Goodwood Festival of Speed in Miami?

A Miami friend of mine has alerted me to this article in the Miami Herald of 31 August.

https://www.miamiher...e265098769.html

(If, like me, you don't subscribe to the Herald and ad blockers make it even harder to read, try opening the link on your mobile. I was able to play an audio version of it on mine).

Anyway, the gist of it is that Miami Beach is in discussions with the Duke of Richmond to host a Goodwood Festival of Speed in the spring of 2024, on South Beach's Ocean Drive. Several Miami people, including Mayor Dan Gelber, are quoted, though there is no comment from Goodwood.

My friend expressed surprise that the article mentioned the hill-climb - she says hills are in short supply on Miami Beach. 

I hope, if it comes off, that US aficionados will continue to come over to Sussex for the real thing!    

Paul

Interesting.  I have the Miami Herald on my phone for the baseball coverage (and for the alligator stories of course!) but can't see any reference to this.   A hill-climb is inconceivable, isn't it?!

I goggled Miami Herald + Goodwood on my phone and it came straight up, dated 31 Aug.

I have it now. Will look for updates, assuming we get some. Not entirely sure about this as an idea.  I am still struggling with the fake marina at the F1 Grand Prix, amongst other things.

  A hill-climb is inconceivable, isn't it?!

Perhaps they want to recreate the opening of the Banvile Garage in Paris 

Latest Formula 1 Breaking News - Grandprix.com

Perhaps they want to recreate the opening of the Banvile Garage in Paris 

 

Latest Formula 1 Breaking News - Grandprix.com

Golly it looks jolly lucky none of those sandbags protecting cars from going over the edge was put to use, wouldn't fancy the spectators chances if they had !

Hm.  Might be cheaper.

I remember a TV documentary some time back that was a "fly on the wall" on the life of the Goodwood estate.

There was an interview with the then Lord March in which he mentioned that he was constantly rebuffing requests to licence the Festival concept in foreign parts. At that time he was adamant that he would not countenance releasing control of the quality of any event invoking the Goodwood name.

Even given the current financial pressures, whenever I have seen him passing by at a Goodwood event, I have always thought that his grasp on detail and attention to quality has never diminished.

Letting a bunch of revolting colonists loose on the Festival concept, in Miami Florida of all crass locations, would surprise me. But then, as someone said recently, we are all entitled to be idiots. Money can salve many reservations.

The story does suggest that the approach came from Goodwood to the Miami authorities.

ps it opens fine on Opera.

pps Spring Break?

Edited by AllanL, 07 September 2022 - 21:26.

Call it Woodgood.

Call it Woodgood.

Or The GoodFellas with His Grace as Robert De Niro.....OK I'll get me coat!

I remember a TV documentary some time back that was a "fly on the wall" on the life of the Goodwood estate.

There was an interview with the then Lord March in which he mentioned that he was constantly rebuffing requests to licence the Festival concept in foreign parts. At that time he was adamant that he would not countenance releasing control of the quality of any event invoking the Goodwood name.

Even given the current financial pressures, whenever I have seen him passing by at a Goodwood event, I have always thought that his grasp on detail and attention to quality has never diminished.

Letting a bunch of revolting colonists loose on the Festival concept, in Miami Florida of all crass locations, would surprise me. But then, as someone said recently, we are all entitled to be idiots. Money can salve many reservations.

The story does suggest that the approach came from Goodwood to the Miami authorities.

ps it opens fine on Opera.

pps Spring Break?

Maybe there's some confusion over this proposal:

https://www.goodwood...ers-club-miami/

A festival of speed isn't the exclusive preserve of hillclimbs. Hillclimbs, sprints and drag racing all come under the broad cover of Speed Events in the UK. I seem to recall the Cholmondley Pageant of Power, which was a sprint, modelled itself on the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Charlieman, that all looks a tad too exclusive and corporate for my liking.

Wasn't that the model for the recent Miami Suburban Grand Prix?  Limited gate at eye-watering prices, with a plywood marina thrown in for fun.

Edited by BRG, 08 September 2022 - 10:49.

I had not heard about the Drivers club proposal but did see the article on the Festival of Speed during spring break,  The month of March is very volatile around the South Beach area.  Changes have been made to reduce traffic flow but there is not a lot of room for large events.  There’s a reason the F1 race was far from downtown despite the allure of sandy beaches and watching the race on a yacht from the river or ocean.  It would be almost impossible to have a Motorsport event nearby downtown due to space limitations.  I’d like to know where the Driving club would be as 160 acres might be available down in Homestead but there is already a racetrack down there.  There is a Car Week held on Key Biscayne October 1st which has not been held since 2019.  It appears to be a very small event and is accessible only by one toll bridge or by boat.  There is no shortage of supercars in South Florida and people with lots of disposal income but even the Barrett-Jackson car auction was held far from the crowded coastal area because there simply isn’t anyplace with a Monaco type view to hold a prestigious event.  I have lived in downtown Miami for a year and there just simply are not any events comparable to Amelia Island or Goodwood.  There is a park near where the cruise ships dock and there were some F1 related activities for those that missed out on buying tickets to the race.  The biggest problem downtown and near the beaches is availability of parking. There is a very nice one-day show In Boca Raton every February and Jay Leno and Tim Allen were the special guest one year.  It will be interesting to see how the Goodwood proposal pans out.

Maybe there's some confusion over this proposal:

 

https://www.goodwood...ers-club-miami/

 Clearly this is not for the likes of me - I know my place .... 

I had not heard about the Drivers club proposal but did see the article on the Festival of Speed during spring break,  The month of March is very volatile around the South Beach area.  Changes have been made to reduce traffic flow but there is not a lot of room for large events.  There’s a reason the F1 race was far from downtown despite the allure of sandy beaches and watching the race on a yacht from the river or ocean.  It would be almost impossible to have a Motorsport event nearby downtown due to space limitations.  I’d like to know where the Driving club would be as 160 acres might be available down in Homestead but there is already a racetrack down there.  There is a Car Week held on Key Biscayne October 1st which has not been held since 2019.  It appears to be a very small event and is accessible only by one toll bridge or by boat.  There is no shortage of supercars in South Florida and people with lots of disposal income but even the Barrett-Jackson car auction was held far from the crowded coastal area because there simply isn’t anyplace with a Monaco type view to hold a prestigious event.  I have lived in downtown Miami for a year and there just simply are not any events comparable to Amelia Island or Goodwood.  There is a park near where the cruise ships dock and there were some F1 related activities for those that missed out on buying tickets to the race.  The biggest problem downtown and near the beaches is availability of parking. There is a very nice one-day show In Boca Raton every February and Jay Leno and Tim Allen were the special guest one year.  It will be interesting to see how the Goodwood proposal pans out.

The Boca Raton Concours is actually a three day event.  Next year will be its 16th and it has established itself pretty firmly.  

 I’d like to know where the Driving club would be as 160 acres might be available down in Homestead but there is already a racetrack down there.  

Careful wording in the article says that the Drivers Club Miami will be in 'South Florida'.  Which implies NOT in Miami itself or they would have said so.  Probably a greenfield site somewhere in the boondocks.  If they build it, they will come!

I believe a Revival in the Bahamas was contemplated a few years ago.  In fact there were a few historic  race events in the Bahamas back in the 1980s but they never gained much traction.