Bicester Sunday Scramble

Thousands flocked to Bicester Heritage and its increasingly popular Sunday Scramble to begin the new year

Born five years ago among the green shoots of what would blossom into Bicester Heritage, the Sunday Scramble at the former RAF airbase in Oxfordshire has quickly become an unmissable date in the classic diary. There are now three per year and the first of 2019, held on 6 January, drew a record attendance of some 7000-plus enthusiasts (nearly double last year’s total) and more than 1500 classics scattered around the evocative venue.

“We were overwhelmed and delighted by the turnout,” said Dan Geoghegan, managing director of Bicester Heritage. “Our first Sunday Scramble was in 2014 and started with a couple of hundred cars; when it doubled in size a few months later, we were slightly taken aback! A number of visitors have said that the Sunday Scramble is now their ‘club’, they attend them all to meet friends and see what drives in. The appeal is sufficiently broad and relaxed that I don’t think you will find such a wide range of ages of people anywhere else in the car event world.”

Both the fascinating restored Technical Site, whose 40 specialists open their doors for enthusiasts to see the various projects under way inside, and the airfield were covered with vehicles from all eras. The historic C-type hangar was given over to veteran and vintage machinery, and there were 22 clubs on show around the demonstration track, including Club Lotus, the Aston Martin Owners’ Club and the MG Car Club – along with more varied sets from the likes of Oxford Motor Club and the G4 Challenge Owners’ Club.

But it’s the lack of overbearing curation that makes these informal events so special. “There is sometimes a perception that the classic car world can be exclusive, and that can lead to a feeling of being left out,” said Geoghegan. “The vision for the Scramble is the opposite: its aim is to lower the drawbridge and be inclusive. We welcome everyone with a pre-1990 car that is a classic to them, so the beauty is that you never know what is going to be parked around the next corner.”

There were gems to be uncovered throughout the Technical Site,

“The beauty of Scrambles is that you never know what’s going to be parked around the next corner”