Nick Mason takes a break from his various music-related activities to participate in a fairly unique annual motoring event, taking place this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday (June 22nd - 24th).

Nick will be - amongst other things - driving a replica of the famous 1936 supercharged V16 Auto Union C-Type racing car. The car will be one of the many notable vehicles in action as part of the 2007 Goodwood Festival of Speed, and for a sneak video preview of Nick putting the car through its paces, read on...

Of the replica, created in 1998, Nick said: "The Auto Union comes from one of the most famous and exotic eras in motor racing. Driving it, I gain so much respect for the people who drove them as well as the talented engineers who designed such a ground-breaking machine.

"The C-Type is beautifully designed, engineered and built - completely without compromise - and sounds wonderful. I'm very privileged to get the opportunity to drive such a famous and pioneering racing car - I feel very honoured."

To the right are a couple of shots of Nick with the car - to see the video preview, use this link at the German Spiegel.de website, or click on the pictures themselves.

The Goodwood Festival Of Speed can justifiably claim to be the world’s biggest and most diverse celebration of the history of motor sport. It is the only occasion where you will see in action the greatest competition cars and star drivers from all eras: everything from 19th century steam carriages to current Formula One; fabulous racing motorcycles; classic rally cars to 3000bhp dragsters; plus motor sport legends like Moss, Surtees, Brabham and Andretti rubbing shoulders with today's hottest properties such as Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso, Petter Solberg and Colin McRae.

Now confirmed for this year's event, is hot driving sensation, Lewis Hamilton, who will no doubt get a huge reaction from the crowds when he appears on Sunday!

The Festival is held annually, and is held in the grounds of Lord March's estate, near Chichester, Sussex, in the south of England, and has static displays, demonstration runs, and timed runs, up the hill past Goodwood House. For the children, there is the Junior Festival Of Speed which includes, this year, the Wacky Racers and also Roary The Racing Car! As a side note, children under 12 get in free - even more reason to make a family day out of the event.

More information on the event can be found at the Goodwood.co.uk/fos website.

In 2004, a lavish book was written to commemorate the Festival, and included within its pages is an article by Nick Mason, along with pictures of him at the event. Click here to see our review of the book.