Festival of speed to celebrate Le Mans 24 Hours centenary in 2023

03rd November 2022

Ben Miles

We’re extremely excited to announce that Goodwood will be celebrating 100 years of the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours at the Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard in 2023.

Often considered to be the world’s greatest motor race, the twice-around-the-clock test will also see its 90^th running next June, as well as an incredible influx of new and returning manufacturers, all battling it out for outright victory.

Goodwood already helped to kick off the celebrations for the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), the body that runs the race, at the Goodwood Revival with the reveal of the incredible new centenary edition trophy that will be awarded to the winners in 2023. The new trophy was revealed in a gathering of 15 past Le Mans champions and this year’s winner Brendon Hartley.

The new trophy, which has been made by the Paris Mint was also brought onto the starting grid of the Freddie March Memorial Trophy, a race for the kinds of cars that raced at Le Mans in the early 1950s.

The 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours is set to be a banner year for the race, with Toyota and Glickenhaus being joined on track by Peugeot, Porsche and Cadillac as well as Ferrari – racing at the top level of sportscars for the first time in 50 years. And, the new Le Mans Hypercar and LMDh regulations, bringing the World Endurance Championship and US IMSA series into alignment, are set to bring even more manufacturers into the sport in the coming years.

More information about the celebration at the Festival of Speed will be announced in the new year, but we expect to see multiple champions, both drivers and cars, creating an event that no Le Mans 24 Hours fan will want to miss.

It will form a part of a series of incredible celebrations set to light up Goodwood’s events in 2023. These include 75 years of motorsport at Goodwood, since the Motor Circuit first opened in 1948, 30 years of The Festival of Speed and 25 years of the Goodwood Revival and Goodwood Road Racing Club (GRRC).

Tom Kristensen, the most successful driver in Le Mans history, and a Goodwood regular, said: “It’s amazing that Le Mans has been holding this great race for 100 years. Goodwood and Le Mans are so much fun, I always enjoy visiting and have had the privilege of driving fantastic cars there. It was great to get together with all those Le Mans winners at Revival this year – I’m already looking forward to the reunion next year. I’m sure it will be a remarkable celebration.”

Speaking of the celebrations Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest said: “The Goodwood Festival of Speed is famous for its display of jaw-dropping racing machines. It is wonderful to see the 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary take pride of place at such an outstanding event, which is also celebrating an important anniversary. My sincere thanks to The Duke of Richmond and the Goodwood Festival of Speed for training their spotlight on the world’s greatest endurance race.”

Festival of Speed founder The Duke of Richmond said: “As the 24 Hours of Le Mans is such an iconic and integral motorsport institution, it is only natural that Goodwood should join in the celebrations of its 100^th anniversary.

"We were delighted to welcome our good friends Pierre Fillon and Stéphane Darracq from the Automobile Club de l’Ouest to the Revival in September, and to host the Centenary Trophy on its relay around the world. I’m already looking forward to seeing the greatest collection of Le Mans cars and drivers that we’ve ever had at Goodwood in action on the Hill next year – it’s going to be spectacular!”

Explore the 2023 Festival of Speed tickets and packages.

Photography by Jayson Fong, Peter Summers and Dominic James.

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