Sidecar racing legends Ben and Tom Birchall honoured with coveted Segrave Trophy

Four-time World Sidecar Champions and Isle of Man TT legends, Ben and Tom Birchall are the latest winners of the coveted Royal Automobile Club’s Segrave Trophy, which is awarded for ‘outstanding skill, courage and initiative’.

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Club Chairman, Duncan Wiltshire said: “We are delighted to recognise the remarkable achievements of Ben and Tom. Racing at the Isle of Man TT is always a perilous adventure, the Birchall brothers’ efforts perfectly mirror the adventurous spirit of Sir Henry Segrave, after whom the trophy is named. They pushed both themselves and their machines to the limit in pursuit of speed.

“Sidecar racing, especially around the Isle of Man, is also the epitome of teamwork,” added Wiltshire. “Watching Ben and Tom around the TT course you see how they work together to extract the most out of their machine. It’s a spectacular show and I salute their skill and bravery.”

Previous recipients of the almost century-old award include some of Britain’s greatest motorcycles racers, including fellow sidecar racer Steve Webster. Other winners include the likes of John McGuinness, Joey Dunlop, Barry Sheene, Mike Hailwood, John Surtees and Geoff Duke.

The Nottinghamshire-born brothers began their joint sidecar racing journey 20-years-ago, with Tom following his older brother into the sport as soon as he was old enough to compete.

With Ben manning the handlebars and Tom acting as passenger of their self-built outfit, the pair took their first TT victory in 2014 and have gone on to win a further 13 and remained unbeaten on the Island between 2015 and 2023.

Speaking with MCN, Ben Birchall said: “To be put in the same bracket as the greats who have won it before us is mind blowing. For my brother and I to get to this place and do what we did on a bike we built out of a workshop in Mansfield is just mind blowing.”

Tom Birchall added: “The people who have previously won this award have done exceptional things. To be picked out, or even shortlisted against some of the most courageous people Britain has to offer, well, it’s hard to find the words. It’s just such an honour.

“It’s thanks to people like Paul Phillips and the Isle of Man that we have to thank. It’s their endeavour and that special little Island that exists in a world that’s closing in on being more and more safe that enables us to do this. You can still go there and prove yourself and I just think that’s great.”

Former racer turner TV commentator, Steve Parrish said: “The Segrave Trophy is about spirit, daring and adrenaline – all things that we are seeing a lack of these days. But what they have achieved with a 120mph lap and 14 TT wins is quite fascinating.

“Two brothers working together to achieve what they have is unique. People have won the Segrave for all sorts of different reasons, but what the Birchalls have done is special. Achieving a 120mph lap with just a 600cc engine, when the whole outfit weighs about 350kg with them on it is quite ridiculous and all I can say is that I that I would not want to be on it.

“I have a great admiration for sidecar racers. Not just because what they do riding wise, but because they’re often really good engineers, and the Birchalls in particular are great engineers because they do pretty much all their design and testing themselves.

“A lot of people don’t understand sidecar racing, but I do because I tried it the once. I went as a passenger at the Southern 100 and that was enough for me – the chap spun on the third lap and before he’d got it going again, I was walking away across the field,” said Parrish.

Isle of Man TT solo and sidecar competitor, Maria Costello, described the Birchalls as an “inspiration”.

Fellow Segrave recipient and 23-time TT victor, John McGuinness added: “I remember when they came along with their newcomer bibs on and now, they’ve gone and got 14 wins apiece. There’s not many people build their own bikes either. I just turn up and my bike is ready for me, but these guys are out there on something they’ve made themselves.”

In 2023, during their final TT together, the pairing lapped the 37.73-mile mountain course at an average speed of 120.357mph – representing the first time ever that a three-wheeler had broken the 120mph barrier.

The Mansfield brothers achieved this feat on the second circuit of the three-lap race, going on to smash their previous record by almost 30 seconds with a time of 56 minutes and 53.768 seconds.

Following the race, Tom announced his retirement from sidecar racing, choosing to end his career on a high.

“The final two laps of that race were the most sublime, surreal experience I’ve ever had – doing that speed, getting cheered on in the sunshine,” said Tom.

“We pulled into the winner’s enclosure and I just thought, this is it, this is as good as it’ll ever get and it just felt like the right time. I’ve got good memories and I’m glad it happened, not sad that it’s stopped.”

Like the Birchalls, the Royal Automobile Club has a unique association with the Isle of Man – being the first organisation to host motor racing there under its former guise, the Automobile Club of Great Britain. These events were the 1904 and 1905 Gordon Bennett Eliminating Trials.

Later, in 1905, the Club went on to organise the inaugural Isle of Man Tourist Trophy for racing automobiles, and the first Isle of Man TT for motorcycles in 1907 under its sub-branch, the Auto-Cycle Club (later becoming the ACU).