Torrens Trophy
Awarded for"Outstanding Contribution to the Cause or Technical Excellence of Safe and Skilful Motorcycling in the UK"[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
Presented byRoyal Automobile Club
First awarded1979
Currently held byTriumph Motorcycles Ltd (2023)[2]

The Torrens Trophy is awarded to an individual or organisation for demonstrating "Outstanding Contribution to the Cause or Technical Excellence of Safe and Skilful Motorcycling in the UK".[1] It is named in honour of The Motor Cycle editor and Royal Automobile Club (RAC) vice-president Arthur Bourne, who wrote a column under the pen name Torrens.[3][4] The RAC established the trophy to recognise "outstanding contributions to motor cycle safety" before extending its purpose to include individuals considered to be "the finest motor cyclists".[4] The trophy, an eight-pint silver tankard,[5] has been awarded infrequently since 1979 by the Torrens Trophy Nominations Committee, which is composed of a panel of experts;[1][6] it is only presented if, in the opinion of the RAC, the achievement can be justified to deserve the award.[3][6] The winner is honoured at a ceremony at the RAC's Pall Mall clubhouse and headquarters in London.[6][7]

The inaugural recipient was Frederick Lovegrove in 1979.[8] It has been awarded to two organisations in its history,[8] the Transport and Road Laboratory in 1980 for promoting safer motorcycle braking systems[9] and the German automotive marque BMW nine years later for the development of its anti-lock braking system for its production motorcycles.[10] Emma Bristow was the first woman motor cyclist to be awarded the accolade when she was named the 2020 recipient.[11] Since its establishment, the award has not been presented during five periods in history: from 1982 to 1988, between 1990 and 1997, from 1999 to 2007, between 2009 and 2012.[8] As of 2022, the accolade has been won seventeen times: Superbike riders have won it four times, with road motorbike racers recognised twice, and Grand Prix motorcycle riders and motorcycle speedway competitors honoured once.[8] The 2023 winner is Moto2 World Championship control three-cylinder engine supplier Triumph Motorcycles Ltd.[2]

Recipients

Winners of the Torrens Trophy[8]
Year Image Recipient Nationality Citation[8] Ref(s)
1979 Frederick Lovegrove  GBR — [8]
1980 Transport and Road Laboratory  GBR "for its work in promoting safer braking systems for motorcycles"[9] [9]
1981 Dave Taylor  GBR "for his vast contribution to motorcycle road safety" [12]
1982–1988
Not awarded
 [8]
1989 BMW  GER "for their contribution to motor cycle safety through their development of their anti-lock braking system" [13]
1990–1997
Not awarded
 [8]
1998 Ian Kerr  GBR "for 20-years of tireless work in promoting safe and responsible motorcycling" [13]
1999–2007
Not awarded
 [8]
2008 A man in his mid-20s wearing a red baseball cap and motorcycle overalls James Toseland  GBR "for his immense contribution to raising the profile of motor cycle racing in this country" [14]
2009–2012
Not awarded
 [8]
2013
A man in his late twenties is smiling and wearing green and black motorcycling overalls
 Tom Sykes  GBR "for being crowned the 15th World Superbike Champion, the fourth from Great Britain and only the second rider to win for Kawasaki in the series for 20 years" [15]
2014
A man in his late 30s is wearing white motorcycling overalls with red stripes looking at his left hand and holding a crash helmet in his right hand
 Shane Byrne[lower-alpha 1]  GBR "for becoming the first man in history to be crowned MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship on four occasions (2003, 2008, 2012 and 2014)" [17]
2015
A man in his mid-30s is wearing a red baseball cap and a multicoloured motorcycling overalls. He is holding a large silver trophy depicting a motorcycle in both his hands on a podium
 Ian Hutchinson[lower-alpha 2]  GBR "for his outstanding determination, courage and overcoming adversity to win multiple TTs" [19]
2016 A man sporting a stubble is wearing a black baseball cap with a sponsors logo and a white T-shirt. He is looking away from the camera and holding a blue marker pen in his left hand Cal Crutchlow[lower-alpha 3]  GBR "for being the first British rider to win a premier class World Championship Motorcycle Grand Prix in 35 years" [7]
2017
A man sporting a stubble is looking to the right of the camera and is wearing black and green motorcycling overall
 Jonathan Rea[lower-alpha 4]  GBR "for being the first rider to win three consecutive World Superbike Championships" [21]
2018
A man in his early twenties wearing a black baseball cap and speedway overalls with sponsors logos. He is sporting tattos on his necks and hands and his holding a miniature Union Jack in his right hand
 Tai Woffinden[lower-alpha 5]  GBR "for being the most successful British speedway rider in history" [3]
2019 A man in his late 20s in the distance who wearing a T-shirt and sporting a dark coloured baseball cap is staring at a BMW racing bike. Peter Hickman[lower-alpha 6]  GBR "for his three Isle of Man TT victories and for setting the world's fastest road race lap record of 136.415 miles per hour (219.539 km/h) at the Ulster GP" [24]
2020 A woman in her mid-20s wearing a blue and yellow open-face crash helmet and motorcross overalls Emma Bristow  GBR "for claiming her 7th consecutive FIM Women's Trial World Championship" [11]
2021 Crescent Yamaha  GBR "for winning the riders, teams & manufacturers titles in the 2021 FIM World Superbike Championship" [25]
2022 Mike Trimby  GBR "for his tireless work to improve circuit safety and represent the riders, teams and commercial side of MotoGP" [26]
2023 Triumph Motorcycles Ltd  GBR "for its sterling work in the Moto2 World Championship" [2]

Notes

  1. ↑ MotoGP rider Scott Redding, 2014 TT season champion Michael Dunlop and multiple TT winner John McGuiness received nominations for the award in 2014.[16]
  2. ↑ 2015 Moto3 champion Danny Kent, World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea and Tai Woffinden, the two-time Speedway World Champion, were nominated for the trophy in 2015.[18]
  3. ↑ Dunlop and Rea earned nominations for the accolade in 2016.[20]
  4. ↑ Dakar Rally motorcycle winner Sam Sunderland and motorcycle rider Leon Haslam received nominations for the trophy in 2017.[6]
  5. ↑ Sidecar world champions Ben and Tom Birchall, Haslam and 2018 Isle of Man TT senior victor Peter Hickman were nominated for the award in 2018.[22]
  6. ↑ Hickman, Redding and Moto2 control engine supplier Triumph Motorcycles Ltd were nominated for the trophy in 2019.[23]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Torrens Trophy". Royal Automobile Club. Archived from the original on 25 August 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Sutherland, Dan (10 January 2024). "Triumph Motorcycles awarded prestigious Torrens Trophy for Moto2 engine partnership". Motor Cycle News. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 O'Grady, Sean (14 March 2019). "Tai Woffinden: 'King of speedway' wins historic Torrens Trophy". The Independent. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  4. 1 2 Bourne, Arthur (2016). Behind the Scenes in the Vintage Years: Memoir of "Torrens", Arthur Bourne. Kibworth, England: Troubador Publishing. pp. ix–xv. ISBN 978-1-78589-852-5. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2019 – via Google Books.
  5. ↑ "Motor Cycling Trophy". RAC World (71): 4. Summer 1978. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Devereux, Nigel (11 November 2017). "2017 Torrens Trophy nominees announced". Old Bike Mart. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  7. 1 2 Hope-Frost, Henry (25 January 2017). "MotoGP ace Cal Crutchlow wins prestigious RAC Torrens Trophy". Goodwood Road & Racing. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "The Torrens Trophy". Royal Automobile Club. Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 "Lab award". Reading Evening Post. 24 September 1980. p. 12.
  10. ↑ "BMW braking system wins top award". Evening Chronicle. 16 February 1990. p. 34. Retrieved 25 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  11. 1 2 Close, Josh (15 March 2022). "Royal Automobile Club's Torrens Trophy awarded Peter Hickman, Emma Bristow and Crescent Yamaha". Motor Cycle News. Archived from the original on 17 April 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  12. ↑ "Motorbikes". Fulham Chronicle. 22 January 1982. p. 28. Retrieved 25 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  13. 1 2 Motor Industry Management: Journal of the Institute of the Motor Industry. Burke House Periodicals. 1998. p. 29. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2019 – via Google Books.
  14. ↑ Birt, Matthew (16 June 2008). "James Toseland collects prestigious award". Motor Cycle News. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  15. ↑ "Sykes awarded Royal Automobile Club Torrens Trophy". Kawasaki. 29 January 2014. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  16. ↑ Oxley, Mat (January 2015). "Frantic antics in the junior ranks". Motor Sport. 91 (1): 59. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  17. ↑ McLaren, Peter (27 January 2015). "BSB champion Byrne wins Torrens Trophy". Crash. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  18. ↑ "Hutchy nominated for Torrens Trophy". Manx Radio. 29 November 2015. Archived from the original on 12 December 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  19. ↑ White, Kyle (12 January 2016). "Ian Hutchinson honoured with coveted Torrens Trophy". The News Letter. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  20. ↑ Watterson, John (26 January 2017). "MotoGP: Cal Crutchlow awarded Torrens Trophy". Isle of Man Newspapers. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  21. ↑ "Jonathan Rea wins Torrens Trophy". Eurosport. 30 March 2018. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  22. ↑ Rushby, Oli (20 November 2018). "2018 Torrens Trophy nominees announced". Motor Cycle News. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  23. ↑ "Hickman nominated for top motorcycling award". Manx Radio. 26 November 2019. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
    Cobb, Haydn (25 November 2019). "Redding, Hickman, Triumph shortlisted for 2019 Torrens Trophy". Crash. Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  24. ↑ White, Kyle (15 March 2022). "Peter Hickman receives prestigious Torrens Trophy after 2019 Isle of Man TT and Ulster Grand Prix feats". The News Letter. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  25. ↑ Gemeinhardt, Andreas (19 March 2022). "Crescent Yamaha wird mit der Torrens Trophy geehrt" [Crescent Yamaha is honored with the Torrens Trophy] (in German). Speedweek. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  26. ↑ "Trimby's Torrens Trophy". Manx Radio. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
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