Sir Jackie Stewart officially opens Jim Clark Motorsport Museum

Formula One legend Sir Jackie Stewart OBE officially opened the new Jim Clark Motorsport Museum in Duns on Thursday 29 August.

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 up now to Duns to see it.

“Because this goes round the world: Formula One is a global sport and therefore anybody who knows anything about it knows the name Jim Clark, so I think you are going to attract all those people because it is so well done – it is beautiful. I think you are going to have a great success from it.

“I’m sure everybody in Scotland will be pleased that they have something as important as this in the Scottish Borders.”

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 than 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.

Doug Niven, cousin of Jim Clark and trustee of The Jim Clark Trust, added: “Sir Jackie has given the museum and the redevelopment project a huge amount of support and encouragement over many years and I was delighted to show him round the finished product today and see his reaction.

“The official opening was an opportunity to thank all those people, from across Scotland and the rest of the world who backed this project, financially and with contributions to the new exhibitions, and it was particularly pleasing to see so many people here who had a close connection to Jim, either through racing or his life here in Berwickshire.”

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.

Euan Jardine, Scottish Borders Council’s Executive Member for Culture and Sport, said: “Today’s event marked the culmination of the efforts of so many people from various organisations over a significant period of time.

“Having Sir Jackie here along with other Jim Clark Trust Patrons, Jim’s family, friends and racing compatriots was fitting to not only official unveil this outstanding new museum but also reflect on Jim’s enduring legacy and the inspiration he has provided, and continues to do so, to so many people.”

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.

Ewan Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of charity Live Borders, said: “We are absolutely honoured that Sir Jackie made the special trip to Duns today to see the new museum and carry out the official opening.

“The visitor numbers and the feedback from them has been fantastic and we look forward to welcoming many more visitors, from near and far, to this must-visit attraction.”

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.

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.

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

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