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Ross Finlay (1937-15 December 2004) was an award winning Scottish motoring journalist, travel writer, broadcaster and rally co-driver. He wrote travel

guidebooks including for The AA and Readers Digest as well as writing for newspapers and magazines including The Glasgow Herald and The Scotsman; he also presented Leisure Trail for BBC Scotland.

Rallying

Finlay’s career as a rally navigator and co-driver started in the late 1950s. by the early 1960s he had become a member of the BMC works team where he raced with Logan Morrison in Minis and Austin-Healey 3000s. Other drivers he raced with including David Black, Ian Loudon Cox, Andrew Cowan, and Alistair Robertson. He retired from competition in the mid-1970s but continued to be involved in the sport as co-ordinator of the Scottish Rally Championship until 1980. He continued to organise sprint and hill climb events after this into the 1990s.

Finlay together with former rally driver and later commentator Jimmy McInnes was instrumental in forming what was to become the Veterans of Scottish Motorsport Association. They organised its first meeting at the Royal Scottish Automobile Club in Glasgow in 2001. Sadly Finlay did not live to see the association formally established in 2006 with Sir Jackie Stewart as its Honorary President.

Journalism, writing and broadcasting

Finlay’s writing career began he started writing for the magazine Motor World in the 1960s and later went on to become its editor. He also worked with the Scottish motoring magazine Top Gear. He became a freelance writer in 1970 and first wrote for the Glasgow Herald in1977, and remained a motoring contributor their until his death in 2004. He wrote thee books in the Touring Scotland series as well as Journeys Through Scotland for Hamlin as part of their Touring Britain and Ireland series. He also wrote several guidebooks for the AA and Readers Digest. In 1999 he founded the online motoring magazine CARkeys with his son David. CARkeys went on to became the motoring channel of the ITV.com website.

Death

Finlay suffered a heart attack and crashed whist driving on the M8 near Glasgow on 15 December 2004 aged 67. He was survived by his wife Patricia, son David and daughter Susan.

Jim Clark Memorial Award

In 2005 Finlay became the first person to be given Jim Clark Memorial Award posthumously. The award is presented annually by the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers, the President of the association Ally Ballingall described Finlay as “was a shy, unassuming man who was a giant in his profession” and an “acknowledge his outstanding contribution to motoring journalism and motorsport in Scotland.” The award was presented to his widow Patricia and son David at a dinner in St. Andrews attended by Jim Clark's sister Betty Peddie.

Select bibliography

Armchair Rally Book, 1968, Allander Press Ltd

Touring Scotland: The Lowlands, 1969, G T Foulis & Co Ltd ISBN 0854290893, 9780854290895

Touring Scotland: The Unknown Highlands (Perth to Inverness) 1970 G T Foulis & Co Ltd ISBN 0854291040, 978-0854291045

Touring Scotland: Wester Ross Kintail to Torridon 1971 G T Foulis & Co Ltd ISBN 085429113X, 978-0854291137

Journey Trough Scotland 1986 ISBN 0863075282, 978-0863075285

AA Touring Guides:

France, 1991 ISBN 0749501820, 978-0749501822

Britain 1995 ISBN 0749510390

Discovering Britain: an illustrated guide to more than 500 selected locations in Britain's unspoiled countryside 1982 Readers Digest

Journey Through Britain & Ireland 1992 (with Rob Neillands, Roger Thomas and Terence Sheehy) Fraser Stewart, Essex ISBN 1854355449, 978-1854355447 ISBN-10:‎ 1854355449 ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1854355447

Exernal links

Rally results at eWRC-results.com

1. ^ Racecar. "Posthumous award of Jim Clark Memorial". www.racecar.com. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
2. ^ Finlay, Ross (1986). Journey Trough Scotland. Twickenham: Hamlyn. ISBN 9780863075285.
3. "History of the Association – VSMA". Retrieved 2024-12-18.
4. "Motoring journalist dies at the wheel on M8". The Herald. 2004-12-17. Retrieved 2024-12-18.