The Scottish Six Days Trial (SSDT)

The Scottish six Days Trial (SSDT) is a motorcycle trial with a difference. Having initially started in the early 1900s, Fort William was chosen in 1938 as a new central point for the trial. This didn’t take effect immediately as the trial was halted during the Second World War, but in 1947 the event resumed and grew from strength to strength.

The sport of observed motorcycle trials is best described as a test of riding skill over observed sections. Unlike other motorcycle disciplines, Trials is not about speed. It is about balance and concentration. When competitors ride the observed sections their feet must remain on the footrests of the motorcycle and the must remain between the laid out flags or markers. They must negotiate steep gullies, slippery rock steps, rocky streams or boulder-strewn gorges. Sections vary in length and severity, and riders are penalised if they put their feet down to help them ride the section, and more so if they fail to negotiate the section in its entirety.

By the 1970s the popularity of the SSDT had exceeded all expectations and entries had to be limited by ballot as it became impossible for all entrants to complete the daily route within daylight hours. The next change came in 1977 when the link with Edinburgh was finally broken and the event started and finished in Fort William rather than having the traditional runs from and to Edinburgh at the open and close of the week. In the 1980s the international flavour of the event came to the fore, with the first overseas rider winning the event, a theme that was to continue for nine consecutive years.

The early 1990s tested the SSDT when the focus shifted to world trials - entries diminished and many predicted the demise of the event, but that didn’t last for long and by the time the mid-90s arrived the event was more popular than ever before. The trial has grown steadily in stature and popularity ever since and continues to grow today. Up until the pandemic, the only cancelled event outwith wartime was in 2001 due to the foot and mouth outbreak. The Scottish Six Days Trial itself always runs from Monday to Saturday, starting on the first Monday in May, which is always the May Day Bank Holiday in the UK. The Trial starts and finishes each day on the waterfront in Fort William so that’s where most people base themselves.

More information on visiting the area can be found here.