Catherine Ruff from Kingsbury Racing Shop has been named the 2024 Young Achiever at the Royal Automobile Club Historic Awards.
The judges praised Catherine for seeking out her own vacancy as a machinist with the Bentley specialist.
‘Almost entirely self-taught,’ they continued, ‘she has independently learnt and developed her milling work to include complex four-axis programming and operating and works almost entirely from 2D drawings and occasional models to recreate high quality parts for vintage Bentleys, the Bentley Motors continuation cars and many racing cars, showcasing her work to her 10,500 followers on Instagram.
‘Catherine symbolises everything that this award is designed for – awarding and promoting achievements in this category is key for keeping yesterday’s cars on tomorrow’s road and Catherine for sure is leading the charge – not only through inspiring other young achievers but also encouraging women to join the world of engineering.’
In the Restoration category, sponsored by Bicester Heritage, it was impossible for the judge to decide between two of the three finalists. The 1927 Bentley 3 Litre Boat Tail Speed Model restored by Julian Parker Ltd and Tip Top Engineering’s 1939 ERA E-Type GP2 both took home the title.
The Club said: ‘Both, in the opinion of the judging panel, have done supremely and brilliantly what - in their different ways - they set out to do. Both are absolutely at the top of their game. So, we decided that the only right and proper thing to do was to acknowledge the superiority of both and have two winners.’
Long-time supporter Angela Hucke, curator of the Bugatti Trust, claimed the Personal Endeavour award and HCVA’s ‘Action on Parts’ was named the Innovation winner. The programme’s aim is to improve the supply of parts across the classic-car industry.