Tommy Sopwith passed away in Basingstoke Hospital yesterday.

He was born in 1932 and was the son of the British aviation pioneer Sir Thomas Sopwith.

No doubt he will be best remembered for his firsts in motor sport, on and off the water.

In 1958 he won the first round of the British Saloon Car Championship and in 1961 he was victorious in the inaugural Daily Express International Offshore Powerboat Race – The Cowes Torquay.

Sopwith with his co-driver Geoff Fanner won the race with an average speed of 24.50 mph, in 2010, he drove the Red Funnel / Red Jet Start Boat to celebrate the 50th year of Offshore Powerboat Racing from Cowes.