The Steve Hambrook Trophy

 

 

 

Steve Hambrook rolled into our lives on the 5th of October 2005. It was the final round of the KRC endurance championship at Donington Park, and as a friend and guest of our current sponsors, Ultimate Finish Powder coating, Steve met me at the gates on his huge 2005 model Honda Goldwing with a friendly smile on his face and wandered round the paddock in his leather, cowboyesque hat. This bike and, to a marginally lesser degree, the hat were to have enormous personal significance only a few months later.

Steve had always expressed an interest to friends in being involved with a motorcycle race team, and having very recently delivered him a nice, leatherbound sponsorship proposal, I hoped that he would find our team a pleasant enough proposition on raceday to inject some cash into it.

Things didn't go quite to plan in the race, with me crashing out as I pushed hard in damp conditions trying to claw back some time we'd lost in an earlier crash by my team mate Darren. I think Steve was impressed that none of us got down, kept feeding him and the others my Mum's home made cake and just got on with getting back into the fray.

 

I received a phone call from Steve the next day, which was very encouraging. He told me how much he'd enjoyed the day, and that he would like to become involved for the next season. After a chat, I asked him how much he'd like to put into the team, expecting at best that he would suggest a couple of thousand pounds. Steve calmly stated that he would put twelve thousand in now, but wanted to try and raise twenty five grand in order to do things properly, explaining that it might seem like a lot of money, but that you really needed a lot of cash if you were going to make a decent effort of it. I left the conversation slightly shocked, obviously very pleased and thankful that I seemed to have found someone that really knew the costs and commitments required as a racing sponsor.

Sure enough, Steve put his money where his mouth was and opened a race team account, depositing the money he had promised in it. A GSXR 750 K5 was purchased, and we began to build our 2006 endurance bike from scratch. Ultimate Finish and Rossendales kindly provided the rest of the cash and support, and we were set for a decent crack at the class B title.

Steve sorted us a nice hospitality suite at the opening Brands Hatch meeting, and with my Mum and Darren's girlfriend Claire providing the hospitality, we felt like a proper race team at last, it was incredible. We took third place in class, with a hugely entertaining final hour as we closed up on the third place team and passed them. Steve once again showed his attitude to be perfect and that of a racer, by giving Daz Cook the instructions as he was about to take the final hour to "go out there and get third, and if you destroy the bike in the process, sod it, I'll buy another!" Like I said, racer attitude, and it's what you need to win. I truly believe that if it had come down to it, Steve would have leathered up and gone out himself were it required.

 

Having left the meeting on a high, we prepared to take the fight to the next round at Snetterton. I remember having spent some time with Steve, and he had mentioned that he wasn't feeling quite right that week. I thought nothing of it, because he didn't make much of it and was soon joking and laughing as he always did.

A week before the race, Steve went to hospital with severe headaches. A brain scan was done, and a tumour was discovered. Steve was taken to Sheffield's Neurological unit, where they operated to remove the tumour. He was then transferred back to Lincoln to be closer to his family and friends. As per usual, his attitude to the whole thing was cool, laid back and almost inconceivably positive. He was weak, but still had a sparkle in his eye and that look that said he was going to scrap his ass off to beat it. I went to visit him, and he was surrounded, as always, by friends and family. I was sat next to him jabbering away like a gattling gun, as I often do when I'm a little on edge. A hand gently rose from the bed to tap me on my forearm and I bent down to listen to what my friend wanted. A raspy voice spoke…and said …."Shut….up!" Typical Steve, and said with a cheeky look on his face. I laughed all the way home thinking about it, and it will be one of my most treasured memories of the man.

I woke the next day feeling pretty upbeat about the situation and trotted off to see him in the afternoon. When I got to the hospital, the nurses told me that his condition had deteriorated in the night and that we needed to contact his family to get them to the hospital. I left them to do their job and went home to wait for news.

That afternoon, I was contacted by Andy Green from Ultimate Finish, who informed me that Steve had passed away. It was June 2nd 2006, he was 47.

I don't think I've ever felt such a sense of loss or been so heartbroken. It may sound terrible, but I've lost family members and not been hit as hard as I was by the grief. Steve had evolved from welcome and much needed cash injection, to switched on and likeable team manager, to dear friend. This had happened in a very short space of time, but isn't unique to myself. It seems that Steve was so chock full of charisma and genuine, good natured humanity, that he could simply enter a room for a few minutes and leave the occupants with a lasting impression. This is a common theme amongst anyone you talk to that ever met the guy. It's also an increasingly rare quality in today's world.

Steve's funeral was about as pleasant an affair as these things ever are. Unsurprisingly, a large crowd gathered to pay their respects, and the sun shone for him as well.

I was humbled to have been asked by his family to ride his Goldwing in the funeral procession. It's still the proudest day of my life. We did it Steve style, full suit and tie, cool shades and no helmet. I only had to put my foot down once, riding the huge machine at about 5mph. I think he'd have been chuffed with my performance. It was really important.

The service was a dignified and actually very beautiful one, with Steve's trademark hat being placed on the casket. It induced several very large lumps in throats all around the church, but also smiles and knowing nods from the assembled congregation. We continued with the season, although it was never going to be the same. We took third in the championship, which was the absolute minimum we wanted to do for him. We'll be trying hard to grab a win for you as long as we're racing mate.

Some people will live to a ripe old age. Steve, unfortunately didn't, but he lived his life fully enough that most people would be satisfied with what he'd achieved if they were 105 years old. This gives us all some small consolation, but will never fill the emptiness he's left in our lives.

He was a man of many faces, a sociable, charismatic, generous, loving, humerous, intelligent power house of a personality, with a cool, subtle edge that never left you feeling as though you'd been visited by a whirlwind and left speechless. It was more as though he left you with part of his personality for you to keep hold of and you felt happy to be in custody of it. I don't think I'll ever meet anyone quite like him ever again.

Steve was very much a people person, full of life, mischief, and positivity. The Desmodue paddock would have loved him to bits, and vice versa. He was also a very solid Ducati fan, and I only wish that we'd found the DD series sooner so that he could have immersed himself in the wonderful characters that it contains.

The next best thing however, is to introduce a bit of Steve into the series, and with this in mind I'd like to announce the Steve Hambrook Trophy. The Award will be given to the rider, that in the opinion of the team has shown the most "Spirit" in the Desmodue championship, be that stunning rides despite adversity or injury, to going out of their way to help a fellow competitor. Any award of this nature is always going to be somewhat subjective and open to interpretation, but hopefully, with the help of everyone in the paddock, riders, friends and family alike, the winner will be obvious to everyone at the end of the season.

Naturally, due to the nature of the award, finding the right winner is mainly going to be down to the team knowing about a particular persons exploits, and with this in mind, we would encourage riders to either let us know of their own deeds, or if they're too modest, perhaps a friend or team member can nominate them along with a description of events. People should also feel free to chat to us in the paddock about the award, and we will of course be watching keenly ourselves.

Any nominations can be emailed to me at tim.pritchard@ntlworld.com and I shall forward them on to Judith, Michael and Simon for their own consideration.

The most important thing about this award, is that it does not set out to reward how fast you are, or how many points you've amassed, but more the type of person you are. Steve was someone we are all proud to have known, and the winner of this award can be justly proud of themselves, as they will have shown the kind of characteristics that make us miss so very badly, the man it's dedicated to.

The prize will be a beautiful trophy, that will be all the more special as it is based on a motorcycle ornament that was purchased by Steve himself, and is therefore something that he was very fond of. This will be held for one year by the winning rider and handed over to the next recipient the following season. It will be presented by Judith, Michael and Simon at the final Cadwell Park round in October.

 

As well as the trophy, there will also be a very useful prize purse of £350. This will be in the form of a voucher that will entitle the holder to £350 worth of parts or services at Louigimoto, the Ducati specialists in Bristol that I'm sure most of you are aware of.

As a nice final addition, Ultimate Finish will powder coat the frame, wheels and ancillary parts of the winners bike any colour they wish in preparation for the 2008 season. The winner will have to strip and deliver the parts themselves though.

We wish everyone a great season, ride hard, ride safe, have fun, because Steve says so!