Friday April 29, 2011 at 6:32am
100 YEARS OF HISTORY - NINE DAYS OF CELEBRATION
With the Scottish Six Day Trial (SSDT) celebrating its centenary the event promises to be an explosion of activity and entertainment for both riders and spectators alike. The famous West End car park will benefit from the introduction of the SSDT marquee situated at the north-eastern end, which will form a focal point for the event during the week.
With visual-audio equipment showing a mixture of old and new footage from the SSDT and refreshments available throughout the day - the marquee will provide a place to sit back and relax, or simply shelter from the notorious Fort William weather. During the evenings the marquee will act as a gathering point for riders, supporters and spectators with the licensed bar catering for everyone’s needs, as they enjoy video footage from the day and live on-screen results.
In addition to the echoing sound of 275 competitors’ machines, Fort William will also play host to a brand new mini music festival. ‘Rock The Fort’ will take place both in the SSDT marquee and around the town throughout the week, featuring some of the best bands that Scotland has to offer and adding a real festival feeling to an already nostalgic event. A full list of bands will be released in due course.
Friday 29th April will mark the start of the famous Pre-65 two day trial, which as always will feature some stunning examples of classic trials machines - a must see for any serious trials fan. The classic event will continue on Saturday, with the main SSDT rolling into Fort William on Saturday evening.
The main attraction on Saturday night will be a welcome party featuring an outstanding live covers band in the SSDT marquee, admission will be free and a fully licensed bar will be available. This is a theme that will continue throughout the week with a variety of entertainment in the SSDT marquee, including the Centenary Quiz sponsored by Monavie on Wednesday night. Further details on all these events will be released over the coming weeks.
Sunday will signal the first day of May and will also give the riders the last chance to ready their machines before they are placed in Parc Ferme for the coming week. Whilst the competitors make their final preparations, three times cyclo trials World champion Ben Savage will once again take centre stage in the town centre – Cameron Square – where he will perform his hugely popular display of pedal power tricks.
Possibly one of the most highly anticipated events of the SSDT festivities, the cavalcade of riders, will once again take place on Sunday afternoon at 3.30pm, however as this year celebrates the event’s centenary things will be a little different. The cavalcade will be lead by the Lochaber Pipe Band closely followed by a series of past winners including Sammy Miller, Steve Saunders, Alexz Wigg, Amos Bilbao and the Lampkin clan to name but a few. The parade will come to a halt in the centre of the High Street where Provost Allan Henderson will give a short address, before continuing through the town centre. The parade will be beautifully finished off with the roar of thirty or so vintage machines that will have just been ridden over the Mamore Road, having been judged by Sammy Miller in the West End car park earlier in the afternoon.
Monday will mark the start of the 100th SSDT proper with riders being flagged away by 1952 and 1957 SSDT winner Johnny Brittain. This year the SSDT will come to a close on Saturday 7th in the West End car park, where there will be ample opportunity to mix and watch the World’s best riders as they perform for the crowd of eager spectators whilst taking advantage of the facilities that the SSDT marquee has to offer. The final part of the SSDT jigsaw will take place at 9.00pm on Saturday evening with the formal, presentation of awards, which will be conducted by none other than SSDT legend Gordon Jackson.
The centenary of the SSDT is going to be something that you simply cannot afford to miss.
Marking its centenary, the 2011 Scottish Six Days Trial will take place in and and around Fort William between Monday 2nd and Saturday 7th May - for more details please visit www.ssdt.org
Organised by the Edinburgh DMC and SACU.