Official opening of the new Jim Clark Motorsport Museum

Sir Jackie Stewart OBE will be joined by three-time Le Mans winner Allan McNish and a display of Lotus cars for the official opening of the new Jim Clark Motorsport Museum in Duns, Scottish Borders, on Thursday 29 August.

The event will start at 12:00, with Sir Jackie privately touring the museum before unveiling a plaque outside at around 13:45. A publicly broadcast Q&A session with Sir Jackie and Allan McNish will then take place outside the museum.

To allow for the official opening, the museum will not open to the public until 15:00, but will remain open into the early evening.

Newtown Street in Duns will closed between the New Road/Langtongate junction and Duns Library Contact Centre for the official opening. This will accommodate a static display of vehicles owned by Club Lotus members and provide an area for the public to gather to watch and listen to the Q&A session.

Ben Smith, Secretary of The Jim Clark Trust, said: “We are delighted that Allan, a fellow Trust Patron, is joining Sir Jackie this week for the official opening of the museum.

“Jim Clark was an inspiration to a generation of Scottish motorsport stars including Allan McNish, David Coulthard and Dario Franchitti all of whom are Patrons of The Jim Clark Trust and we are extremely grateful for their support. As the current team principal of the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Formula E team and a three time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Allan is an excellent addition to the Q&A session, which will also feature family, friends and sporting contemporaries of Jim.”

Councillor Euan Jardine, Scottish Borders Council’s Executive Member for Culture and Sport, added: “The official opening of the new Jim Clark Motorsport Museum will be a fantastic occasion and the closure of a small section of the street will not only enable a display of Lotus cars but also the public to gather to hear Sir Jackie talk about his friendship with Jim Clark and their time racing together, as well as his thoughts about the new museum.

“I’m sure this will attract a large crowd from far and wide and it is great that charity Live Borders has made arrangements to open the museum to the public from 15:00 to give visitors the chance to see inside once the official opening event concludes.”

The new museum has been developed through a £1.6million partnership project, involving Scottish Borders Council, charity Live Borders and The Jim Clark Trust, with funding also coming from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland, Fallago Environment Fund and individual donations from around the world.

The official opening date of Thursday 29 August has also been announced by The Jim Clark Trust as the closing date for the Jim Clark Lotus Evora charity competition. The 100,000th Lotus ever built, signed by all 20 current Formula One drivers at this year’s Monaco Grand Prix is available to win for £20 helping to raise funds for the Trust and new museum. Click HERE to enter.

Adult admission to the 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 click HERE. 

Follow the Jim Clark Motorsport Museum on social media #JimClarkMotorsportMuseum @liveborders @JimClarkTrust @scotborders

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