The first weekend of September saw Triumph owners from all over the UK converge on Scotland’s oldest motorsport venue for the Bo’ness Revival Hillclimb and Classic Car Show. Of the 500+ cars in attendance, there were just over 100 Triumphs, representing just about every model and almost every Triumph club.
First used in 1932, the venue on the Kinneil Estate became a prominent feature during the heyday of British motorsport, attracting the likes of Jim Clark and Sir Jackie Stewart to compete. Motorsport ended there in 1966, but 11 years ago a team of volunteers brought motor racing back to Bo’ness and the event has become bigger and better every year since.
The first day of the weekend-long festival saw many Triumphs take part in either a Borders Road Tour or the regularity and autotest stages of the Bo’ness Saltire Trophy. The Borders Road Tour offered a gentle drive through some of Scotland’s finest scenery, whereas the Bo’ness Saltire Trophy is a fully MSA sanctioned competitive Historic Rally event organised by the Saltire Rally Club.
This year the Triumph marque was represented by Stuart Donnachie in his TR7 V8, and Wayne Scott in his well-known Grinnall TR8 navigated by acting TR Register chairman Allan Westbury. The TR Register had kindly sponsored the all-Triumph class on the hillclimb as part of their Scottish Weekend, also held as part of the event. This meant that families and enthusiasts alike were entertained by a day of fun presentations on the history of various car makes in the show field arena from presenters Wayne Scott and Sam Colman. In honour of the inaugural Scottish Standard-Triumph Weekend, the day commenced with a look at the entire history of Standard-Triumph with owners’ display cars as the stars.
Meanwhile, on the hillclimb, over 100 racing cars threaded their way along the straw bale lined track. The course includes the notoriously tricky ‘S’ bend called the Courtyard, where drivers must test their mettle by judging the tight twists between stone houses and the competition can be won or lost by tenths of a second here.
Amongst the competitors were two GT6s, a Vitesse, Swallow Doretti and a Stag. Although the day started dry, by mid-afternoon incessant heavy drizzle put a dampener on proceedings and there were a few ‘offs’. Honours in the Triumph class on Saturday went to the double-entered TR3A of father and son duo Donald and James Coltart, with the Vitesse of John Davies coming third. On Sunday, weather conditions were rather more favourable but it was Markus Bewley in his GT6 that took the win, with Donald and James Colthart coming in second and third.
All in all it was a weekend filled with celebration and whether you were a dyed in the wool petrol head or simply enjoying a great day out with the kids, there was something for everyone at this celebration of a racing venue with national importance. The event will take place again on 31 August and 1 September 2019, and will feature a Jim Clark theme including among a number of his iconic cars the Triumph TR3. Triumph owners and clubs are encouraged to contact Cliff McKinnon to book their attendance early via [email protected]
