Goodwood Festival of Speed 2026: The Rivals Revealed
As the motorsport world looks forward to the 2026 season, Goodwood today announces the theme for the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2026 presented by Mastercard: ‘The Rivals - Epic Racing Duels’.
The Festival of Speed theme acts as the thread that draws together the cars, bikes, drivers, riders, teams and manufacturers that attend the event at Goodwood. In 2026, Goodwood will pay tribute to the most fiercely contested encounters from across global motorsport, celebrating the emotion and intensity that push people and machines to the limit and define the essence of racing competition.
Defining rivalries and head-to-head battles punctuate the racing annals and capture the world’s attention. Through the lens of ‘The Rivals’, the Festival of Speed will mark several notable anniversaries, including 60 years since the American muscle of Ford took on the might of Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966, and 50 years since the legendary rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda as they vied for the Formula 1 World Championship in 1976.
A dedicated batch of cars and bikes illustrating motorsport’s ‘Epic Racing Duels’ will take to the Goodwood Hill across the Festival of Speed weekend, as the event once again brings together drivers, riders, teams and manufacturers from Formula 1, MotoGP, Grand Prix racing, the World Endurance Championship, WorldSBK, the Isle of Man TT, IndyCar, the World Rally Championship and touring cars.
The Duke of Richmond CBE DL said: “Over the years, Goodwood has seen some fierce competition, whether in the early days of the circuit, when the all-time greats were battling it out, or in more recent years on the famous Goodwood Hill. With that in mind, next year's Festival of Speed will capture the drama and intensity of motorsport's greatest contests as we celebrate “The Rivals – Epic Racing Duels.” The event will bring to life rivalries such as those between James Hunt and Niki Lauda, whose epic encounters, particularly in 1976, are now the stuff of legend.
Goodwood will announce further information about the 2026 Festival of Speed, including details of attending vehicles and competitors, in the coming months, as anticipation builds for The Rivals: Epic Racing Duels and another unforgettable motorsport festival at Goodwood.