SIR STIRLING MOSS OBE HONOURED AS INTERNATIONAL HISTORIC MOTORING AWARDS WINNERS REVEALED

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The International Historic Motoring AwardsLeading figures in the international historic motoring industry came from around the world to gather in London last week for the announcement of the results of the inaugural International Historic Motoring Awards, in association with EFG International Private Banking and Octane magazine. Former Formula One driver and World Sportscar Champion, the award-winning television commentator Martin Brundle, acted as Master of Ceremonies at the gala celebration at London’s spectacular St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel. Tony Brooks, who competed in 38 Grand Prix races between 1956 and ’61, joined Martin Brundle on stage to welcome the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award, Sir Stirling Moss OBE, who retired from racing this year. ‘I’ve had the most fantastic life,’ Sir Stirling told the audience. ‘It’s been dangerous, exciting and very exhilarating. The danger of motor racing was one of the reasons why you wanted to do it as a kid, and they were great times.’ Martin Brundle asked ‘Are you jealous of the F1 drivers of today?’ to which Sir Stirling replied ‘How could I be? If Lewis wins something he has to go to talk to Vodaphone, while I just went out chasing crumpet!’ The winners are: ■Lifetime Achievement Award: Sir Stirling Moss ■Car of the Year: Porsche Type 64 Rekordwagen, Automuseum Prototyp, Germany ■Motoring Event of the Year, sponsored by Classic Motor Cars: Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, USA ■Motorsport Event of the Year: Goodwood Revival, UK ■Personal Achievement of the Year, sponsored by The Sunday Times InGear: Kevin Wheatcroft of Donington Park Circuit, UK ■Book of the Year: Ultimate E-type - The Competition Cars - by Philip Porter ■Club of the Year, sponsored by Ellis Clowes: Historic Sports Car Club ■Industry Champion of the Year, sponsored by the HSCC: the Revs Program at Stanford University, USA ■Innovation of the Year: 3D Engineers, UK ■Museum or Collection of the Year: Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum, USA ■Historic Race Series of the Year, sponsored by BRM watches: Pre-63 GT ■Restoration of the Year, sponsored by EFG International: Lindner/Nöcker lightweight Jaguar E-type, Classic Motor Cars, UK An international panel of expert judges, which included American TV personality and car collector Jay Leno and five-times Le Mans winner Derek Bell, chose the winners of all but one category. The result of the Car of the Year category was decided by public vote. Chairman of the Judges, Duncan Wiltshire, commented, ‘The depth of our judges’ collective experience, coupled with a terrific commitment to the judging process, has resulted in a range of individuals, clubs, companies and events who should be extremely proud to have come out on top in their respective fields.’ Robert Coucher, International Editor for Octane, said, ‘It was fantastic to see a ‘Who's Who’ of the classic car world celebrate the Best of the Best at the spectacular black tie dinner at the splendid St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London. With such powerful nominations received from all around the world, combined with the sheer quantity, the Awards were a tough call for the judges. So many congratulations to the 12 recipients of the International Historic Motoring Awards on the night.’ WINNERS IN DETAIL Lifetime Achievement Award - Sir Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Moss OBE, 82, is known as Britain’s greatest ever racing driver, with a career that spanned Grand Prix racing, Formula 1, sports cars, Le Mans, land speed record breaking, road racing at legendary events such as the Targa Florio and the Mille Miglia and even rallying. His career was brought to a premature halt at the 1962 Goodwood Easter weekend race meeting with a near-fatal crash that left him in a coma for a month. A brief stint in the British Touring Car Championship followed, but it was historic racing and rallying that helped keep Stirling in the public eye, along with his ambassadorial services to motor racing, for which he received his knighthood. He announced his retirement from racing in June 2011. Car of the Year - Porsche Type 64, Automuseum Prototyp, Germany Just three examples of Porsche’s first-ever car, the Type 64 Rekordwagen, were built. They were intended for the 1939 Berlin-Rome race, but the event was cancelled. Car number one was wrecked by a VW board member, and used to create car number three, which still exists. Car number two was destroyed by American GIs, but many parts, lost for years, were painstakingly tracked down by Hamburg’s Automuseum Prototyp as part of a massive project to recreate the original, finally completed early in 2011. Motoring Event of the Year - Pebble Beach, USA For over 60 years the Pebble Beach Concours has been at the forefront of classic car concours events. It has always had excellent judging standards and is now recognised as the premier concours in the world. It attracts the very best and most original cars from collectors in both Europe and the USA. 2011 was no exception, and over 50 cars were entered from outside of the USA, joining a field of over 200 cars and motorcycles with some of the best restored and preserved vehicles on show. Motorsport Event of the Year - Goodwood Revival, UK The Goodwood Revival is the world's largest and most authentic historic motor race meeting, and the only one staged entirely in the nostalgic period time capsule of the 1940s, 50s and 60s. The Revival offers exceptional wheel-to-wheel racing with the many of the finest cars, motorcycles, drivers and riders in the world, with the unique added appeal of glamour, period fashions and entertainment for all away from the thrilling motor racing. Over 138,000 motor sport enthusiasts and vintage fashion fans flocked to the 2011 Revival to join in the fun and celebrations. The Goodwood Revival is firmly established as a ‘must attend’ event, with visitors travelling from around the world. Personal Achievement of the Year - Kevin Wheatcroft, UK After a heartbreaking chapter in the life of the legendary Leicestershire racing circuit, Donington Park, on 24th December 2009 it was handed back to the Wheatcroft family. For the owner and Chairman, Kevin Wheatcroft, the decision to retain the circuit himself was an easy decision to make – firstly for his late father, Tom Wheatcroft, who famously dedicated his life to motorsport, secondly for the Donington Park name, and finally because of the thousands of letters and emails which flooded in from supporters asking Kevin to retain Donington Park. At the end of 2010, Donington Park was re-awarded the World Superbikes event, which was to take place in March 2011. This faced Kevin and his team with the biggest challenge yet since his ownership, but with several other prestigious events under its belt in 2011 such as the British Touring Car Championship and the Donington Historic Festival, the Park has taken a huge step in the right direction. Book of the Year - Ultimate E-type - The Competition Cars - by Philip Porter The most comprehensive book ever written on the E-type Competition cars - fantastic reading and very poignant for the model’s 50th anniversary. This remarkable book excels on all fronts, providing new in-depth insight into a car that has already been much described, publishing many previously unseen historic photographs, dispelling myths and giving the personal accounts of many of the people directly involved. Its presentation is also outstanding, including reproducing actual documents from the time so the reader can draw their own conclusions from the source material. Club of the Year - Historic Sports Car Club 2011 was an exceptional year for the HSCC. Within its 10 UK championships, the Club grew the Guards Trophy and Historic Touring Cars, established Historic FF2000 as a championship and gave a big boost to the emerging Historic F3 (screamers) contingent. Across Europe it grew its grids for the Historic Formula 2 championship which visited Monza, Hockenheim, Dijon, Brands Hatch and Donington Park. Also in 2011, the club was contracted by Jaguar to organise a series of races to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the E-type and, with the agreement of Bacardi PLC, launched the 'Martini Trophy', for cars of the type that competed in the 1970s European 2 litre sports car championship. And the Club was honoured to be race organiser for the new Donington Historic Festival, Silverstone Classic, Tour Britannia and Walter Hayes Trophy. Industry Champion of the Year – the Revs Program at Stanford University, USA The Revs Program at Stanford University, initiated by a founding gift from Miles Collier, has been created to remedy the omission of the automobile from the university and to bring the automobile to the centre of academic life. Specifically, the Revs Program at Stanford was founded to inspire a new trans-disciplinary field connecting the humanities and fine arts, social sciences, design, science and engineering, and the professions via the automobile. The Revs Program focuses on the human experiences of designing, making, restoring, driving, being driven by, living with, admiring, and dreaming of the automobile, as well as the automobile itself as machine, work of art, and cultural symbol. Innovation of the Year - 3D Engineers, UK Following on from its success in being the first to completely record every part of an out of production car - the Bugatti Type 35 - within the last year 3D Engineers has brought to market a range of services that are unique in the classic car field. The company enables restorers to use traditional skills more effectively by utilising new technology - scanning equipment, research and Computer Aided Design (CAD) skills - to help re-create old vehicles and design new old cars. Their particular skill lies in the creation of bucks and formers to enable car bodies to be made more accurately, at lower cost and to a recordable standard. Museum or Collection of the Year - Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum, USA The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum is the creation of neurosurgeon Dr. Frederick Simeone, who began acquiring the cars in the collection five decades ago. It is not simply a display of racing cars; Dr. Simeone chose each car as an integral element in the story he wanted to tell: how the principles of evolution affect inanimate objects the same way it does living organisms. The Museum has more than 60 cars, displayed in dioramas that represent the famous venues where these cars actually competed. These displays are used to illustrate the development of sports car road racing, both in the US and internationally. Visitors can learn how racing improves the breed. They can see the evolution of the race car as the result of seven decades of the “spirit of competition.” Dr Simeone collected his award in person, and when asked by Martin Brundle if there are plans to expand the collection he replied, ‘I’m kinda tapped out now!’ Race Series of the Year- Pre-63 GT Combining the superlative organisational skills of Carol Spagg and the knowledge of Ben Cussons, Pre 63GT is fast becoming the most talked about grid in historic racing. A firm emphasis on accepting only original cars in original pre 63 specification may have caused some debate in the paddock, but not on the track where racing fans have been able to witness tremendous racing battles between some of the most iconic racing cars ever made; Ferrari GTOs vs. SWB vs. Aston DB4GT and Zagato vs. Jaguar E- type. All the way through the field there have been thrilling battles as the likes of Lotus Elite and Alfa SZ have fought for honours. Restoration of the Year- Lindner/Nocker lightweight Jaguar E-type, Classic Motor Cars, UK In February 2007 the Lindner Nocker Lightweight E-Type that had crashed so disastrously at Montlhery in 1964 and which had been “restored” in the late 70’s arrived at Classic Motor Cars premises in Bridgnorth accompanied by the mangled monocoque that 30 years previously had been considered too difficult to restore. When laboratory tests and trials established that the original aluminium body could be restored, the decision to reunite that body with its original components was taken – a task that took 7,000 hours. Tony O’Keefe, Curator of Vehicles, Jaguar Heritage Trust Coventry, said, ‘The level of research carried out prior to the restoration and at every point during the project has been exceptional. The quality of work from the body-shop in retaining the majority of the original metal to the final finish, has been amazing and one can see why so many hours were needed to complete this restoration/conservation project. This is an extremely important car in the Heritage of Jaguar and the restoration is a very fitting tribute to the memory of Peter Lindner.’ About the awards Created to recognise the ever-growing importance of this industry, the awards are judged by a panel of well-known expertsfrom museums and collections, major events, historic motor racing and the world of modern car design.Tags:,