The youngest of the racing Mcwhirter tribe of Elgin sums up the family’s passion.
Callum, 15, says: “It’s through my blood, cars, I’m just obsessed with them and everything’s evolved around them.”
The evolution of the Mcwhirters’ obsession with classic cars now spans three generations.
From grandad Tom’s very first classic car purchase — to a museum full of classic and vintage vehicles worth seven figures.
And a racing hobby for Tom and son Darren with his sons, Bruce, 22, and Callum following in their footsteps.
Read on to find out what it’s like living in such a high-octane family…
The Mcwhirters of Elgin: Youngest made racing debut at just 9 years old
Callum already has a massive following on social media— he made his racing debut aged 9 on no less a stage than Goodwood.
He raced to victory two years running, under his own steam, in a pedal car.
The Mcwhirters are well-known in their home town of Elgin, through their DIY and homeware business Decora and next door, the Moray Motor Museum.
The success of the business enabled Tom to fulfil an ambition he’d held since very young —motor racing.
It took a while, by which time his son Darren was 18, but the two decided to head for Knockhill and start racing with the Tojeiro Bristol they rebuilt.
There was no stopping them.
Soon the duo were travelling to meets round the country and abroad to race the Tojeiro Bristol, and a Tojeiro Jaguar they’d also acquired.
Tom says: “At one point we had two Aston Martins so we were out on the same grid together.”
He admits this “wasn’t a good plan.”
Competitiveness trumped family bonds. Tom and Darren only raced on the same grid once.
“The red mist came up,” Tom said. “We were both determined to win. We sold one of the cars and that put paid to that, we don’t race on the same grid anymore.
“We’ve been to every big track in the country Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Donington, Oulton Park, everywhere, Castle Combe, everywhere.”
Watch this dashboard view of Darren racing
A dashboard view of Darren’s skilled driving, and the dangerous unpredictability of the race track can be seen here, when in 2016 he drove his Jaguar MkI from 21st position to third at Donington.
Darren, 53, is an exceptionally modest driver.
He started in his 20s on an AC Ace at Knockhill.
‘Back then, you would race in dungarees’
“It had no roll cage, no racing tyres, no racing brakes, it was just a case of go and have a shot and see how you get on.”
Darren got on just fine. “It was the 90s, so you turned up, you could drive it to the track, race and drive home if you wanted to, that’s how laid back it was.
“You would wear trainers and dungarees, it was easy. Now you need this, you need that, all the gear that goes with every sport nowadays.”
He moved on to race a Jaguar XQ120 and only reluctantly fesses up to his impressive winning record.
“We committed to doing the race series down south, so that would have been 1999, after four or five years of Knockhill and Ingliston.
“The first year we did Mallory Park, Donnington, Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Cadwell Park, Castle Combe, possibly others.
“I’d never been there before, I won the whole lot.
“Guys that were local to the track were just a wee bit miffed. I was by far the youngest on the grid, most guys were middle aged, I was in my 20s.
“It went on like that.”
Darren puts his early success down to youth and ambition.
Playing it modest and dour on the racetrack
He adds: “Determination, a little bit of naivety , a certain natural talent there which you’re always playing down and trying to be the modest dour Scotsman.”
The modest, dour Scotsman routine—for dour, read charming—has played well for the Mcwhirter family.
From Darren’s first appearance at Goodwood Revival some 15 years ago in a beautifully restored Lagonda V12, the family have been invited back every year and wined and dined as VIPs.
Darren started 7th on the grid in his first race there, and finished third, but was awarded the Spirit of Goodwood trophy.
On his return to Goodwood the following year, Darren won, then he won again and again, so he’s stepped aside to allow others a chance.
The Lagonda is a big car, and suits Darren’s long frame. It has quite a history, starting at Le Mans in 1954.
It took the Mcwhirters 20 years to rebuild the skeleton they found in a lock-up in Birmingham and the resulting classic is now considered a ‘Goodwood Great’.
Darren’s mechanical sympathy
Darren’s winning attunement with his cars is something he wants to pass down the to his sons.
He said: “The main difference is when it rains guys that are fast and are maybe pushing it to the limits really are on a very ragged edge and they usually end up binning it or going off.
“If it gets wet at all it’s usually when I lap the whole field, just because the smoothness.
“If you look back at Jim Clark, the smoothness of his driving, not upsetting the car so much, his mechanical sympathy and understanding shows up in the wet even more so than the dry.”
He’s certainly got that message through to his elder son, Bruce, 22, who’s been racing for the past three years.
Bruce is a stalwart kitchen and bathroom salesman in the family business, determined to pay his way in the expensive hobby of racing.
He said: “My dad races in quite a different style to a lot of people that are around him.
‘Driving smoothly is the key’
“It’s very smooth, I try to replicate that best I can, driving smoothly as opposed to looking like you’re on the ragged edge.
“I admire him, he’s been very successful in his racing career in all aspects.
“I turn to him a lot I speak to him about lots of things just because he’s got a lot of life experience and I see no reason why I wouldn’t dwell on it and absorb it, it’s there for the taking, so you may as well ask.”
Bruce now races the Jaguar MK2, and loves it.
“It’s a lovely car to drive, quite heavy, no power steering, no transmission control, no antilock brakes.
“You are very much in touch with the car, you need that mechanical sympathy.
“It’s more fun that way, racing the classic cars more fun than modern cars.
“It’s about making sure you do the best you can, but also getting the car to the end.”
Bruce takes Darren’s advice
Darren’s advice is serving Bruce well.
“When I first started racing the MK2 I was at the back of 15 to 20 saloon cars.
“I have won two races due to circumstances falling my way but normally I’m 5th or 6th behind guys who have been racing the Jaguars for 20 years.
“I’m not complaining, I’ll keep chewing at their heels until I get there.”
Because of the discrepancies in their height, subject of many family jokes, Darren and Bruce can never do a two-man race in the same car.
Not so much of a problem at the moment with Bruce’s younger brother Callum, who’s keen to do a two-man race with his older brother.
Callum, 15, is at Elgin Academy, and also a top badminton player, representing Scotland internationally.
He’s too young yet to start racing, but has the big Goodwood achievement to live up to.
“I took part in the pedal car race in Goodwood Revival in 2017 and 2018 in an Austin 740.
“In 2017 I won quite convincingly, and in 2018 I came down from 28th to first. The video is on Facebook and has had over 70m views.”
Hard training at a distillery was behind Callum’s success
Not so much mechanical sympathy but hard training was the secret to Callum’s success.
He said: “We stay outside Glen Moray distillery, so I trained in there. We measured out a track and I did it four times every night for two months.
“It was uphill, and I got strong legs by the end of it.”
Callum clocked an astonishing 9mph in the car.
After his early success, Callum must patiently wait until he’s old enough to start racing.
He said: “I’m just watching at the moment, getting tips from dad and watching online racing.
“I’ll wait until I start driving to see how good I am, or bad I am.”
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