Bo'ness Hill Climb

Bo'ness Hillclimb
Location Bo'ness, West Lothian, Scotland

Bo'ness Hill Climb is a hillclimbing course near Bo'ness, Scotland, sometimes referred to as Kinneil Hill Climb. Opening in 1934, it was Scotland's first purpose-built motor sport venue.[1] In March 1947 Motor Sport reported: "Kinneil hill at Bo'ness will provide an 880-yard course, having been lengthened by 140 yds." [2] The first round of the inaugural series of the British Hill Climb Championship was staged at Bo'ness on 17 May 1947.[3]

On the evening of 29 June 1953, the BBC organised a special televised event with an 'England versus Scotland' format. Competitors ran in matched pairs with two points for a win and three where the class record was broken. The final score was England 26, Scotland 16. Ken Wharton broke the absolute hill record in 33.61 seconds,[4] "but it was not felt that these could be accepted as 'official' times."[5]

In 2007 a Revival Club was formed with a view of running speed hill climbing again at Bo'ness. In 2008 the first Revival meeting was run and it has been run each year since.[6]

Bo'ness Hill Climb past winners

Year Driver Vehicle Time Notes
1934 A.K.B.Clarkson Ford V8 36.25 sec [7] 23 June.
1935 R. Alexander Ford V8 34.0 sec [8] 6 July.
1936 I.O.K. Stuart Squire 35.5 sec [9]
S. Weston M.G.-PB 45.0 sec [10] Described as a speed trial.
1937 T.W. Meikle Frazer-Nash 38.5 sec [11]
1938 H. Soutar Bugatti 36.8 sec [12] 15 May.
1939 G.J.W. Moncrieff Riley 33.8 sec [13] 13 May.
1946 N.A. Bean Jaguar 40.0 sec [14] 11 May.
Leslie Johnson Darracq 3,996 c.c. 40.5 sec [15] 7 September, wet, course extended 80 yds.
1947 George Abecassis Bugatti 3.3 38.2 sec R [16] 17 May.
M. R. Chassels Frazer-Nash 1,496 c.c. 41.9 sec [17]
Sydney Allard Steyr-Allard 41.70 sec [18] 20 September.
1948 Bob Gerard E.R.A. 36.3 sec R [19] 26 June.
K.N. Hutchison Alfa Romeo 37.4 sec [20] 18 September.
1949 Dennis Poore Alfa Romeo 33.9 sec R [21] 25 June.
Sept 17.
1950 Ken Wharton Cooper 996 c.c. 38.41 sec [22] 24 June.
M. R. Chassels Chassels Special 3,917 c.c. 39.07 sec [23] 30 September.
1951 [24] Ken Wharton Cooper 1,000 c.c. s/c 34.60 sec [25] 30 June.
Jack Walton Frazer-Nash 38.28 sec 29 September.
1952 Ken Wharton Cooper 34.50 sec [26] 28 June.
1953 Ron Flockhart ERA R4D 33.82 sec R [27] 28 June.
Ken Wharton Cooper 33.61 sec [28] 29 June; evening meeting.
1954 Ken Wharton Cooper 996 c.c. s/c 33.76 sec [29] 26 June.
P.S. Hughes Tojeiro 38.51 sec [30] 11 September.
1955-1958 No events.
1959 Jim Clark Lister-Jaguar 34.1 sec [31] 11 July.
1960 David Boshier-Jones Cooper JAP 32.80 sec [32] 25 June.
1961 David Good Cooper JAP Mk8 33.07 sec [33] 24 June.
1962 Iain Simpson Honda Legend 3.5 v6 34.50 sec [34] 23 June.
1963 Tony Marsh B.R.M. 2.5-litre 31.16 sec [35] 22 June.
1964 Barry Simpson Toyota Starlet 1.2-litre 34.16 sec [36] 16 July. 20 June.
1965 Scamp Jaguar S type (diesel) 60.54 sec [37] 23 June. 1966

Key: R = Course Record.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Jaguar Enthusiast, May 2017, Page 23.
  2. ↑ Motor Sport, March 1947, Page 71.
  3. ↑ Motor Sport, February 1947, Page 30.
  4. ↑ Autosport, July 10, 1953, Page 49.
  5. ↑ C. A. N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Page 44.
  6. ↑ http://www.bonesshillclimb.org.uk
  7. ↑ Motor Sport, August 1934, Page 463.
  8. ↑ Motor Sport, August 1935, Page 449.
  9. ↑ Motor Sport, January 1937, Page 70.
  10. ↑ Motor Sport, January 1937, Page 70.
  11. ↑ Motor Sport, June 1937, Page 257.
  12. ↑ Motor Sport, June 1938, Page 229.
  13. ↑ The Scotsman, May 15, 1939, Page 7; The Autocar, May 19, 1939, Page 861.
  14. ↑ Motor Sport, June 1946, Page 118.
  15. ↑ Autocar, September 13, 1946, Page 816; Motor Sport, October 1946, Page 228.
  16. ↑ Motor Sport, June 1947, Page 149.
  17. ↑ Motor Sport, August 1947, Page 229.
  18. ↑ The Scotsman, September 22, 1947, Page 2; Motor Sport, October 1947, Page 297.
  19. ↑ Motor Sport, July 1948, Page 226.
  20. ↑ Motor Sport, October 1948, Page 328.
  21. ↑ The Scotsman, June 27, 1949, Page 7; Motor Sport, September 1949, Page 477.
  22. ↑ The Scotsman, June 26, 1950, Page 9; Motor Sport, August 1950, Page 370.
  23. ↑ The Scotsman, October 2, 1950, Page 6.
  24. ↑ The Motor Year Book 1952, Temple Press, Page 192; Motor Sport, August 1951, Page 377.
  25. ↑ Autosport, July 6, 1951, Page 10.
  26. ↑ Motor Sport, August 1952, Page 361.
  27. ↑ Autosport, July 3, 1953, Pages 10-11; The Autocar, July 3, 1953.
  28. ↑ Autosport, July 10, 1953, Page 49.
  29. ↑ The Autocar, July 2, 1954, Page 29.
  30. ↑ Motor Sport, October 1954, Page 552.
  31. ↑ The Autocar, August 14, 1959, Page 30; The Motor, September 2, 1959, Page 85. Jim Clark also finished second in class (sports cars 1,201 to 1,600 c.c.) driving a Lotus Elite.
  32. ↑ The Autocar, July 8, 1960, Page 72.
  33. ↑ The Autocar, June 30, 1961. Arthur Owen, Cooper, won the R.A.C. Championship class.
  34. ↑ ’’The Autocar’’, June 23,1963 |
  35. ↑ Motor Sport, September 1963, Page 678.
  36. ↑ The Scotsman, June 27, 1964, Page 7; Motor Sport, September 1964, Page 69.
  37. ↑ ’’Playfair (Centre pages)’’,June 23,1965. |-

See also

  • Bo'ness Hill Climb Revival:
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