like no other and we cannot wait to be back at Goodwood in 2022.