The New England Region Stirling Moss Trophy
In the words of Sir Stirling Moss himself:
“It’s hard to drive at the limit, but it’s harder to know where the limits are.”
Who is Stirling Moss?
Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of competition and has been described as “the greatest driver never to win the World Championship”.
Acknowledged as one of the finest drivers in Formula 1 history, Moss claimed 16 wins, 16 poles and 24 podiums in only 66 F1 starts. He is one of only two racing drivers knighted by the Queen of England, and competed and drove multiple times at Lime Rock Park.
Read his Q&A on racing and see his lifetime stats here, courtesy of Lime Rock Park.
A True Sportsman
While never claiming a world championship title, there are tales of opportunities Moss had to take a win, but did not. Rather, stories abound with examples such as Moss allowing other drivers to reclaim positions because of circumstances outside their control. In general, Moss is known for living a life with no regrets, choosing sportsmanship over titles.
Letter from Stirling Moss:
“I leave it to you to decide who should be given the trophy, but it does seem that to award it to the driver showing exceptional driving ability, combined with good sportsmanship, is a good one.”
What exactly is the Stirling Moss award?
The trophy was donated to the New England Region for the 1968 season. It is Moss’ physical trophy from the 1956 German Grand Prix at Nurburgring. This historic trophy has been awarded each year to the New England Region top Solo driver. Through the years the method of determining the winner has changed but the honor of being the recipient has never diminished.
How is the trophy awarded?
In the 1970s NER combined National classes and bumped drivers to achieve minimum participation levels. In 1973 and 1974, two drivers tied in points and both were awarded the trophy. In 1976, two drivers again tied and the first run off was held. It was scored based on three runs at the end of the last event. The trophy was presented to the driver who had the greatest improvement over his fastest time during regular runs. This continued through 1982.
In the early 1980s the NER program had grown to National recognition and it was no longer appropriate to consolidate National classes. All class winners should be eligible to win the Stirling Moss Trophy. A run off was held annually, and the winner was the competitor who had the smallest standard deviation from his fastest regular run during the event.
In 1991, the format was again changed to include rankings of drivers from events during the series.
Several different formulas have been used in the half-century that the trophy has been awarded. Although the method used to determine the Top Solo Driver in NER has evolved, and at times been controversial, there was never a question whether the final recipient deserved the award.
Current 2024 Stirling Moss Champion
Will Koscielny
Stirling Moss Champions Through the Years
2020s
2020 No Season
2021 Todd Kean
2022 Grant Reeve
2023 Evan Leblanc
2024 Will Koscielny
2010s
2010 Nathan Whipple
2011 Grant Reeve
2012 Nicholas Barbato
2013 Nicholas Barbato
2014 David White
2015 Bob Davis
2016 Billy Davis
2017 Jason Fair
2000s
2000 Nick Leverone
2001 Matt Murray
2002 Matt Murray
2003 Matt Murray
2004 Nathan Whipple
2005 Matt Murray
2006 Grant Reeve
2007 Matt Murray/Lynne Rothney-Kozlak
2008 Paul Zahornasky/Brian Levesque
2009 Billy Davis
1990s
1990 Lynne Rothney
1991 Kathleen Barnes
1992 Lynn Rothney-Koziak
1993 Mike Zoner
1994 Wade Scannell
1995 William Goodale
1996 Nick Leverone
1997 Andy Bettencourt
1998 Bill Gendron
1999 Bill Gendron
1980s
1980 Mark Kent
1981 Chip Lewis
1982 Charles Levesque
1983 John Duane
1984 Fran O’Connor
1985 John Duane
1986 Paul Koziak
1987 Michael Piera
1988 Mark Besso
1989 Jinx Jordan
1970s
1970 Mike Folsom
1971 Kenneth H. Payson
1972 Bill Foster
1973 Gordon Santee/Bud Grocki
1974 Bill Goodale/Larry Lard
1975 Stephen Lewis
1976 William Fralick
1977 Ken Payson
1978 Lowell Peabody
1979 Mark Kent
1960s
1968 Ed Pass
1969 Skip Patten
*BOLD Names are multi-time winners
The Eric Carlsson Monte Carlo Challenge Award
New England Region presented this distinguished trophy to the sports car club team within New England that had the highest score in the Sports Car Club Champion Auto-Slalom Series. The trophy was named for Erik H. Carlsson, who was a Swedish rally driver for SAAB and famous for his rally success and Monte Carlo podium finishes in 1962 and 1963. In 1963 he married another worthy driver and respected competitor, Pat Moss (sister of Sir Stirling Moss). Erik passed away in London at the age of 86 in 2015.
This trophy tenure was for 20 years from 1968-1988. Competition was fierce and a hostile rivalry was evident among the clubs to own the honor of receiving this trophy each year. Rules dictated points were awarded to SCCA members only, with the highest place finisher for each team in each class earning points towards the overall score.
