What was comfortably the best ever Veloce charity track day – and which had also been touted to potentially be the last – might have proven so good that the unique event will march on.
Veloce, masterminded by Peter Neumark and V Management’s Chris Bucknall took place at a gloriously sunny Goodwood on 24 July and the premise remained as in previous years: superstar drivers treat paying customers to three laps of the circuit in priceless cars, each passenger getting at least three goes in different cars with different drivers, as well as being well fed and watered.
The fees paid for the once-in-a-lifetime passenger rides go straight to charity, the principal beneficiaries being Hope for Tomorrow and Halow Project. Following the contribution of the 2024 track day, the charities have benefited to the tune of more than a million pounds since the first Veloce in 2017.
Derek Bell in a Ferrari 275GTB or Singer, Damon Hill in a Jaguar XKSS or Rowan Atkinson in his familiar racing Jaguar MkVII
This year’s event was, of course, sold out, which is no surprise when you consider the calibre of the dream rides on offer: Derek Bell in a Ferrari 275GTB or Singer, Damon Hill in a Jaguar XKSS or Rowan Atkinson in his familiar racing Jaguar MkVII, which must by now almost know its own way around Goodwood. Le Mans winner Richard Attwood was pedalling a C-type hard, too. Other cars ranged from Duncan Pittaway’s monstrous Fiat, The Beast of Turin, to sophisticated Alfa Monza, BMW 3.0CSL Lightweight, Jaguar C-type, Ford GT40 MkIII and plenty more.
Overall, there were 24 cars for the 80 guests in 2024 and the main sponsors were Broad Arrow, HFMC Wealth, Lockton, Aviva, Boodles and Krome Technologies.
Peter Neumark said: ‘l am immensely proud of what we have accomplished and very grateful to all our sponsors, drivers and car owners without whom we couldn’t have achieved the £1 million for charity. What a wonderful way to enjoy ourselves and at the same time helping those less fortunate than ourselves.’
Chris Bucknall added: ‘We were approached by Peter Neumark in 2016 to help him take his existing charity event to another level, and it has been a great pleasure to work with him over these past few years. I and the whole team at V Events and V Management are immensely proud of the event we have helped to create, and most importantly the funds it has raised for our wonderful charities. None of it would have been possible without the support we have received from our drivers, owners and sponsors who have all become part of the Veloce family.’
But is it the end for Veloce? Neither Peter nor Chris would confirm, but watch this space.
