Following the lifting of the pandemic restrictions we knew that this year we could get back to holding full events whilst always maintaining a safe environment for all concerned.
We had some windy days and the devastation on the estate was clear to see, a substantial amount of trees had fallen during the storms many unfortunately on the barriers, there was of course nothing we could do but replace them at a great cost to the club, this meant we needed a good season of entries and visitors to fill the coffers back up.
Traditionally the season starts with the opening rounds of the Scottish Hillclimb Championship (SSHCC) and this year we saw a full entry and many competitors keen to get back up to speed following a drought in racing, some were a little too keen and the weekend was delayed by many small incidents, the weekend was however a success and the weather was kind as well, what we didn’t know then was we would have one of the best summers for some time.
May saw us at last hold our inaugural Historic meeting, held a two day event with practice on Saturday and timed runs on Sunday we saw some fantastic examples of early race cars and a large static display in the camping field, the weekend was very relaxed and was another well received addition to the calendar, bookings from car clubs have already been taken for next year which will be a further development of the event with more displays and parade runs to show off the static display cars.
The middle of the year sees the British Hillclimb Championship visit, this weekend tasks us with not only many faster cars but also there are two run offs to be held at the end of each class run, we unfortunately fell foul of more incidents and Saturday ran very late, however we made the decision to change the order for Sunday and it all ran a little smoother, lessons to be learnt for next year, one of which that we will not run two one day events for the June meeting.
Our last event in September saw lovely weather again bringing many spectators and a full entry for those scrambling for the last points in the SSHCC, we managed without too many incidents until late on Sunday where a large stretch of the Armco in the Essex was levelled, we will have to replace it over the winter as it was rather old (probably the oldest on the hill) so sadly more expense.
This all said the club is in good shape, the full entries and great weather helped us immensely and we look forward to next season with some great plans in hand already.
The club is as ever thankful to it’s small gang of volunteers who keep the wheels turning and to our landlords for being so understanding with all the changes we have to make to keep things running, we must also thank SMMC for our marshal cover and rescue vehicles and the local scouts for keeping the public informed and guided to the right spots.
Finally thanks to the support of the committee for all that we do, without them literally nothing gets done as they may sit on a committee but they all have jobs at the weekend without which no one goes racing.
May I take this opportunity to wish you all a great festive season and we look forward to seeing you all at Doune next year.
Tim Thomson
Chairman – Lothian Car Club