Scott Brown Trophy to honour British sportscar ace at 75MM

And, appropriately, the Scott Brown Trophy at what will be the fourth of the revamped Members’ Meetings – conceived in 2014 to continue the tradition of Goodwood’s 71 period British Automobile Racing Club-run events of the late-1940s to mid-1960s – will feature a full grid of the British-built big-banger V8 Lister sportscars in which Scott Brown made a name for himself.

There’s additional significance to next year’s inaugural Scott Brown Trophy, too. It’s the 60^th anniversary year of Brian Lister’s Cambridge-based equipe producing the ‘Knobbly’, so called because of its curvaceous bodywork. Thirty of the front-engined monsters – some with Jaguar motivation, others with Chevrolet propulsion – will battle it out for honours in front of eager spectators and the now-traditional, early-spring daffodils that will once again line the perimeter of the Motor Circuit.

Archie Scott Brown’s story is a fascinating one. Handicapped at birth after his mother contracted German measles during her pregnancy, Scott Brown overcame physical disability and slight stature to wrestle big, powerful sportscars to numerous victories. His disabled legs and withered right arm proved to be no barrier and he more than mixed it with all the top – and able-bodied – stars of the day.

Much of his success came with Lister. He gave the ‘Knobbly’ its competition debut at Snetterton in 1957, with a maiden win coming the very next time out in Oulton Park’s prestigious British Empire Trophy against established names and marques. Scott Brown was also victorious at Goodwood, taking the Sussex Trophy – now the traditional 1950s sportscar curtain-closer at September’s Motor Circuit Revival – at lap-record pace.

Less than a week after his 31^st birthday, Scott Brown was leading in the ‘Knobbly’ at a sodden Spa-Francorchamps in May 1958. Having spent much of the race locked in combat with fellow Lister racer Masten Gregory, he got in front of his American rival only to crash to his death on the super-fast Belgian circuit. 

The Lister marque lasted in competition until the end of the following year having battled on bravely but unsuccessfully without its star man.

Archie Scott Brown’s and Lister’s legacy lives on and their short-but-sweet unison 60 years ago will be remembered in March with much-anticipated brawn and brawl from spiritedly driven British brutes – exactly as one of their finest exponents would have wanted it.