'I nearly fell over!' Former F1 star reveals why he prefers taking the bus in Scotland
Sir Jackie Stewart is in the Borders this week to speak about his charity Race Against Dementia
Last updated 16th Jun 2022
Motor racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart will help launch the Borders Book Festival in Melrose later.
The “Flying Scot” will be chatting about his life before and after Formula One in Harmony Garden at 4.30pm on Thursday.
But he admits it's not a cheap sport to get into - especially now, with the cost of fuel increasing.
"I had a terrible occasion the other day," he told us. "In Edinburgh, I stopped at a petrol station to fill the car up, and went in to pay for it.
"I asked: 'How much?' And the cashier said: '£100'... I nearly fell over! A Scotsman paying £100 for some petrol? I'd rather go on the bus!"
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The winner of three Formula One World Championships - who clearly has not lost his sense of humour - will also appear at the classic car show bearing his name at Thirlestane Castle in Lauder this weekend.
It's hoped both events will help raise awareness of his charity, Race Against Dementia.
The 83-year-old set it up after his wife Helen was diagnosed with the condition, and reveals he hopes to find a cure within his life time.
"Dementia's a very cruel illness," Sir Jackie sighed, "and, really, is almost a disaster for families sometimes; because a person with dementia - and it's a slowing process - they come to a point where somebody's got to be with them all the time.
"I'm very lucky; I've been a Grand Prix driver and I can afford to have seven neuro-nurses looking after Helen - two at a time, 24 hours a day. Now, very few people can afford that, so they end up having to go into homes.
"And many of those homes are made up of people with dementia - it's a huge problem - and these are very sad places in most cases, because people don't know how to speak to somebody else, or never do speak to anybody else. So, I want to change that."
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According to the latest figures, for every person born in the world today, one in three will develop dementia.
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Explaining the thinking behind the name of his charity, Race Against Dementia, Sir Jackie added: “In Formula One, problem-solving is done faster than anywhere else. A car can get fixed at lightning speed. In my day, if I had a puncture it could take two minutes to fix. It now happens in 1.7 seconds. That is Formula One. This is the culture I want to bring to the medical world.”
The racing cars that powered two of his three world championships will take centre stage at at the Sir Jackie Stewart Classic in Lauder this weekend. It's the first time the famous Tyrrell 003 and Tyrrell 006 have been on show together in Scotland.
Edward Maitland Carew, who is hosting the event at Thirlestane Castle, said: “It will be a remarkable occasion to have them together on display in Scotland. We intend to raise a very significant sum for Race Against Dementia, and we hope we can encourage all motor racing and car enthusiasts to get behind the event."
Click on the video below to hear from Borders Book Festival director Alistair Moffat earlier this week...