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I've covered hundreds of motoring and motorsport events in scores of different countries over several decades, but I have no hesitation in concluding that the Goodwood Festival of Speed is the finest car fest on the planet. By some margin. I don't think I saw a single flag of St George and I certainly didn't hear any patriotic songs or speeches. But I did see, hear, smell and feel that I was at something very special and very English.

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07th July 2004

On the surface, the festival may come across as a stuffy, strictly corporate occasion for toffs, celebs and the very wealthy. In truth, it's anything but - it's classy but classless. I first met Lord March at the inaugural FoS. He's a clever, eloquent, handsome man who's got it all - including a title - but is seemingly happy and down to earth enough to be referred to merely as Charlie, the bloke who organises the annual Festival of Speed (and September's Goodwood Revival meeting for classics).

How he persuades living legends such as Sir Stirling Moss, John Surtees, Emerson Fittipaldi, Carl Fogarty and countless others to arrive in his front yard, bring some serious hardware with them, then to drive their cars and bikes in anger is something he, and they, can't quite explain. Even highly respected current or recently retired Formula One, IndyCar and World Rally drivers - all A-list stars - are grounded by the festival experience. They instinctively and wisely recognise that even with names and driving careers such as theirs, they are very small fish in the giant Goodwood sea.

Egos are left outside the gates, replaced by raw enthusiasm for fast machines, a strong sense of history and tradition, plus an acceptance that some old cars are as important to the world as some old paintings, statues and buildings. And come to that, some old drivers are as legendary as some old TV stars, footballers and musicians.

Take Moss, for example. He is to cars what Sir Paul McCartney is to pop music and what Sir Bobby Charlton is to football. The difference is, you can sit and have a one-to-one with Stirling or indeed dozens of other world-famous drivers at the festival. Anyone keen enough to stay until the end of this year's extravaganza on Sunday night was invited into the house by Charlie March for a slice of cake, a glass of champagne or, if you preferred, a cold beer. And England's greatest living Englishman, Sir Stirling Moss, was still there signing autographs.

If you plan to go to only one car event next year, make it the Goodwood Festival of Speed. But buy your tickets well in advance, because they will sell out - and fast. A camera is essential, but a recording device is also a must if you want to grab the sounds as well as the sights. And if there is such a thing as a container capable of capturing the petrol-enhanced aroma and atmosphere of the event, you had better bring one of those, too. The best weekend in the English - and indeed the world - car calendar is the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Mike Rutherford

Mike Rutherford has asked that his fee for this article be donated to the Brain Tumour Research Fund, and he dedicates the column to a brave young man called Joseph Greenwell - Editor.