Past Events
Goodwood 2005
Goodwood 2005
Lord March Comments on the Festival and Honda
As mentioned in Part 1, Sir Charles March, organizer of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, paid a courtesy visit to Honda’s Aoyama headquarters. During this visit, he shared his thoughts on the festival and Honda.
― What was the inspiration behind the Goodwood Festival of Speed?
I guess you could say that the festival began as a result of my passion and excitement for racing machines being reawakened in me as I worked to revive the circuit that my grandfather had built at Goodwood.
I wanted to share this precious experience ofdriving racing cars with many people who love them as much as I do, and the idea of a festival was born. One of the ideas was to build a hill climb course in front of Goodwood House.
We feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to organize this event. We invite people to share with a wider audience the intense excitement and beauty of racing machines, from the beginnings of motorsports to the latest F1.
― Each year, you work hard to make the event unique, don’t you?
Each year we have a theme for the festival, and depending on that theme, there will be a variety of racing machines on display. Therefore, visitors to the Festival will encounter a variety of racing machines each time they visit the venue. The festival will not be the same every year.
The theme for 2005 is “Racing Colours - National Pride and Culture.”
Simply put, it is about what makes an Italian car Italian, a Mercedes German, and a Japanese car Japanese. In other words, what is the DNA of each car? This theme will make the 2005 festival a wonderful opportunity to see cars that you have never seen in your entire life, all in one place, Goodwood.
― What are your thoughts on Honda’s role as host for this year’s event?
Honda has been a great supporter of the festival since it began in 1993. There are other companies that have been with us since the very first year, but Honda has been our longest-standing partner and it’s been wonderful.
In the 1960s, Honda did a test run on the Goodwood race track. John Surtees drove and Mr. Kawamoto (Nobuhiko Kawamoto, former president of Honda) was the engineer. So I have a very long connection with Honda. We are very proud to be able to add to the celebration of the 40th anniversary of Honda’s first F1 Grand Prix victory. At this year’s festival, we will have a special Honda area and will display Honda vehicles in front of the Goodwood House. It is sure to be the most remarkable display of the year.
― Finally, what are your impressions of Honda?
My first memory of Honda was when Honda first entered the Formula 1 Grand Prix 40 years ago. My grandfather saw the Honda cars competing in that race and said, “Look at these racers [racing cars]!”
Since then, Honda has been continuously involved in motorsports. That is Honda’s history. Honda has always focused its attention on all motorsports.
And the best part is that Honda loves motorsports and has been racing for so long that the very essence of the company is motorsports itself.
I think this attitude is reflected in the people who love Honda cars. I believe people who love Hondas are people who love driving. They are interested in cars, they know they are exciting, and driving is a part of their lives. I think it’s a really great relationship.
