Sir Stirling Moss awarded 'Spirit of the Woodcote Trophy'

Sir Stirling Moss presented with Fiskens' 'Spirit of the Woodcote Trophy' award

A third season of the Fiskens-supported Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy came to a thrilling finale at the glorious Spa-Francorchamps this weekend where the London-based Historic Automobile dealership presented a true legend with their 'Sprit of the Woodcote Trophy' award.

Sir Stirling Moss, winner of 16 Formula One Grand Prix, raced his stunning OSCA FS 372 in the Motor Racing Legends-organised series for genuine sports-racers of the post war era and was given the award to mark the gargantuan effort made to simply get his car to the grid. Moss bought the Maserati brothers-built car, which boasts a rare desmodronic valve system, two years ago and restoration specialists Hall & Hall have rebuilt it to its former glory. Unfortunately frustrating teething problems throughout the season prevented appearances at both Monza and Silverstone, ensured that the OSCA's participation in the race was under threat giving everyone involved a huge task in making it to Spa.

Fiskens Office Manager James Mitchell explained the reasons behind Sir Stirling's nomination. "An awful lot of emotional energy and hard work got the car to Spa and that typifies the attitude of competitors in the RAC Woodcote Trophy. Sir Stirling is ultimately a fellow enthusiast and had to work very hard to get the car on the grid -- it just shows the passion he has for racing this type of 50s open sports racer.

"In addition to that, Sir Stirling is a genuine superstar of the sport and one of the world's greatest living racing drivers. It's a huge honour that he has chosen to race in the RAC Woodcote Trophy. Afterwards he gave a rousing speech thanking the organisers and competitors for their hard work and sportsmanship and I think everyone involved would say exactly the same to him."

In the race there was a popular home victory for Belgian racer Marc Devis in his Maserati 250SI while an exciting battle for second between two glorious Jaguar D-Types was settled by less than one second, Benjamin Eastick pipping the similar car shared by Lucas Huni and Gary Pearson to the second step of the podium. The efforts of Sir Stirling and his team to make the field were rewarded with victory in the C1 class alongside co-driver Roger Earl.

Fiskens Managing Director Gregor Fisken was due to race in the main 'Spa Six Hours' feature event sharing Wolfgang Friedrich's Project Aston Martin car with Friedrich and David Clark. Unfortunately he didn't get the chance to compete as a mechanical problem ruled the car out of the race after an hour and a half before Fisken's first stint. "The car was superb in practice," explained Gregor. "It has so much power and yet handles perfectly, so it was a shame that I didn't get the chance to race it. Hopefully that is something I can look forward to next year."

While the Spa 6 Hours event traditionally brings down the curtain on the historic racing season, Fisken has another engagement this weekend at the Nurburgring where he will again drive the Ferrari 330 P3 in the Ferrari Historic Challenge. The iconic 4-litre, V12 machine is one of only three P3s ever built and, having already competed the car at Paul Ricard earlier in the year, Fisken is understandably excited: "I realised a life held ambition when I raced the P3 earlier in the season and I am immensely grateful to have the chance to do so again," said Fisken. "The word iconic is used a lot in this business, but there simply is no other way to possibly describe this car. The weekend cannot come soon enough!"

-credit: fiskens.com.