Festival will go on despite tragedy

John Dawson-Damer and marshal Andrew Carpenter were killed when the former's Lotus crashed into the finish-line gantry at the top of the 1.02mile hillclimb course. A spokesman for the event claimed that the event would continue, but all possibilities in terms of safety are to be investigated for future events.

"We are not considering closing the event," claimed the spokesman. "The next step is to see if anything more can be done," he added, regarding safety.

"Clearly it is not acceptable that a marshal was killed. With hindsight, we obviously got it wrong," he continued.

The cause of the accident is still not known, but a joint investigation by the Sussex police and Britain's motorsport governing body, the MSA, intends to discover what led to the crash. It has been suggested that the results of this inquest could be used to suggest changes not just for Goodwood, but for all hillclimb events in the country.

Another marshal lost part of his right leg in the crash, which brought the finish-line gantry down.

Suggestions for the future of the Festival of Speed have included the event becoming a pure demonstration, with no timed element, or putting metal barriers up the course. However, entrants in this year's Festival have praised the way the event was run, and claimed the onus for safety should lie more with those taking part. Jordan designer Mike Gascoyne claimed "It's up to the competitors to ensure their own safety. Nothing should detract from the efforts that the organisers have made to ensure the event is run safely."