Sir Stirling Moss: Classic cars, royalty and celebrities gather in Westminster to celebrate motor racing legend

8 May 2024, 10:55 | Updated: 8 May 2024, 15:35

Classic racing cars and champion drivers, as well as royalty and celebrities have gathered in Westminster to celebrate the life of motor racing legend, Sir Stirling Moss.

Close to 2,000 people - including Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and former Formula One world champions Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill - attended the service in his memory.

Moss died aged 90, in April 2020, following a long illness, but any memorial for him had to be postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Three-time world champion Sir Jackie Stewart, 84, who sat alongside the Duke of Kent, said at the memorial: "There will never be another Stirling Moss.

"He drove well, he presented himself well, he dressed well and he was just an amazing character. I don't think in the history of the sport there has been somebody so well loved and who is continued to be so well loved.

"It is wonderful for Great Britain to have a Briton that was as famous as this. He will never be forgotten."

Among the cars outside Westminster Abbey, where the service of thanksgiving for his life and work was held, were some of the most famous cars Moss drove during his remarkable career.

The display included the iconic Mille Miglia-winning Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR '722', brought over by Mercedes-Benz Heritage, a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupe and a Mercedes-Benz W 196.

Prince Michael of Kent, current Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton's father Anthony, former Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn and actor Rowan Atkinson also attended the service.

Moss never won an F1 world championship, yet his remarkable talent at the wheel set him apart from his peers.

Enzo Ferrari, the founder of the Italian racing giants, described Moss as the greatest driver in the world. Five-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio called Moss the best of his era.

Moss's career ended on Easter Monday 1962 when he was cut out of his car following a terrifying 100mph crash at Goodwood that almost killed him.

He tried to test himself behind the wheel again, but reluctantly called time on front-rank competition at the age of 32.

Despite his official retirement, Moss continued to race until he was 81. But in the post-war years - where he carried British sporting fame across the globe - Moss accumulated a record 212 wins from 529 races across 15 scintillating seasons.

He raced in every sort of car, and perhaps his most famous and greatest win of all was the 1955 Mille Miglia in which he covered 1,000 miles of open Italian roads at an average speed of 97.96mph in 10 hours, seven minutes and 48 seconds.

(c) Sky News 2024: Sir Stirling Moss: Classic cars, royalty and celebrities gather in Westminster to celebrate motor racing legend