"Your Royal Highness, ladies and gentlemen;

"The men and women whose names are associated with the magnificent trophy that is the subject of today’s gathering are all members of a rare breed.  What they have in common is levels of courage, determination and skill that set than apart from the commonplace.  It was certainly in Lady Segrave' s mind, when she gave and endowed the Trophy in her husband's name, soon after Ms death on Lake Windermere in 1930, that it would become a permanent monument to those whose achievements put them on a par, in one field or another, with Sir Henry himself.

"Lady Segrave appointed the Royal Automobile Club the senior Trustee and the Trophy's official custodian - a responsibility we take very seriously.  The Nominating Committee is chaired by Stephen Hammerton, and I would like to thank him and his colleagues for the serious and conscientious way in which they do their job.  I would also like to thank most warmly Merrick Taylor, who has been kind enough to let us display his very pretty little Kieft in the main hall today - a car which was driven at an early stage in his career by our Guest of Honour.

"We today have with us a fine turn-out of people who are previous winners, or who have been part of a winning team.  They ate, in alphabetical order, Louise Aitken-Walker, Steve Curtis, Tim Ellison, Andy Green, Bob and Joe Ives, Brian Lecomber, Tony Mason, Brian Milton, Ken Wallis and Mark Wilkinson.  I think they should have a welcoming round of applause.  Stuart Turner was here, but has had to shoot off to another engagement, and Richard Noble had every intention of being here, but unfortunately had to cry off at the last moment.

"Our Guest of Honour is, of course, himself a past winner of the Segrave Trophy.  It was awarded to Stirling Moss in 1957, at a time when he was at the height of his dazzling career. He had come second, for the third of what turned out to be 4 years running, in the Formula 1 World Championship, and was unquestionably the leading British driver of his day, seriously rivalled Internationally only by his friend and team-mate, Juan Fangio In a Vanwall which he took over from Tony Brooks half way through the race, he had had a brilliant victory in the British Grand Prix at Aintree, and he was well on the way to winning the RAC Tourist Trophy no less than seven times - a record which will surely never be equaled.  (You will see that we have placed that magnificent Trophy at the centre of Stirling's table today.)   The Nominating Committee in 1957 must also have been influenced by what many historians still regard as the most dramatic single drive in the history of the sport -Stirling's awesome victory, with Denis Jenkinson, in the 1955 Mille Miglia.

"I am only too aware that many of you here have known Stirling much longer than I have.  It would be almost an impertinence, in this distinguished company, to catalogue his most memorable triumphs.  Having the nerve to stand up in the Royal Automobile Club and say anything about Stirling Moss is akin to paying tribute in the Long Room at Lords to Donald Bradman, or at the Football Association to Bobby Charlton, or in the Jockey Club Rooms at Newmarket to Lester Piggott.  (In choosing that third comparison, Stirling, I am not for a moment suggesting that you have been in any scrapes with the Inland Revenue.) Luckily we have with us our good friend Simon Taylor who, after the presentation, will spend a little time sitting up in front of us with Stirling, extracting the odd reminiscence and anecdote of which he famously has many.

"All of us will have our own personal grounds for admiring this exceptionally talented and self-effacing man.  In 1962 I was at Madgwick Corner with my father on the day that Stirling had his terrible accident at Goodwood, and the whole crowd went home stunned, in a mood of collective misery.  Exactly 40 years later, I was at Madgwick Corner with my own son at the Goodwood Revival to watch Stirling drive past leading a cavalcade of cars from his career.  That brought a lump to the throat. And he still hasn't hung up his helmet.  Only last week I had the privilege of presenting the old boy (I use that term advisedly, because it's what he calls everyone else) and his young co-driver Gavin Pickering with an engraved silver hip flask for a class performance driving an Osca in this year's inaugural Woodcote Trophy races.

"It was the unanimous recommendation of the Nominating Committee that Stirling should receive the Segrave Trophy a second time, in recognition not only of his lasting position within

the annals of motor sport, but also of the way in which he has continued to serve the sport after his accident put an end to his front line career as a driver.  Stirling is a tireless ambassador for all that is best in British motor sport, which he represents around the world in a travel schedule that would challenge a man half his age.  He gives his unhesitating support to clubs, to young drivers, and to the motor industry.  He is a modest and most approachable man, perpetually surprised by the attention he attracts and by the fact that his is still a household name.  It is for all these reasons that he has been nominated for this lifetime award.

"Your Royal Highness, it is now my pleasure to invite you to present the Segrave Trophy for 2005 to Sir Stirling Moss.

* * * * * * * * * * *

"Before you sit down, Sir, there is a second award which we would like you to present. Stirling would be the first to acknowledge that for many years he has been part of a double act with his devoted wife Susie.  Behind Stirling there is this wonderful support of a woman who is a brilliant organiser, charming, lovely to look at, good company, and bossy when necessary.  Their's is a team act of the first order, and we all benefit from the warmth which radiates from it.  The Nominating Committee have decided that this should be recognized with the award of a Seagrave Medal to Lady Moss, which I now invite you to present to her."

Tim Keown

Chairman

Royal Automobile Club

Nov 16^th 2006