Roads: Ben and Tom Birchall awarded the Royal Automobile Club’s Segrave Trophy

Isle of Man TT sidecar history makers Ben and Tom Birchall have been awarded the iconic Royal Automobile Club’s Segrave Trophy for ‘outstanding skill, courage and initiative’.

The brothers first started racing together 20 years ago, with Ben driving and Tom as the passenger. The Birchalls claimed their first TT victory in 2023 and have gone on to win a further 13, going unbeaten between 2015 and 2023. Away from the Isle of Man, the Birchalls have also claimed four world championships.

At last year’s TT the Birchalls became the first sidecar pairing to lap the course at over 120mph. Following that achievement, Tom decided to call it a day and retired from sidecar racing.

“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,” Tom said. “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.”

Previous winners of the Segrave Trophy include Joey Dunlop, Barry Sheene, Mike Hailwood, John Surtees and Geoff Duke, as well as fellow sidecar racer Steve Webster.

“To be put anywhere near those names – I’m so thrilled we’ve been chosen, it means so much,” Ben said. “It’s absolutely mind-bending,” adds Tom. “Motorsport and the TT are such wonderful environments and to get an accolade like this is just bizarre.”

Alongside the big 120mph breakthrough in 2023, Ben and Tom were also the first to record 117, 118 and 199mph laps around the Mountain Course. The 2023 record came in at 120.645mph.  

The brothers have won every single TT race that they’ve finished since 2013, with only three DNFs to their name. As well as winning the world championship on four occasions, the Birchalls are also one-time British Sidecar champions.

“We are delighted to recognise the remarkable achievements of Ben and Tom,” says Club Chairman Duncan Wiltshire. “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. 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.”

The Segrave Trophy is named after British pilot and pre-war racing driver Sir Henry Segrave – a man who pushed himself and his machines to the limit in the pursuit of ultimate speed. He was the first man to hold both land and water speed records, although the latter cost him his life in 1930.

With such drive and determination in mind, the Trophy is awarded for ‘outstanding skill, courage and initiative on land, water and in the air – the Spirit of Adventure’. In fact, the Trophy is awarded only if the Segrave Nominations Committee feels there is a suitable recipient that meets its criteria each year.