Rally driver David Wright enjoyed a hugely successful Goodwood Festival of Speed when he beat some of the fastest drivers in British rallying to win the shootout event, which was held over the three days of the festival at Goodwood House in Sussex.
Bentham-based Wright was invited to appear at the prestigious event in his Kumho Tyres and Grove Hill Garage-supported Ford Focus WRC, a car which has been used at world championship level by Spanish champion Carlos Sainz.
The shootout format meant that each driver had to nominate one run of the three mile course each day as a timed run so the pressure was on not to make any mistakes. Wright made a fantastic start on Friday, setting the fastest time of all the drivers. He continued his form over the weekend, with his times only beaten by Citroën world rally championship driver Kris Meeke.
“It was brilliant to get the shootout win,” said Wright. “The format of the event made it feel a bit like Formula 1 qualifying – you had to go flat out but just one little mistake would drop you right down the leaderboard. The rally course was quite narrow and very twisty with trees and banks right at the side of the track waiting to punish any errors.”
“I pushed hard on Friday and took a narrow lead. We couldn’t match Meeke’s times on Saturday and Sunday but then he’s a world championship driver in the latest specification of rally car! We did enough to top the time sheets over the three days though.”
“The whole event was amazing and to win the shoot-out just topped it off. Thanks for Lord March for inviting us and letting us rally in his garden! Thanks also to the International Rally Drivers Club and Southern Car Club for running the rally stage, Giles Philips Motorsport for the car, Kumho Tyres and Grove Hill Garage for their support and everyone else who has helped us.”
Wright’s next outing in the Focus will be on the Nicky Grist Stages in Wales on 11th July.
