By Stephen Mosley
A weekend of events celebrating the centenary of Sir Henry Segrave’s record breaking run at Southport closed with a re-enactment over the original beach course on Monday (16th March 2026).
This time it was current land speed record holder and Segrave Trophy recipient Wing Commander Andy Green at the wheel of the bright red Sunbeam Tiger.
The event, organised by Aintree Circuit Club and presented by Cataclean, kicked off with the Segrave 100 Centenary Dinner held at the Waterfront Hotel in Southport on the evening of Saturday 14th March 2026.
This was a black tie affair attended by High Sheriff and Deputy Lieutenant of Merseyside, Mr Billy Hui BEM with his consort Kerry Beresford.
TV presenter and journalist Steve Berry acted as master of ceremonies to a packed and animated room while Tiger sat outside with Iain Tyrrell’s 4 ½ Blower Bentley.
The evening’s entertainment included an emotive performance bringing a piece of Ukraine to Southport through traditional singing and dancing followed by a fashion show based on the country’s traditional dress.
After dinner the audience enjoyed a talk by Wing Commander Andy Green OBE, a retired British Royal Air Force fighter pilot and world land speed record holder since 1997, the first land speed record to break the sound barrier.
On 15 October 1997, 50 years and 1 day after the sound barrier was broken in aerial flight by Chuck Yeager, Wing Commander Green reached 763.035 miles per hour.
His speech was followed by a question and answer session chaired by Steve Berry.
The planned concours held for classic cars on Sunday morning in Southport’s King’s Garden proved to be more challenging. Unfortunately, the weather was something that could not be organised in advance and squally rain reduced both visibility and numbers in equal measure. The hardy entrants who displayed their cars, from early upright and open sided motorised carriages to a 1960s Rover P6, hung on with typical pluck until the decision was taken to draw proceedings to an early close.
After drying off and warming up back at the event base in the Waterfront Hotel, the concours winners were announced. An early Land Rover and 1926 Lancia Lambda drew praise from the judges but in the end it was agreed that the Sunbeam Tiger was, fittingly, the worthy overall winner. Not only was it beautifully presented by the Blakeney Motorsport team but it also sits as an iconic car of its era.
Monday saw the highlight of the celebrations with Tiger returning to the exact location where, 100 years earlier to the day, Sir Henry Segrave used her to set the land speed record at 152.33 mph.
A cold wind, mirroring the conditions of a century before, did not prevent an estimated 2,000 spectators from turning up to witness this historic occasion.
Despite issues presented by narrow tyres sinking into wet sand, the attending pre-war cars opened the event by parading along a closed-off section of beach.
High Sheriff Billy Hui BEM and Kerry Beresford were joined on flag waving duties by Mayor of Sefton, Cllr June Burns.
Then came the much anticipated finale with Dr Vijay Mallya, sporting flying helmet and goggles, taking Tiger onto the outer strip of beach and into the wheeltracks of Segrave.
The staccato roar from the V12 was a little uneven for the first couple of runs but then Tiger cleared her throat and, although restricted on speed, showed us all a glimpse of her true potential.
Dr Mallya pulled in all too soon but Andy Green in white cotton overalls, blue silk polkadot scarf and period crash helmet took the wheel for his turn.
On his first run the abundance of power was seen as the rear tyres momentarily lost their battle with 4 litre supercharged grunt but things soon settled down.
A number of spine tingling passes gave everyone a chance to appreciate the spectacle before them. An evocation of a golden age of heroes and record breakers, and an act of remembrance for Sir Henry Segrave who repeatedly reached for excellence before paying the ultimate price while setting the water speed record on Lake Windermere.
After shutting the car down Andy was clearly moved by the experience, describing not only what it meant to him to be a part of this event but also how his brief experience with the car revealed the bravery of those who were setting records long before him.
Those attending represented all ages and sections of society, collectively bringing a largely forgotten piece of Southport’s history back into the public consciousness.
A common thread among those who were a part of the event was a concern that Britain’s foundations as a technological world leader are being forgotten.
The Segrave centenary run along Ainsdale Beach in Southport can only have served to help remedy that.
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