Motorsport UK’s annual Night of Champions awards evening brought the stars of the sport out on Saturday 27 January 2024 with the sport’s leading drivers, volunteers, personalities and community members widely celebrated.

The Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall, London played host to the evening with the 2023 British champions across circuit racing, rallying, drag racing, autotests, trials, sprint, hillclimb, rallycross and esports all receiving their historic perpetual trophies.

Nigel Mansell CBE was recognised by Motorsport UK with the Lifetime Achievement Award, while Ross Brawn OBE received the Keith Duckworth Award. Stefano Domenicali, Formula 1 CEO, joined guests on the night, paying tribute to Brawn alongside him on the main stage. Malcolm Wilson OBE was the recipient of the Sir Malcolm Campbell Memorial Trophy and host Steve Rider received a welcome surprise at the end of the evening, being recognised with the Murray Walker Award.

The sport’s vibrant community were also celebrated across a plethora of awards inlcuding Young Media, Volunteer, Organising Team and Club of the Year and two Sustainability Awards.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT – Nigel Mansell CBE

Fast, fearless and fiercely competitive, Nigel Mansell is a British motor racing legend and a very worthy winner of an illustrious Lifetime Achievement Award from Motorsport UK.

The Birmingham-born braveheart earned his spurs competing in British Formula Ford and Formula Three Championships catching the eye of Colin Chapman who gave Nigel his hard-earned Formula 1 debut for Lotus in 1980.

Over the next 12 years, he won no fewer than 31 Grands Prix with Williams and Ferrari, finally overcoming the odds to lift the Formula 1 World Championship Drivers’ title in 1992. In terms of race victories, Nigel is the second most successful British F1 driver of all time; his tally only topped by Sir Lewis Hamilton.

THE KEITH DUCKWORTH AWARD – Ross Brawn OBE 

The Keith Duckworth Award is bestowed annually upon an individual or group to recognise technical excellence in motorsport design and engineering. It was introduced last year and is dedicated to the late Keith Duckworth who, together with fellow former Lotus employee Mike Costin, founded legendary Cosworth in the early 1960s.

The inaugural winner was Sir Patrick Head and this year’s recipient, Ross Brawn, has taken an innovative and visionary approach to technology, engineering, and strategy that has had a profound impact on Formula 1 and motorsport as a whole.

As technical director of championship-winning Benetton and Ferrari teams, Ross was the mastermind behind all seven of Michael Schumacher’s world titles and, after a brief sabbatical, returned initially as team principal of Honda. When the Japanese company withdrew, Ross formed his own Brawn GP team which remarkably won both the F1 Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships in its debut season.

More recently Ross’s renowned technical expertise has seen him appointed as Managing Director, Motor Sport for the Formula One Group – a role which resulted in F1 becoming a far-improved sporting spectacle.

SIR MALCOLM CAMPBELL MEMORIAL TROPHY – Malcolm Wilson OBE 

For more than 40 years, Malcolm Wilson has been at the forefront of rally sport. As a driver, he won two British national titles in the late 1970s and then achieved a life-long ambition by winning the British Rally Championship in 1994.

Those titles all came in Ford Escorts and his close relationship with the Blue Oval continues to this day. Having founded Malcolm Wilson Motorsport in 1979, the company was rebranded as M-Sport in 1996 when awarded the Ford contract for rallying.

Under Malcolm’s inspired leadership, the team has enjoyed much success including winning the FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers in 2006 and 2007. A third Manufacturers’ crown followed in 2017 together with back-to-back Drivers’ and Co-drivers’ Championships for Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia in 2017 and 2018.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT – Bob Kettleboro 

Bob Kettleboro has been one of motorsport’s most respected senior officials, performing numerous key roles in a career spanning more than five decades. His in-depth knowledge of the rule book and level-headed application of those regulations have earned him the deep respect of paddocks and pit-lanes both here in the UK and overseas.

Over the years, Bob has maximised his knowledge and expertise to successfully oversee fair play in a wide variety of top positions ranging from the high-pressure spotlight as Clerk of the Course at the British Grand Prix to the distinguished Race Director of the British Touring Car Championship.

Bob’s invaluable career highlights also include seasons as Race Director for both GP2 and GP3 Championships (now FIA F2 and F3) – on the premier league Grand Prix bill – as well as ensuring the smooth and safe running of the annual Macau GP street race in the Far East.

Full list of award winners:

Special Awards

• SIR MALCOLM CAMPBELL MEMORIAL TROPHY – Malcolm Wilson OBE
• THE KEITH DUCKWORTH AWARD – Ross Brawn OBE
• MURRAY WALKER AWARD – Steve Rider
• HRH PRINCE MICHAEL AWARD OF MERIT – Peter Riches
• LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT – Nigel Mansell CBE
• LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT – Bob Kettleboro
• LORD WAKEFIELD AWARD – Margaret Simpson

British Champions 

• BRITISH RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP – Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria
• BRITISH JUNIOR RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP – Kyle White and Sean Topping
• BRITISH HILL CLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP – Wallace Menzies
• BRITISH TRUCK RACING CHAMPIONSHIP – Ryan Smith
• BRITISH ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP – Brad Thurston and Daryl DeLeon
• BRITISH GT CHAMPIONSHIP – Darren Leung and Dan Harper
• BRITISH RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP 5 NATIONS TROPHY – Patrick O’Donovan
• BRITISH DRAG RACING CHAMPIONSHIP – Bobby Wallace
• FUCHS LUBRICANTS BRITISH HISTORIC RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP – Roger Chilman and Patrick Walsh
• BRITISH AUTOTEST CHAMPIONSHIP – Alastair Moffatt
• BRITISH CAR TRIAL CHAMPIONSHIP – Tim Dovey
• BRITISH SPORTING TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP – Thomas Bricknell
• SBD MOTORSPORT BRITISH SPRINT CHAMPIONSHIP – Peter Goulding
• ROKiT FORMULA 4 BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP CERTIFIED BY FIA – Louis Sharp
• KWIK FIT BRITISH TOURING CAR DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP – Ash Sutton
• KWIK FIT BRITISH TOURING CAR MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP – Alliance Racing/Ford
• BRITISH F4 ESPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP – Luke McKeown

Club & Community Awards 

• MOTORSPORT UK YOUNG JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR – Samuel Coop
• MOTORSPORT UK MPB YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR – Dom Vincent
• ORGANISING TEAM OF THE YEAR – Carryduff Forklift Down Rally
• SUSTAINABLE CLUB OF THE YEAR – Bath Car Club
• ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AWARD – JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion
• CLUB OF THE YEAR – Maidstone & Mid Kent Motor Club
• VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR – Grace King