On this Day: 22nd September 1896
Sir Henry Seagrave, who was a household name in the 1920s after setting three land speed records and the water speed record, was born in Baltimore on this day.
Raised in Ireland and educated at Eton, after distinguished service for the Royal Flying Corp in World War One, he took up motor racing, becoming the first Briton to win a grand prix in a British car.
He won the 1923 French Grand Prix and the 1924 San Sebastian Grand Prix in a Sunbeam automobile, and after a further win at Miramas, he retired to concentrate on speed records. He was the first man to travel over 200mph in a car and the first to pass 100mph on water.
He was knighted in 1929 and died the following year when his boat crashed while breaking the water-speed record on Lake Windermere.
Credit: ESPN
Hmmm… it strikes me that if Vettel’s troubles in Q1 last week were more serious and he’s withdrawn from the race entirely then Singapore would have been the 2016 Sans Sebastian Grand Prix 😉