BEST OF BRITISH MOTOR SPORT CELEBRATED AT THE 2019 BRDC ANNUAL AWARDS

Around 370 guests assembled in London to celebrate the successes of BRDC Members, SuperStars and Rising Stars on Monday 9 December.

Reflecting on a year in which 34 different championships have been won by Members of the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) and BRDC Young Drivers, there was plenty to celebrate at the BRDC Annual Awards Lunch which was hosted and compered by Jake Humphrey and BRDC Member Archie Hamilton at the London Marriott on Grosvenor Square.  The ceremony was well attended by the great and good of British Motor Racing, including new BRDC President David Coulthard MBE and Vice Presidents Damon Hill OBE, Dario Franchitti MBE, Paddy Hopkirk MBE, Derek Warwick and Howden Ganley.  The prestigious event attracted a wide range of other distinguished guests such as Chief Executive of the Formula One Group Chase Carey, who presented trophies during the ceremony.

As well as celebrating the many on-track success stories throughout the Club, the event also gave its many guests an opportunity to support the BRDC Motor Sport Charity.  Thanks to the generosity of the Members and guests in attendance, £3,500 was raised which will go towards providing assistance to people in the motor sport industry during times of need.

The ceremony began with a short speech from the BRDC’s twelfth ever President before the introduction of the first award of the afternoon; a Special Achievement Award to BRDC Rising Star Jamie Chadwick in recognition of her championship victory in the inaugural W Series and in doing so, has captured the imagination of a new generation of female racing drivers.

Of the many great moments of the afternoon, there were a number of highlights including Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team Principal Toto Wolff being presented with the Colin Chapman Trophy and Honorary Membership of the BRDC.  Fellow ‘Silver Arrows’ teammates were also honoured with BRDC Awards; Andrew Shovlin winning the Sir Jackie Stewart Award, and Lewis Hamilton MBE winning two BRDC Gold Stars as well as the Johnny Wakefield and Graham Hill Trophies.  The six times Formula One Drivers’ World Champion was unable to attend the ceremony but did send a personal video message acknowledging these highly coveted awards.

Another uplifting moment was when Formula Regional European Championship driver Sophia Flörsch went up to the stage to receive the Innes Ireland Trophy, having best displayed the qualities of courage and sportsmanship epitomised by the late former President of the BRDC, Innes Ireland.  Sophia shared reflections on her dramatic accident during the 2018 Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix and return to racing this year following surgery and rehabilitation.

With success stories being told about drivers from the Club’s Young Driver schemes, it was also an opportunity to hear from Alex Albon and Lando Norris, two former BRDC SuperStars who have successfully completed their debut Formula One seasons.  A video message from their fellow Formula One debutant George Russell, also a former BRDC SuperStar, was played on stage during the afternoon.  One BRDC Young Driver hoping to follow in their footsteps, Johnathan Hoggard, was also introduced to the stage as winner of the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award which was announced at the Autosport Awards ceremony the previous evening.  As well as a Formula One test driver with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing and a World Endurance Championship GTE test drive with Aston Martin Racing, the 19 year old from Lincolnshire also received a cheque for £200,000, the Chris Bristow Trophy and Membership of the BRDC.

To conclude the afternoon, David Coulthard returned to the stage to introduce the BRDC President’s Award.  It was with immense pride that the Formula One star announced the Silverstone Executive Team as winners of this year’s President’s Award in recognition of their commitment to secure the British Grand Prix at Silverstone until 2025, a subject of immense pride for the circuit.

The BRDC would like to extend its thanks to the following organisations for their generous support of the event:

Headline Sponsor
BMW

Table Wine Sponsor
AC Entertainment Technologies Ltd

BRDC Young Driver Patrons
AC Entertainment Technologies Ltd, Winged Boots, Magnitude Finance, Immun’Age, Integro, Sloane Helicopters and Zurich Insurance

Table Sponsors
Aston Martin, Motor Passion and Sloane Helicopters

The full list of 2019 BRDC Annual Awards winners is:

The Jim Clark Trophy – Clement Novalak
For the winner of the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship

The Johnny Wakefield Trophy – Lewis Hamilton MBE
For the fastest lap of the season at Silverstone Grand Prix circuit

The John Cooper Trophy – Marcus Armstrong
Awarded to the highest placed British or Commonwealth driver in the FIA Formula 3 Championship

The Sir Jackie Stewart Award – Andrew Shovlin
For a motor sport engineer who has shown brilliance during the course of the season

The Richard Seaman Trophy – Enaam Ahmed
For the highest-placed BRDC Member in the BRDC Gold Star points competition outside of Formula One

The Colin Chapman Trophy – Toto Wolff
A special BRDC award to an individual displaying great team spirit be it a driver, team owner or engineer

The Henry Surtees Award – Daniel Harper
For the most outstanding performance by a BRDC Rising Star

The Innes Ireland Trophy – Sophia Flörsch
For the driver best displaying qualities of courage and sportsmanship epitomised by the late Innes Ireland

The Earl Howe Trophy – Philip Walker and Gordon Shedden
Awarded to a BRDC Member for the most outstanding performance of the year in Historic racing

The John Cobb Memorial Trophy – Jonny Adam
For a success of outstanding character achieved by a British driver, in a British car

The ERA Club Trophy – Steven Kane
For the British drivers, driving a British car, establishing the most meritorious performance in the year outside of the UK

The Nigel Moores Trophy – TF Sport
For the most meritorious performance in international motor racing by a private entrant

The Silverstone–Le Mans Challenge – Mike Conway, Jose Maria Lopez and Kamui Kobayashi
For the driver or team achieving the highest combined finishing record of the Silverstone LMS race and the Le Mans 24 Hour race

The Woolf Barnato Trophy – Charlie Eastwood & Euan Hankey
Awarded to the highest-placed British and/or Commonwealth driver, in a British car, in the Le Mans 24-Hour Race, classified as a finisher

The ACO Plate – Mike Conway
On behalf of the Automobile Club De L’Ouest to the highest placed British driver at the Le Mans 24 Hour race

BRDC Silver Star – Andrew Jordan
For the strongest performance of the year by a Member in domestic championships (Points accumulation)

BRDC Gold Star – Lewis Hamilton MBE
For the strongest performance of the year by a Member in international championships (Points accumulation)

Special BRDC Gold Star – Lewis Hamilton MBE
BRDC Member winning the FIA Formula One Drivers’ World Championship

The Graham Hill Trophy – Lewis Hamilton MBE
For the most meritorious performance by a British driver in single seater racing

The Fairfield Trophy – Colin Turkington
For an outstanding performance by a BRDC Member

The Chris Bristow Trophy – Johnathan Hoggard
For the winner of the Aston Martin AUTOSPORT BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award

BRDC President’s Award – Silverstone Executive Team
In recognition of their commitment to the business in securing the British Grand Prix at Silverstone until 2025

BRDC Special Achievement Award – Jamie Chadwick
In recognition of a special achievement in motor sport in becoming the Champion of the inaugural W Series

The Bruce McLaren Trophy – Nick Cassidy
Awarded to the BRDC Member from the Commonwealth who has established the most meritorious performance in international motor racing

Photography credit: Jakob Ebrey Photograpy

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