This past weekend marked one of the standout British motorsport events: the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Over four days, motorsports lovers gather at the Goodwood Estate in West Sussex to enjoy a range of series. From athletes to car debuts, the event shows off the speed and excitement of motorsports. Formula E showed off all four generations of cars at the event, with Dan Ticktum giving the first public outing of the new GEN4 car.
GEN4 Debuts At The Festival of Speed
This weekend, Formula E headed to Goodwood to show off all four generations of their cars. The newest iteration of Formula E’s machinery had its first public outing, after its global reveal at the Circuit Paul Ricard in April. All four cars took to the iconic Goodwood Hill to show the evolution of the series in front of fans.
Also making his Festival of Speed debut was CUPRA KIRO driver, Dan Ticktum. His run of the Hill showed a taste of what the new era will have. Exhibiting speeds exceeding 335kph, as well as the acceleration from 0-100 in just 1.8 seconds. Whilst still in development and preparing for its competitive debut in December, Ticktum also raced the GEN4 car in the Goodwood Shootout.
Going up against a four-time Shootout winner and the reigning Pikes Peak champion, Romain Dumas, Ticktum finished second. With a time of just 42.46 seconds, the win was missed by 0.49 seconds. Being the fifth fastest run in the event’s history, Ticktum’s time would have won 23 of the last 25 Shootouts.
“For a car that’s designed to race on street circuits rather than attack a hill climb, and with this being my first time at Goodwood, I’m incredibly pleased with what we’ve achieved. The jump from GEN3 to GEN4 is enormous, and I think this weekend has given everyone a glimpse of what’s coming. Hopefully we’ll be back next year and go one better.”
~ Ticktum following the Shootout.
Goodwood Marks The Next Step for Formula E
Ahead of Season 13, the Festival of Speed was an opportunity for fans to see the new machinery in action for the first time. As well as debuting the GEN4 car, Ticktum also tested a revolutionary hybrid AI architecture. Built with Google Cloud, the proof-of-concept technology provided instantaneous driver coaching. The software processes live telemetry, video, and audio. This test marked a crucial advance in proving that customer hardware can manage operations under demanding conditions.
As well as Ticktum, Chloe Chambers also was at the event as Mahindra Racing’s test and development driver. On Thursday, she got behind the wheel of the current GEN3 car for a lap of the Goodwood Circuit. In her first outing as an official driver for Mahindra, Chambers shared her excitement over the next step: “It looks amazing to drive. I can’t wait until I get the chance to get behind the wheel of it.”
With all four eras on show, this weekend was not only an unveiling of what is to come, but a celebration of the growth and advancements in the series. Fans were able to get up close and experience the sound, speed, and performance of Formula E in person. Giving them a glimpse of what is to come, the GEN4 era debuts later this year and marks the next stage of what is possible in motorsport.
“Goodwood Festival of Speed is one of the world’s greatest celebrations of motorsport, making it the ideal place for the UK debut of our GEN4 race car. This represents the biggest performance leap in Formula E’s history and we’re incredibly proud to have been able to showcase it to thousands of fans in the UK for the first time at this iconic event. The GEN4 demonstrates not only the future of electric racing performance, but also our continued commitment to pushing the boundaries of innovation and sustainability in motorsport.”
~ CEO of Formula E, Jeff Dodds.