Kiwi Radisich to contest iconic motorsport event
Two-time World Touring Car Cup Champion Paul Radisich will make a brief return to competitive car racing on 1-3 July when he will contest the 2011 Festival of Speed at Goodwood in the U.K.
The annual event is touted as the ‘largest motoring garden party in the world’, where a selection of notable drivers and cars contest a 1.6 mile hill-climb road course in celebration of the automotive sport industry.
Now U.K. based, Radisich will drive his 1993 World Touring Car Cup winning Ford Mondeo in support of this year’s ‘Racing Revolutions – Quantum leaps that shaped motor sport’ theme at the three-day event.
Set near Chichester, 100 kilometres from London, the festival will be the focal point for 100 of the world’s most recognised drivers, including fellow Kiwi’s Scott Dixon and Jim Richards.
“Goodwood event is one of the most prestigious events in the world. It is a real honour to be invited to drive a car in the hill climb,” said Radisich.
“As it not only gives the public a chance to see yester years cars and drivers in action but it also brings modern and classic together for a great spectacle.
Radisich’s winning car is now owned by Alvin Powell, having purchased it from Andy Rouse after the championship victory at Monza in 1993.
“Alvin called me up and asked if I would drive it for him.”
Radisich last drove the Mondeo in anger in 1993.
“But I did drive it the other month at Goodwood for the media day,” the ex-pat Kiwi added.
With spectator numbers now exceeding 100,000, the Festival of Speed first started in 1993 to follow on from the privately set hill climb first contested in 1936. The event also includes a forest rally stage, the high-speed Sunday Times Supercar Run, the Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’ concours d’elegance, world debuts of new car models and the FoS-TECH technology pavilion with its advanced automotive technology displays.
