Damon Hill marks 30 years since his 1996 title, Ducati celebrates its centenary as the most successful marque in World Superbike history, and a separate Americana Celebration marks 250 years since the US Declaration of Independence alongside milestone years for the Indy 500, Pikes Peak, Can-Am and Trans-Am.
Add in confirmed appearances from Lando Norris and Valentino Rossi — the latter returning to Goodwood for the first time since 2015 — and there’s a packed weekend ahead even before the cars start running up the Hill.
As always, more than 600 cars and motorcycles will take part across the four days, spanning everything from pre-war machinery to the newest electric road cars.
Here are eight things worth looking forward to.
The Rivals theme, and two reunions that matter
Goodwood’s 2026 theme is “The Rivals – Epic Racing Duels,” built around two anniversaries.
It’s 50 years since James Hunt beat Niki Lauda to the 1976 world championship, and 60 years since Ford’s GT40s finished 1-2-3 at Le Mans to end Ferrari’s run at the top.
The three Le Mans-winning GT MkIIs will reunite on the Hill for a rare demonstration run; the kind of gathering that doesn’t happen often, and won’t happen indefinitely given the cars’ age and rarity.
The Hunt-Lauda story will be marked too, though the Le Mans cars are the bigger draw on paper: three genuine race winners from the same podium, together again 60 years on.
Damon Hill’s title, 30 years on
It’s been three decades since Hill won the 1996 title with Williams, the first son of a champion to match his father’s achievement (Graham Hill won in 1962 and 1968).
Hill will be honoured on the Balcony at Goodwood House on the Saturday and will be reunited with his championship-winning FW18, freshly restored to period-correct specification by Williams’ heritage department.
He won’t be the only one driving it, however.
Williams is sending the FW18 up the Hill across the weekend with a roster spanning the team’s past, present and future: team principal James Vowles (who drove Mansell’s FW14B at Goodwood last year), reserve driver Luke Browning making his hillclimb debut, and Jamie Chadwick.
The FW18 itself was no ordinary title-winner – it took 12 of the 16 races in 1996, split between Hill and team-mate Jacques Villeneuve, en route to Williams’ eighth constructors’ championship.
Barry Sheene’s career, marked across three Goodwood events
This is the first time Goodwood has run a single celebration spanning all three of its motor sport events in one year.
The Members’ Meeting in April already covered “The Sheene Years”; the Festival of Speed picks up the baton with around 10 of the bikes Sheene rode across his career, including machines from both his world title-winning seasons.
The third event will be the Goodwood Revival in September.
Sheene was a flamboyant British racer who became one of motorcycling’s biggest personalities in the 1970s, as famous for his charisma and near-miraculous recovery from a horrific 1975 Daytona crash as for his speed on track.
Sheene won two 500cc world championships and 23 grands prix, and rode at Goodwood himself in 2000, so seeing his bikes back on the same hill carries a bit of historical symmetry.
Lando Norris and Valentino Rossi on the bill
Two of the bigger personal appearances confirmed for 2026 come from outside the F1-Goodwood usual suspects in different ways.
Norris will appear fresh off the back of his title defence and having competed in his first British Grand Prix as a world champion the previous weekend.
Rossi’s presence is arguably the rarer sight: this will be his first Festival of Speed appearance since 2015, a notable gap for a rider of his stature, and one that should draw a strong crowd from the MotoGP side of Goodwood’s audience as much as the F1 regulars.
Ducati’s centenary
Ducati turns 100 this year, and arguably no manufacturer has more to celebrate at Goodwood than the most successful marque in World Superbike history.
Thursday’s Balcony session brings together a striking list of former champions and current riders – among them Carl Fogarty, Casey Stoner, Troy Bayliss and current WorldSBK rider Nicolo Bulega.
Away from the Hill, Ducati will display its Collezione 100, 10 limited-edition bikes finished in liveries drawn from a century of racing history.
Americana Celebration
July 4 marks 250 years since the US Declaration of Independence, and Goodwood is using the days that follow to lean into American motor sport history.
The Americana Celebration stacks up a run of round-number anniversaries: 110 years of the Indy 500, 110 years of Pikes Peak, 60 years each for Can-Am and Trans-Am, and 20 years since Jimmie Johnson’s first Cup Series title.
Up to 50 cars and bikes will fill the Cathedral Paddock across the disciplines – Can-Am icons like the McLaren M8F and Shadow DN4, NASCAR machinery once driven by Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon, and endurance cars including a Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe.
It’s also where the three Ford GT Mk IIs from the 1966 Le Mans 1-2-3 (see above) will be based, having last run together a decade ago.
The guest list reads like a fairly serious cross-section of American motor sport across disciplines and generations: Al Unser Jr, Dario Franchitti, Emerson Fittipaldi, Kenny Roberts Sr and Jr, Kevin Schwantz, Colin Edwards and Travis Pastrana among those confirmed so far.
Cartier Style et Luxe
For something at a different pace entirely, the Cartier Style et Luxe concours returns with seven judged classes this year, ranging from pre-war Mercedes-Benz to American chopper motorcycles.
Held on the lawns in front of Goodwood House, it’s a traditional concours d’élégance where meticulously preserved and restored automobiles are displayed for judging on their beauty, originality, and condition.
It’s judged by a panel drawn from beyond motoring circles, with one car named Best in Show.
If the Hill is about noise and speed, this corner of the Festival is the deliberate counterpoint – cars chosen for craftsmanship and rarity rather than lap times.
New cars on the Hill
The Festival of Speed has always doubled as a launchpad for road cars, and 2026 brings a notable EV-heavy crop.
Renault’s 5 Turbo 3E – a modern, production-ready take on the 1980s Turbo and Turbo 2 – is likely to draw the biggest crowds among the new reveals.
BYD is using the event to officially launch its premium brand Denza in the UK, while the Yangwang U9 Xtreme arrives for its European debut having already set records as the world’s quickest production car, electric or otherwise.
With that in mind, the Hill won’t be short of spectacle on the new-car front.