The 2023 Finalists

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This nomination recognises the enormous amount of true motoring spirit which this event is the acculmination of. It is not just the atmospheric scenery of the unique location, the dedicated  organisers run an event tirelessly against the odds of moving elements such as the wind, tides, sea and sand which could cause it to be cut short. VHRA members the world over spend months, even years, tinkering away in sheds building their Hot Rods with meticulous detail and craftsmanship, all for a few minutes of high speed thrills and a chance to enter the esteemed 100mph club. We recognise the hours and hours of work these speed warriors put in to their  historic custom vehicles all for the joy of speed, community and recreating an important piece of automotive history.   

Introduced in 2012 and a stand-alone event since 2013, the Castle Combe Autumn Classic has always been a favourite with competitors and strongly supported by the classic car club fraternity. Family entertainment, a popular grid walkabout, bigger better race grids and a fine central Lotus 75th birthday feature attracted a record attendance, packing the paddocks and spectator banks. 

This success is already enabling the Castle Combe Racing Club to build the brand towards a two-day Autumn Classic next year and the circuit’s 75th anniversary in 2025.

The Super Touring era attracted a following of tens of thousands of fans, both trackside and on TV, to watch some of the best Touring Car drivers in the world do battle on behalf of up to 10 mainstream motor manufacturers to win on Sunday and sell on Monday. 

The combined enthusiasm and efforts of MSV and the Classic Touring Car Racing Club went a long way to recapturing the essence of the era with many iconic drivers and cars involved. And the event was not just about the headline Super Tourers but also catered for Touring Cars through the previous decades. It is certainly an event which deserves to become an annual fixture. 

Few events have the power to bring a city to a standstill, but the judges felt that Coventry MotoFest was a real show of strength from the classic car movement in the UK’s ‘motor city’. It’s also an event that fulfils the criteria of this category in two very distinct ways: firstly, the takeover of Coventry by classic and historic vehicles makes the event hugely accessible, with old cars everywhere you turn; and secondly, the headline Coventry Concours in the photogenic ruins of the old Cathedral is truly spectacular.

Bringing the glamour of a high-level classic concours to a part of the country that isn’t well served by such events, this superb charity gathering mates an original format – featuring cars displayed on the unusual terraced lawns – with a spectacular location and some fine quality vehicles. Being held alongside a country show makes it accessible for people who might not ordinarily be drawn to a historic vehicle event, and there’s even an action element courtesy of the ‘Horsepower Hill’ demonstrations. 

Collaboration is becoming increasingly important in the historic vehicle world, and this event united two arch rivals, MG and Triumph, as they came together to celebrate their centenary. That in itself is worthy of applause, but the two-day event they put on at the home of British motorsport was also fantastic. Silverstone is a tough place to host an event because it is so huge, but this club-organised party managed to fill it, with races on the circuit, displays that gathered together some true milestone cars and a huge turnout of owners’ cars.

In late October 2022, in a remarkable personal endeavour, 24-year-old Harry Bott completed an 8,000 miles (12,875km) journey which criss-crossed British and Ireland. He did so on a 1926 Sunbeam Model 1 motorcycle belonging to his great grandfather. The bike had been untouched for 67 years and Harry, with help from  his father, restored it for this purpose. On his epic trip, Harry visited every one of the 238 RNLI lifeboat stations - raising more than £10,000 for the charity in the process.

https://rnli.org/magazine/magazine-featured-list/2023/october/200-voices-harry-bott

2023 has been a very special year for the Dunsfold Collection, the largest collection of Land Rovers in the world, with the opening of a permanent museum building in June and the first public open days taking place in September. And all this in what is Land Rover’s 75th anniversary year and the 55th anniversary of the Collection. Philip has been the driving force behind the museum project, overseeing the design and layout of the museum and overcoming many obstacles on the way. He shows no sign of stopping, already planning a new library annexe to the museum and working on the schedule of activity for 2024.  

Tiggy Atkinson is one of those rare people in the historic motoring community whose contribution can appear so often to be one of behind the scenes. However, the work she does and the results of it have very positive long term effects, from her role at Bicester Heritage, where she took on a number of roles, to latterly her role as a Trustee in the REVS community. She has also given her time and considerable planning and organisational talents to being part of representing women within the wider historic vehicle community, both with certain events at Bicester and being a key figure in the Driven Collective.

During the last year Rebecca has worked tirelessly running and organising the Young Members section of the Morris Minor Owners Club, and used the Your Podcasting platform and social media to share her highs and lows of daily life with a classic car and getting to grips with classic car maintenance. It's been the most eventful year mechanically for her,and, with everything that's happened, she's seen it as a way to try to teach others, normalise mistakes, and make others feel less alone. 

 Giles and Charlie have youth on their side but experience beyond their years when it comes to building a business and supporting the classic car community. The Classic Valuer has fast become one of the world’s leading websites for classic car values and what sets this website apart from the competition is not only their data driven analysis and user-friendly website but also their car image valuation initiative and extensive and clever use of social media.  They are a shining example to other young adults who want to commit to a business in the classic car world.

 In January 2022 Tom Parrott decided to change direction with his career, and joined the family firm, N P Veteran Engineering Ltd. In doing so he entered a very specialist field covering the maintenance and conservation of Edwardian and pre-1904 vehicles.  It has been inspiring to witness his passion and skills grow in such a short period of time and he is showing a particular proficiency with hand painting, a precise and very labour intensive job, and takes great pride in his work and results. In 2023 Tom started a new venture alongside his work with N P Veteran Engineering. Tom Parrott for Veteran and Vintage offers a bespoke service catering for veteran and vintage car owners that are looking to sell their vehicle.