THE owner of the Beaulieu Estate, home of the National Motor Museum, has paid a moving tribute to motor racing legend Sir Stirling Moss.

Sir Stirling OBE passed away last week, aged 90, after a long illness.

Ralph Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 4th Baron Montagu of Beaulieu, said: "Sir Stirling was a friend of Beaulieu since the early days, when he attended the opening of the new Montagu Motor Museum buildings – the forerunner to the National Motor Museum – in 1959.

"In a wonderful demonstration of continuity, we were delighted when he returned in 2015 to open our new motor sport display, A Chequered History. He will be remembered as one of the greats of British motor sport.”

Sir Stirling had a long connection with the National Motor Museum, which is situated in the New Forset.

He came to Beaulieu on April 5 1959 for the opening ceremony of the new Montagu Motor Museum buildings, which were officially opened by Lord Brabazon of Tara. Other motoring personalities there included Raymond Mays, Tony Brooks, the Marquess of Camden and George Eyston.

More recently, on March 5, 2015 Sir Stirling opened the National Motor Museum’s new motorsport display, A Chequered History.

He was joined in a ribbon cutting by veteran F1 commentator Murray Walker and took part in a nostalgic question and answer session in the Lecture Theatre, looking back at Sir Stirling’s glittering racing career in front an audience of around 100 guests.

At the opening, in spite of his age Sir Stirling took the opportunity to sit in two of the sports cars in the National Motor Museum which held special significance for him. The 1949 Cooper 500 and 1950 BRM V16. Sir Stirling started his professional racing career driving a similar Cooper 500, remarking that “the Cooper 500 was the ideal drive” but saying when he sat in it again that now “it didn’t fit me so well.”

The 1950 BRM V16 was “positively the worst car I ever drove,” he recalled. “Lovely gearbox, good brakes, but the thing is you couldn’t stop it because it handled so bad, it wasn’t very nice.”