Hill Climbing might not be the traditional first discipline of choice for young drivers looking to get into motorsport, but for 14-year-old Euan Bruce, it’s shaped his career trajectory since he was two weeks old.

Euan started by attending events with his father John at Doune Hill Climb, Scotland. John, a keen Hill Climber himself, started racing in 1988 in his Mini, prior to becoming Scottish Road Car Hill Climb champion in 1996. A member of Grampian Automobile Club, Euan was soon bitten by the Hill Climb bug himself.

“It was always my intention to go racing and follow in my Dad’s footsteps when I turned 16, so when the opportunity to join the junior series came about last year I was straight on the case with my Dad looking for a suitable car that I could compete in later that year when I turned 14.”

Two weeks after his birthday and Euan was competing in his first sprint event at Boyndie, prior to competing at all the events in the Guyson Scottish Sprint, Hill Climb and Speed Championships (SSHC) calendar for Hill Climb and Sprints. He also competed at Harewood Hill Climb, a round of the British Hill Climb Championship.

“I think Hill Climbing is the most intense concentrated type of motorsport that you can get involved in for a relatively cheap cost and you can start out from age 14 onwards. You have the thrill of starting at the bottom of a hill and driving up narrow tracks to the top. It’s all about you, your car and the clock. Doesn’t matter that you are in a standard car or a single seater…. it’s the adrenaline of competing.

“I feel like I experience the same joy at competing as fellow Scottish driver Wallace Menzies in the British Hill Climb championships just with a little bit less power!

“The friendship around the paddock between the drivers is brilliant as everyone is always offering advice and helping whenever they can.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my first full years’ experience in motorsport and have gained so much more knowledge and understanding of both the tracks and driving my car and look forward to many more years driving.”

To find out more about Hill Climbing, don’t miss the beginner series on Motorsport UK TV.

(Photo credit: JCB Photography)