Bo'ness Hill Climb

Bo'ness Hill Climb is a hillclimbing course on the Kinneil Estate (site of the historic Kinneil House near Bo'ness, Scotland. It is sometimes referred to as Kinneil Hill Climb. Opening in 1932, it was Scotland's first purpose-built motorsport venue.[1] 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.[2]

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

In March 1947 Motor Sport reported: "Kinneil hill at Bo'ness will provide an 880-yard course, having been lengthened by 140 yds." [3] 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.[4] 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.[5]

The first round of the inaugural British Hill Climb Championship was staged at Bo'ness on 17 May 1947.[6] It was won by George Abecassis, who went on to finish second in the Championship[7] 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,[8] "but it was not felt that these could be accepted as 'official' times."[9]

Scottish Sporting Car Club continued to organise events at Bo'ness until 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.[10]

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.[11]

Bo'ness Hill Climb past winners
Year Driver Vehicle Winning Time Notes
1934 A.K.B.Clarkson Ford V8 36.25 sec [12] 23 June.
1935 R. Alexander Ford V8 34.0 sec [13] 6 July.
1936 I.O.K. Stuart Squire 35.5 sec [14]
S. Weston M.G.-PB 45.0 sec [15] Described as a speed trial. Start line moved downhill to extend course.[16]
1937 T.W. Meikle Frazer-Nash 38.5 sec [17] Start line moved further downhill, Snake Bend chicane added to final straight.[18]
1938 Harry Souter Bugatti Special 36.8 sec R [19] 15 May.
Harry Souter Bugatti Special 35.3 sec R [20] 20 August.
1939 George Moncreiff [21][22] Riley (known today as the Gillow Special)[23] 33.8 sec R [24] 13 May. Moncreiff was referred to in contemporary reports as G.J.W. Moncrieff, a mis-spelling of his surname which has also occurred in military documents.[25] His winning run at this event was the fastest achieved by any car at Bo'ness before the Second World War.
1946 Noel Bean SS Jaguar 100 40.0 sec [26] 11 May.
Leslie Johnson Darracq 3,996 c.c. 40.5 sec [27] 7 September, wet, course extended 80 yds.
1947 George Abecassis Bugatti 3.3 38.2 sec R [28] 17 May.
M. R. Chassels Frazer-Nash 1,496 c.c. 41.9 sec [29]
Sydney Allard Steyr-Allard 41.70 sec [30] 20 September.
1948 Bob Gerard E.R.A. 36.3 sec R [31] 26 June.
K.N. Hutchison Alfa Romeo 37.4 sec [32] 18 September.
1949 Dennis Poore Alfa Romeo 33.9 sec R [33] 25 June.
1950 Ken Wharton Cooper 996 c.c. 38.41 sec [34] 24 June.
M. R. Chassels Chassels Special 3,917 c.c. 39.07 sec [35] 30 September.
1951 [36] Ken Wharton Cooper 1,000 c.c. s/c 34.60 sec [37] 30 June.
Jack Walton Frazer Nash 38.28 sec 29 September.
1952 Ken Wharton Cooper 34.50 sec [38] 28 June.
1953 Ron Flockhart ERA R4D 33.82 sec R [39] 28 June.
Ken Wharton Cooper 33.61 sec R [40] 29 June; evening meeting.
1954 Ken Wharton Cooper 996 c.c. s/c 33.76 sec [41] 26 June.
P.S. Hughes Tojeiro 38.51 sec [42] 11 September.
1955-1958 No events.
1959 Jim Clark Lister-Jaguar 34.1 sec [43] 11 July.
1960 David Boshier-Jones Cooper JAP 32.80 sec R [44] 25 June.
1961 David Good Cooper JAP Mk8 33.07 sec [45] 24 June.
1962 Tony Marsh Marsh Special 30.99 sec R [46]
1963 Tony Marsh B.R.M. 2.5-litre 31.16 sec [47] 22 June.
1964 Peter Westbury Ferguson-BRM 29.87 sec R [48] 16 July. This was the only time of under 30 seconds set by a car at Bo'ness. Another was set by a motorcycle on the shorter course in the 1930s.
1965 Tony Marsh Marsh Special 30.07 sec 23 June.
1966 Brian Eccles Brabham BT14-Oldsmobile 31.13 sec

Key: R = Course Record.

Footnotes
  1. Jaguar Enthusiast, May 2017, Page 23.
  2. http://www.bonessrevival.co.uk/spectator-information/history/
  3. Motor Sport, March 1947, Page 71.
  4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCYChYljApc
  5. http://www.bonessrevival.co.uk/spectator-information/the-track/
  6. http://www.roofsideup.com/hillclimb-history-boness/
  7. https://hillclimb.uk/driver/george-abecassis/
  8. Autosport, July 10, 1953, Page 49.
  9. C. A. N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Page 44.
  10. http://www.dounehillclimb.co.uk/spectator-info/the-history-of-doune/
  11. http://www.bonessrevival.co.uk
  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. http://www.bonessrevival.co.uk/spectator-information/the-track/
  17. Motor Sport, June 1937, Page 257.
  18. http://www.bonessrevival.co.uk/spectator-information/the-track/
  19. Motor Sport, June 1938, Page 229.
  20. http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/hcw6.htm
  21. http://www.thepeerage.com/p5203.htm#i52030
  22. http://warmemscot.s4.bizhat.com/warmemscot-ftopic9612.html
  23. http://www.riley-prewar-special.com/403/historische_historic_specials/424/index.html
  24. The Scotsman, May 15, 1939, Page 7; The Autocar, May 19, 1939, Page 861.
  25. http://warmemscot.s4.bizhat.com/viewtopic.php?t=8778
  26. Motor Sport, June 1946, Page 118.
  27. Autocar, September 13, 1946, Page 816; Motor Sport, October 1946, Page 228.
  28. Motor Sport, June 1947, Page 149.
  29. Motor Sport, August 1947, Page 229.
  30. The Scotsman, September 22, 1947, Page 2; Motor Sport, October 1947, Page 297.
  31. Motor Sport, July 1948, Page 226.
  32. Motor Sport, October 1948, Page 328.
  33. The Scotsman, June 27, 1949, Page 7; Motor Sport, September 1949, Page 477.
  34. The Scotsman, June 26, 1950, Page 9; Motor Sport, August 1950, Page 370.
  35. The Scotsman, October 2, 1950, Page 6.
  36. The Motor Year Book 1952, Temple Press, Page 192; Motor Sport, August 1951, Page 377.
  37. Autosport, July 6, 1951, Page 10.
  38. Motor Sport, August 1952, Page 361.
  39. Autosport, July 3, 1953, Pages 10-11; The Autocar, July 3, 1953.
  40. Autosport, July 10, 1953, Page 49.
  41. The Autocar, July 2, 1954, Page 29.
  42. Motor Sport, October 1954, Page 552.
  43. 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.
  44. The Autocar, July 8, 1960, Page 72.
  45. The Autocar, June 30, 1961. Arthur Owen, Cooper, won the R.A.C. Championship class.
  46. ’’The Autocar’’, June 23,1963
  47. Motor Sport, September 1963, Page 678.
  48. The Scotsman, June 27, 1964, Page 7; Motor Sport, September 1964, Page 69.
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See also
  • Bo'ness Hill Climb Revival:
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