Segrave Trophy

Segrave Trophy
Awarded for"Outstanding Skill, Courage and Initiative on Land, Water and in the Air: the Spirit of Adventure".[1]
Presented byRoyal Automobile Club
First awarded1930
Currently held byBen and Tom Birchall (Oct 2024)
WebsiteOfficial website
The Segrave Trophy Conditions of Award documentation

The Segrave Trophy is awarded to the British national who demonstrates "Outstanding Skill, Courage and Initiative on Land, Water and in the Air".[1] The trophy is named in honour of Sir Henry Segrave, the first person to hold both the land and water speed records simultaneously.[1] The award was established by Segrave's wife, Lady Doris, who was "determined to carry on his legacy".[2][3] The trophy, designed by sculptor Gilbert Bayes,[4] is awarded by the Royal Automobile Club. It has been awarded in most years since 1930;[5] it is not presented if, in the opinion of the committee, no achievement has been sufficient to deserve the award.[6] Past sponsors of the trophy include Castrol, Ford Motor Company and Aston Martin.[6][7]

The inaugural recipient of the Segrave Trophy was Australian-born Charles Kingsford Smith who flew solo from Ireland to Newfoundland, across the Atlantic, in just over 31 hours.[8] He also won the 1930 England to Australia air race, covering the distance solo in 13 days.[8] British aviator Amy Johnson became the first female recipient of the trophy in 1932 when she was cited for her flight from London to Cape Town in a de Havilland Puss Moth.[5] Since then, just five other women have won the award: Jean Batten (1936) for her solo 11-day flight from England to New Zealand, Fiona Gore (1980) for travelling in excess of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) on water, Eve Jackson (1987) for her solo microlight flight from London to Sydney, Louise Aitken-Walker (1990) for her victory in the short-lived World Rally Championship Ladies Cup and Zara Rutherford (2022) as youngest woman to fly solo around the world.[5] The Segrave Trophy has been presented posthumously on four occasions, to Geoffrey de Havilland Jr. (1946), Donald Campbell (1966), Bruce McLaren (1969) and Joey Dunlop (2000).[5] One of the 2022 winners of the Segrave Trophy was pilot Mack Rutherford, who at the age of 17, is the youngest recipient of the award.

A subsidiary award, the Segrave Medal, may also be given to those individuals who have "played a fundamental role in helping the Segrave Trophy winner to achieve their goal".[9] Peter Du Cane received the medal in 1939 for the design and construction of Blue Bird K4. Bruce McLaren's teammate Denny Hulme and their chief mechanic Cary Taylor won the medal in 1969, their team having won every race of the 1969 Can-Am season.[10] In 1993, the car designer Eric Broadley was presented with the Segrave Medal for his work with Lola Cars. Mark Wilkinson received the medal in 2001 as co-pilot to trophy winner Tim Ellison, and Lady Moss, Stirling Moss's wife, won it in 2005 for her support of her husband.[5] Audi's Wolfgang Ullrich, Tom Kristensen and Loïc Duval received the medal in 2013.[9] Carlin founder Trevor Carlin won the Segrave Medal in 2018 for helping Monger return to motor racing.[11] Additionally, the Segrave Certificate of Achievement may be awarded to a person who is not a British national, but would otherwise qualify for recognition. It has been presented just once, in 2002, to Bjørn Rune Gjelsten who was throttleman for powerboat racer Steve Curtis.[5]

  1. ^ a b c "The Segrave Trophy". Royal Automobile Club. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  2. ^ Carter, Helen (16 March 2016). "Sir Henry Segrave: The legacy of the 200 mph record breaker". BBC News. Archived from the original on 4 January 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  3. ^ "The Segrave Trophy – history". Royal Automobile Club. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Segrave Trophy". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 29, 477. 25 June 1932. p. 9. Archived from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference official was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Desmond, Kevin (1 January 2004). Race Against the Odds: The Tragic Success Story of Miss England II. Sigma Leisure. p. 110. ISBN 1-85058-806-6. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  7. ^ "Britain's four times world champion awarded Segrave Trophy". Aston Martin. 13 November 2003. Archived from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference cks was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ a b "Royal Automobile Club awards Segrave medals to Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, Tom Kristensen and Loïc Duval" (PDF). Royal Automobile Club. 19 April 2014. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference kiwi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference MongerCarlin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).