Brian Steenson event raising funds for MND

Brian Steenson event raising funds for MND

29 June 2022

THIS year’s annual car and motorcycle cavalcade organised by the Brian Steenson Memorial Group will be raising funds in aid of Motor Neurone Disease.

The event — which starts and finishes in Crossgar — takes place on Sunday, September 4.

Participants will leave Central Garage in Killyleagh Street at 3.30pm and will be assembling ahead of the event from 12.30pm in the yard adjacent to the Corner Inn, while the footpath in front of it will be used to park motorbikes and scooters.

Owners of cars and motorcycles of any age welcome to attend and take part. The £5 entry includes an exhibitor food ticket. Single food tickets can also be bought for £5, with tea and  sandwiches served from 1pm in the Corner Inn lounge.

There will be vehicles on display dating from the Roaring Twenties, Forties, Fifties, Swinging Sixties, Seventies and Eighties, right up to modern day classics.

Graham Ritchie will be displaying photographs and memorabilia of Steenson and Trevor Lindsay will have Steenson’s Aermacchi on display which he rode in the 1968 and 1969 seasons. 

The Ronnie Donnan Memorial Cup will be awarded to the most interesting motorcycle or scooter. Cars will not be included as this is a motorcycle memorial cup. 

The cavalcade will start at 3.30pm with motorcycles and scooters leading with cars following in that order. Everyone is welcome to take part in this event. Cars will be parked at the Central Garage. Motorcycles will be parked in Scott’s hardware yard and Scooters will be parked at the Corner Inn rear and front entrances. 

A documentary in memory of Steenson was released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of his death following a crash while competing at the Isle of Man TT races in 1970.

Steenson had a short but very successful career between 1968 and 1970 with rostrum places at the TT and top podium places in local road races across Ireland. 

Last Sunday, members of the Brian Steenson Memorial Group met at Killyleagh First Presbyterian Church to lay flowers at his grave and were joined by Brian’s friends, Hugo Cowan and Des McCracken, who have attended the grave on the anniversary of the former road racer’s death for the past 51 years.

Anyone who requires further information is asked to contact the memorial group’s secretary, Alan Lyons, on 07999 954947 or email alan-lyons@hotmail.co.uk.