Three-time Formula One World Champion Sir Jackie Stewart officially opens museum

Saturday 31 August 2019

Following a tour of the new museum, Sir Jackie unveiled a plaque to mark the occasion and took part in a Q&A session with other invited guests, including fellow patron of The Jim Clark Trust and three time Le Mans winner, Allan McNish.

Speaking about the new Jim Clark Motorsport Museum, Sir Jackie said: “I would like to congratulate everybody who is responsible for being able to bring together enough money to do something as nice as this. Really, you should all be very proud of it and I think a lot more folk are going to come to Duns to see it.

Sir Jackie added: “When Jim Clark was racing, he was my hero and forever will be. He was certainly the best racing driver I ever raced against, we had a great life together and he was an enormous help to me and taught me so much about the business. The manner in which he drove racing cars was just different to everybody else so I had somebody very good to learn from.”

The museum, which opened to the public in mid-July, has already welcomed more than 5,000 visitors in that time. It honours and charts the life and racing career of the Scottish Borders farmer and double Formula One World Champion Jim Clark, a close friend of Sir Jackie.

Funding for the £1.6million partnership project has come from Scottish Borders Council, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland and The Jim Clark Trust, the latter including a grant from the Fallago Environment Fund and individual donations from around the world.

The museum, operated by charity Live Borders, includes two of Jim Clark’s race cars, new image galleries, film footage, interactive displays and a simulator. There is also expanded exhibition space showcasing memorabilia and the trophy collection.

The facility was designed by SBC’s architects and delivered by local company James Swinton and Co, with many local sub-contractors also supported.

Adult admission to the Jim Clark Motorsport Museum costs just £5 with visitors able to return as often as they like for free for the following 12 months. There is a small additional cost for the simulator. For more information, visit www.jcmm.org.uk

Jim Clark won the Formula One championship in 1963, becoming the then youngest ever World Champion. He followed it up with victory again in 1965 and in the same year won the prestigious Indianapolis 500 in America. He remains the only driver to have won both the Formula One and Indy 500 titles in the same year.

Clark tragically died at Hockenheim in Germany at the age of just 32. He was much admired for his modesty and humility alongside his remarkable natural ability in all forms of motor racing. He is still considered one of the greatest ever racing drivers and remains to this day one of Scotland’s most admired sporting heroes.