The Goodwood Festival Creates a Special Moment in Time
• Being at the Goodwood Festival for the last three days, what are your impressions of the event? You said that you were looking forward to meeting many industry veterans, fans and racers, right?
“I have been saying this a lot lately, but since my retirement, it has just been a terrific experience to come to an event like Goodwood where there is such a terrific atmosphere. Seeing the happy faces of friends and fans…those with whom I’ve competed over the years…the time we have been able to spend together here…and of course the opportunity to drive a car that I drove during my career. This has been a very rare, very treasured experience for me. If I had been invited to such an event during my racing days, I don’t think I could have fully appreciated it—I was racing every weekend, so I took it for granted. But having left the racing world, the chance to be at Goodwood has filled me with a tremendous amount of emotion.”

• Here at the Goodwood this year, you performed an exhibition drive for the fans rather than racing. Tell us how you felt during your drive…
“Of course it’s not like a normal race, but I could really feel the enormous power of the car during the hillclimb. It was a very good feeling, I have to say. Since I didn’t have to worry about lap times, I could concentrate on the ‘feel’ of the car. The opportunity to drive without any pressure was a treat—a great combination for car and driver.”

	Donning his helmet, Fangio II returns to his glory days, if only for a moment

• Was there anything that stands our in your mind about your experience here? Some special event or meeting a particular person?
“I met a lot of people that I will remember long after this event, including many racers past and present. Anyone who is involved in motorsports has led a very demanding, meaningful life. Of course, I felt very honored to meet men who raced in the 1950s such as Stirling Moss and Brabham. That was a very romantic period in F1 history. The cars they raced were nowhere near as safe as the cars now. Over the course of seven years in F1, my uncle saw more than 30 people close to him die. For those people to get into those cars and race showed their true, pure love for the sport. I’m sure today’s racers have the same feelings, but there are certain compromises made now that have changed the sport somewhat. It was just a wonderful experience to have the chance to meet racers from that era here at Goodwood. We have been able to forge meaningful relationships among ourselves in every sense of the word. I have met these men at other events around the world, but it’s only here at Goodwood that we can sit around a table and have long, reminiscing discussions. That is what makes Goodwood a very special place.”