Bo'ness Hill Climb

History

In 1932 and 1933 events were organised, for motorbikes only, by the West Lothian Motor Cycle Club. The first meeting open to both cars and bikes was organised jointly by WLMCC, Scottish Sporting Car Club and Bo'ness Town Council. There were plans to build a racing circuit on the same land, effectively turning Kinneil into a motorsport complex, but they never came to anything.

In March 1947 Motor Sport reported: "Kinneil hill at Bo'ness will provide an 880-yard course, having been lengthened by 140 yds." However, this was by no means the first alteration to the track. From 1932 to 1935 it consisted simply of a straight road running from the Courtyard section. The start line was moved downhill in 1936, so drivers had to negotiate what is now known as Old Paddock bend and the entrance to the Courtyard. The following year, it was moved further still, bringing Crawyett bend into play. At the same time, a fast right-left called the Snake was introduced to the upper part of the course.

The first round of the inaugural British Hill Climb Championship was staged at Bo'ness on 17 May 1947. It was won by George Abecassis, who went on to finish second in the Championship to Raymond Mays. The other four rounds that year were held at Bouley Bay, Craigantlet, Prescott and Shelsley Walsh. Unlike Bo'ness, all of these are still used as Championship venues.

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, "but it was not felt that these could be accepted as 'official' times."

Scottish Sporting Car Club continued to organise events at Bo'ness until the low driver and spectator numbers persuaded them to stop after the 1954 season. Lothian Car Club brought the venue back to life in 1959 but was forced to abandon it after the June 1966 meeting when Bo'ness Town Council sold the upper section to a developer. A large part of the track, including Snake Bend, is now covered by a housing estate, but a small brick enclosure built to protect the timing gear at the finish line is still visible on the path alongside Provost Road which was formerly the top straight. Lothian CC began running events at Doune in 1968 and has continued to do so for over 50 years.

In 2007 a Revival Club was formed with a view of running speed hill climbing again at Bo'ness. Revival meetings have been held every year since 2008 and are open to classic and historic cars.

Past winners

Key: R = Course Record.

Footnotes

References

1. ''Jaguar Enthusiast'', May 2017, Page 23.
2. "History | Bo'ness Revival".
3. ''Motor Sport'', March 1947, Page 71.
4. "Hill Climbing Trial (1936)".
5. "The Track | Bo'ness Revival".
6. "Hillclimb History At Bo'ness - Roof Side Up".
7. "George Abecassis British HillClimb Statistics".
8. ''Autosport'', July 10, 1953, Page 49.
9. C. A. N. May, ''Speed Hill-Climb'', G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Page 44.
10. "The History of Doune | Doune Hill Climb".
11. "Home".
12. ''Motor Sport'', August 1934, Page 463.
13. ''Motor Sport'', August 1935, Page 449.
14. ''Motor Sport'', January 1937, Page 70.
15. ''Motor Sport'', January 1937, Page 70.
16. "The Track | Bo'ness Revival".
17. ''Motor Sport'', June 1937, Page 257.
18. "The Track | Bo'ness Revival".
19. ''Motor Sport'', June 1938, Page 229.
20. "Hill Climb Winners 1937-1949".
21. "The Scottish Military Research Group - Commemorations Project :: View topic - Captain G J W Moncreiff, RASC "Now Commemorated"".
22. "Gillow Bugatti Riley Special "registered 033"".
23. ''The Scotsman'', May 15, 1939, Page 7; ''The Autocar'', May 19, 1939, Page 861.
24. "The Scottish Military Research Group - Commemorations Project :: View topic - EDINBURGH, New Club, panel (WW1/2)".
25. ''Motor Sport'', June 1946, Page 118.
26. ''Autocar'', September 13, 1946, Page 816; ''Motor Sport'', October 1946, Page 228.
27. ''Motor Sport'', June 1947, Page 149.
28. ''Motor Sport'', August 1947, Page 229.
29. ''The Scotsman'', September 22, 1947, Page 2; ''Motor Sport'', October 1947, Page 297.
30. ''Motor Sport'', July 1948, Page 226.
31. ''Motor Sport'', October 1948, Page 328.
32. ''The Scotsman'', June 27, 1949, Page 7; ''Motor Sport'', September 1949, Page 477.
33. ''The Scotsman'', June 26, 1950, Page 9; ''Motor Sport'', August 1950, Page 370.
34. ''The Scotsman'', October 2, 1950, Page 6.
35. ''The Motor Year Book 1952'', Temple Press, Page 192; ''Motor Sport'', August 1951, Page 377.
36. ''Autosport'', July 6, 1951, Page 10.
37. ''Motor Sport'', August 1952, Page 361.
38. ''Autosport'', July 3, 1953, Pages 10-11; ''The Autocar'', July 3, 1953.
39. ''Autosport'', July 10, 1953, Page 49.
40. ''The Autocar'', July 2, 1954, Page 29.
41. ''Motor Sport'', October 1954, Page 552.
42. ''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.
43. ''The Autocar'', July 8, 1960, Page 72.
44. ''The Autocar'', June 30, 1961. [[Arthur Owen (racing driver). Arthur Owen]], Cooper, won the R.A.C. Championship class.
45. ’’The Autocar’’, June 23, 1963
46. ''Motor Sport'', September 1963, Page 678.
47. ''The Scotsman'', June 27, 1964, Page 7; ''Motor Sport'', September 1964, Page 69.