Rest and Be Thankful (hill climb)

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View from the top of the pass into Glen Croe and the route
The hairpin after removal

Rest and Be Thankful refers to a number of motor sport events, in particular hill climbs , on the pass of the same name in the west of Scotland .

A road was first built over the pass in 1748. This was done for military reasons, in order to be able to move troops more quickly after the Jacobite revolts of 1715 and 1745. In the uppermost part of the route leading up through Glen Croe from the east, hill climbs were held at the beginning of the 20th century. The first known competition took place in 1906, the winner was Broome White with a 60 hp Mercedes . A particular difficulty formed the hairpin, immediately below the pass, as devils elbow , as elbows of the devil was designated.

Since the old military road was no longer able to cope with the traffic requirements, it was replaced by a new building with a modified route at the end of the 1930s. The old route was retained and, if necessary, served as a temporary race track for motorsport events, including as part of the Scottish and, from 1949, the British hill climb championship. The length specifications of the route to be traveled differ from one another, but are in the range between 1000 and 1400 meters. The later three-time Formula 1 world champion Jackie Stewart , who drove a Marcos in a race in 1961, was able to watch his older brother Jimmy taking part as a teenager . He was deeply impressed by the environment and the prevailing atmosphere and, in retrospect, referred to the rest of Be Thankful in his autobiography as the “cradle of his motor sport life”. The ascent to the pass over the old route was also part of various car rallies .

As the condition of the road had increasingly deteriorated over the years, regular racing was discontinued in 1969 and the route was removed from the racing calendar. In the following years, a few motorsport events, especially with historic vehicles, took place. In addition, an initiative called Friends of the Rest was founded , whose aim, among other things, was to collect donations to repair the damage to the road, but did not achieve its goal.

After landslides on the regular road increased in the mid-2000s , the old route was repaired so that traffic could be diverted over it in the event of a blockage. The route was reopened in 2013, further improvements are in progress as of mid-2015. As a result of this measure, Friends of the Rest disbanded in 2013.

Since the renovation, an association of Cobra friends has again held an annual hill climb. In addition to certain Cobra designs, a narrowly limited selection of other historic sports car types such as Sunbeam Tiger , Shelby Daytona , Ford Mustang , GT40 and Ford GT are permitted . The construction of a visitor center directly below the former finish area with information on the history of the racetrack is planned as of 2015.

literature

Web links

  • Film recordings on the Scottish National Library website from the 1950 hill climb , the 1956 hill climb and the 1962 RAC rally

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The shrines at Rest and Be Thankful. Report on grave plaques placed below the hairpin on a website with news from Argyll, accessed January 5, 2016
  2. ↑ Jackie Stewart: Winning Is Not Enough . London 2009, ISBN 0755315391 , preview on Google Books, directly to the section (English)
  3. ↑ Comments from the association's chairman on the occasion of the association's dissolution ( memento of the original from January 8, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , April 3, 2013, accessed on January 8, 2016, PDF file, 118kB (English)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.restbethank.freeuk.com
  4. ↑ Maggie Barry: The A83 Rest and Be Thankful military road gets first convoy . Daily Record, March 1, 2013, accessed January 5, 2016
  5. ↑ Landslide mitigation efforts continue on A83. Transport Scotland press release of July 21, 2015, accessed January 5, 2016
  6. ↑ The Friends of the Rest organization wound up . Information on the dissolution of the association on its website from April 15, 2013, accessed on January 8, 2016 (English)
  7. ↑ The Cobra Drivers At The Rest & Be Thankful. Information on the 2016 race on a website with dates for events with historic vehicles, accessed on January 5, 2016 (English)
  8. ↑ Rita Campbell: Sir Jackie Stewart backs plans for Rest and Be Thankful The Press and Journal, August 7, 2015, accessed January 5, 2016.

Coordinates: 56 ° 13 ′ 30 ″  N , 4 ° 51 ′ 21 ″  W.