SAM DID PIONEER SEGRAVE PROUD
Although he is not a household name these days, Sir Henry Segrave epitomised the British racing driver and speed chaser of a bygone era.
He was born in 1896 in Baltimore, Maryland, to an Irish father and an American mother and was raised in Ireland, before attending Eton College.
During the First World War, he served as a fighter pilot in the Royal Fighting Corps and sustained a number of injuries. These led to him leaving the forces in 1919, at which point he became interested in racing cars.
In 1921 Segrave won Britain’s first ever long-distance car race – a 200-mile marathon which took place on the famous Brooklands circuit, in Surrey.
The same year he entered his first French grand prix – and two years later he became the first Briton to win a grand prix in a British car, a Sunbeam.
Segrave won five grand prix in total before deciding to focus purely on speed.
In March, 1926, driving a Sunbeam Tiger on Ainsdale Beach, in Southport, Segrave set a land-speed record of 152.33mph.
A month later, one JG ParrThomas broke that record, so in March, 1927, at the wheel of a 1,000bhp Sunbeam, nicknamed The Slug, a determined Segrave became the first person to travel at more than 200mph, setting a record of 203.79mph at Daytona Beach, Florida.
He then took to the water and in 1930 piloted a boat called Miss England to a record 98.8mph on Lake Windermere.
Unfortunately while attempting a third run, the boat hit an object and capsized and Segrave and his co-pilot were killed. Thus ended a short but action-packed life.
His name does live on, however, in the form of the Segrave Trophy. This annual award, presented by the Royal Automobile Club, is made to those with a “spirit of adventure”, for the “most outstanding transportation by land, air or water”.
Since 1930, the trophy has been awarded to eight motorcycle riders, including Barry Sheene, John McGuinness, Mike Hailwood and John Surtees.
Last week, that number was increased to nine as 29-year-old Sam Sunderland was recognised for becoming the first Brit to win the Dakar Rally last year.
After receiving the trophy, the KTM Red Bull rider told MirrorMotorcycling: “I am so proud to have my name alongside so many of my racing heroes like John Surtees, Barry Sheene and Joey Dunlop. I have huge respect for everyone who has been a part of the trophy’s history.”
Unfortunately, in this year’s rally, Sunderland was forced to retire on stage four while leading after dropping into an unseen sand pocket at high speed.
But the determined racer said he still has “the fire in my belly” to return and win again. Watch this space…