BMW Motorrad invites all enthusiasts of motorsport to join them at Goodwood House on 01-03 July for the prestigious Festival of Speed. Some of BMW’s most iconic motorcycles, cars and racers, both past and present, will help ensure that the150,000 visitors to the 2011 Festival of Speed experience one of the most enjoyable events on the British motorsports calendar.

The highlight of this unique event is the hillclimb runs, during which legendary vehicles and stars, including five BMW motorcycles and five cars, enter a time trialled hillclimb along Lord March’s world-famous 1.16 mile drive through the Goodwood House estate in Chichester.

BMW Motorrad Motorsports’ World Superbike racer Leon Haslam will be tackling the hillclimb on his 200+bhp BMW S 1000 RR race bike and will also be around to sign autographs and meet fans during the weekend.

John Surtees OBE, the only man ever to be crowned world champion on both two and four wheels, will be making the run on a supercharged 1939 Type 255 Kompressor race bike. Making 60bhp and weighing just 138kg, the 482cc supercharged Boxer took Georg Meier to victory in the 1939 Senior TT race on the Isle of Man.


Surtees bought the bike in bits in the 1980s and painstakingly restored it to pristine condition. He has kindly loaned the only remaining example of this three-time world championship winning bike to the BMW Classic museum in Germany.

BMW stunt star Mattie Griffin, one of the best freestyle stunt riders in the world, will be at the event for the second year in a row, treating visitors to a dazzling display of motorcycle handling, performing stoppies and burnouts as he wheelies up the Goodwood hill.

Mattie will be performing two shows a day on his specially-prepared F 800 R, which will also be on display in the paddock, where he will be meeting and chatting to fans and visitors. Motorcycle News’ senior road tester Michael Neeves will be participating in the hillclimb event on his S 1000 RR MRO Superstock racer, prepared by BMW Park Lane.

Away from the hillclimb route, visitors to Goodwood can experience the BMW Pavillion, a huge building which showcases a range of BMW motorcycles and cars, as well as the advanced technology and rich heritage of the brand. This year it will include the award and championship winning S 1000 RR supersports bike, as well as the stunning HP2 Sport in Motorsports colours, featuring the most powerful boxer engine ever built.

The two sportiest motorcycles in the BMW Motorrad range will line up alongside the ground-breaking new K 1600 GT and K 1600 GTL six-cylinder grand tourers. The K 1600 models represent the pinnacle of luxury touring and advanced motorcycle technology.

And for four-wheeled enthusiasts, the BMW Pavillion will also host nine of the finest cars in the range, including a number of high performance M-series machines. Five BMW cars will make the hillclimb, as well as the MINI John Cooper Works rally car, driven by MINI’s World Rally Championship driver Kris Meeke.

Tony Jakeman, BMW Motorrad UK Marketing Manager, said: “The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an event unlike any other in motorsport. Not only do the bikes, cars, riders and drivers span every series and era, but the 150,000 visitors are able to walk among the paddock, experiencing the sights and smells of the machines.

“We’re very excited to be bringing a range of stunning motorcycles to join the BMW cars, and especially to have two of our most iconic bikes, the BMW S 1000 RR World Superbike and the Type 255 Kompressor, ridden up the hill by two of the most recognisable faces in British motorsport: John Surtees and Leon Haslam.”

For more information or to purchase tickets visit www.goodwood.co.uk For information on the 2011 BMW Motorrad range visit www.bmw-motorrad.co.uk


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