BDN’s Alan Dowds put on his best bib and tucker last month to attend the Segrave Trophy Award at the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall, London.
The trophy, named after Sir Henry Segrave, is awarded to the bravest and best of British speed record breakers. Segrave himself was a pilot and pre-war racing driver and the first man to hold both land and water speed records, although the latter cost him his life in 1930.
With determination such as his in mind, the trophy is awarded for “outstanding skill, courage and initiative on land, water and in the air – the Spirit of Adventure”.
The 2023 award went to the Birchall brothers, Ben and Tom, for their 120.645mph lap record at the Isle of Man TT last year on a 600cc Honda LCR outfit. The Segrave has previously been won by some of Britain’s greatest bike racers, from fellow sidecar racer Steve Webster and TT legend Joey Dunlop to Barry Sheene, Mike Hailwood, John Surtees and Geoff Duke. Ben Birchall could hardly believe he now ranks alongside those greats. “To be put anywhere near those names – I’m so thrilled we’ve been chosen; it means so much,” he said.
“It’s absolutely mind-bending,” said Tom Birchall. “Motorsport and the TT are such wonderful environments and to get an accolade like this is just bizarre.”