New motorsport festival launched in Argyll
THE DUKE of Argyll was joined by car clubs and trade guests from across Scotland at his ancestral home of Inveraray Castle last Thursday to launch a new motorsport festival.
Designed to celebrate Scotland’s rich heritage in motorsport, over the next three years the Argyll Festival of Performance will bring together significant cars and drivers from F1, Le Mans, Indy Cars, Touring Cars and International Stage Rallying, plus a whole host of unique vehicles never before seen in Scotland.
The event will take place in the stunning grounds of Inveraray Castle on Argyll’s world-famous West Coast from June 2-3 2018.
The theme for the inaugural festival is Formula 1, and there will be no shortage of drivers and cars to celebrate as Scotland is the fifth most successful nation in the world for producing Formula One World Champions.
Event director Bill Telford, the driving force behind the project, said: ‘Scotland has an enviable reputation in motorsport but, as yet, there has never been an event that celebrates this success.
‘The Argyll Festival of Performance has been created to do just that with a theme each year to really allow the stories to be told. In year one, it will be Formula 1, and Scotland boasts some of the biggest names in the sport from the legendary Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart, to multiple race winners like David Coulthard, and of course, local star, Susie Wolff, who was the first female to be involved in a F1 weekend in 22 years at the British Grand Prix in 2014.
‘It’s not just drivers who have played their part, Scottish engineers, designers and manufacturers have also made a huge impact on the world of motorsport and we believe the time is right to celebrate all of those achievements.
‘We are delighted to have The Duke of Argyll as patron of the festival and can think of no better location to showcase Scottish motorsport and the beauty of Scotland than Inveraray Castle. We are also immensely proud and believe it is very fitting given the Formula 1 theme of our inaugural year, that the Jim Clark Trust will be our chosen charity for the festival in 2018.’
In the first of a series of exciting announcements about what visitors to the festival can expect, it has been confirmed that a series of iconic cars never before seen in Scotland will be at the event.
These include; A Lotus 18 raced by Innes Ireland, Scotland’s first GP winner, and later raced by Jim Clark. A one-off Lotus 32B constructed for Jim Clark to race in the 65 Tasman Series. The Tyrrell 001, Ken Tyrell’s first racecar as campaigned by Jackie Stewart. A Porsche 917K, Cooper-Bristol and Tec Mec Maserati were also confirmed to be at the event and seen in Scotland for the first time.
To add to the spectacle, a World War II Supermarine Spitfire will perform an aerial display over the castle on both days of the event. This much-loved British design classic reflects the vintage feel of the festival and will provide a fantastic addition to the exhibits on show.
Further announcements will be made in coming months on exceptional cars and drivers attending.
Only 55 miles from Glasgow International Airport, the route to the festival takes in Loch Lomond, Loch Long and the iconic Rest and Be Thankful, site of the legendary hill climb. The route also passes the former family home of ‘The Flying Scotsman’, Sir Jackie Stewart.
Among the attractions over the two days of the event will be demonstration runs of historic and significant cars, display paddocks featuring cars from all eras, a prestige car and memorabilia auction, Concours d’Elegance, vintage bus rally and 4x4 displays.
Chris Drewett, known to many for his commentary at Goodwood, will be the lead commentator for the event bringing a wealth of experience and a familiar voice to the proceedings. He will be joined in the commentary booth by Amanda Stretton, while car clubs from across Scotland have been invited to showcase their very best vehicles.
The Argyll Festival of Performance will be the only prestige motorsport festival of its kind in Scotland, celebrating both motorsport history and the exciting talents set to make their mark on the sport in the future.