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Formed in the dark winter months of 1990, by a small coterie of dedicated Vintage Bentley drivers, the Club was named after the man who won at LeMans in 1927 and who was an accomplished and successful racing driver of the 1920’s, when not practicing medicine in his Wimpole Street surgery. As a bacteriologist, Dr Benjafield was a close friend and adviser of Sir Henry “Tim” Birkin, who lost his life to injuries sustained in the Grand Prix of Tripoli in 1933. Together with Sammy Davis, Bernard Rubin, Glen Kidston, Frank Clement and Woolf Barnato, among others, he was a leading member of the “Bentley Boys”, whose antics out of their cars became as famous as their achievements in them!
Benjy held informal dinner parties at his home in Wimpole Street for the Bentley Boys, together with other enthusiasts who included the Duke of Kent, when the racing season was over, and it was during these evenings that the idea of the British Racing Drivers Club was formed. Benjafield became the first Treasurer of this Club which now owns Silverstone and runs the British Grand Prix.
His home was close to that of Barnato, who had a separate house on the same row. This became known by the London Taxi drivers as “Bentley Corner”. Until recently, members of Benjafield’s Racing Club continued to meet regularly at his old home, where a stylish dining Club and restaurant reverberated still to the talk of motor sport .
It was Benjafield’s self-effacing, quiet charm, coupled with his skill at the wheel which made him a natural inspiration for the “Modern Bentley Boys”, who find any excuse to celebrate the great work of W O Bentley and his magnificent cars.
Membership of Benjafield’s Racing Club is by invitation only and there is a waiting list. However, it is possible to see the Bentley Boys in action from time to time at the many historic Race meetings which take place throughout the year in the UK and on the Continent. For instance, a team attended the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix, where Benjafield’s will fielded a team of eight Bentleys, no less than three of these being the awesome Blower models of 1930.
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