More than 80 classic cars were on display in the shadow of the Titan Crane last Wednesday evening as teams prepared to set off on the 2019 Monte Carlo Rally.

Crowds of people turned up to chat with navigators and drivers and enjoy the spectacle, which involved five Rileys from the 1930s, including one which competed in the rally before the last war, an MG TC from 1949, a 1958 Standard Pennant and a 65-year-old Ford Popular.

The ramp in Aurora Avenue was the only British starting point for this year’s 1,500 mile event, as entrants from as far afield as Maine and France were flagged off by Bailie Denis Agnew.

We spoke to someone a bit closer to home, David Glen from Loch Lomond, who is taking part in the rally for the seventh time, along with team principal David Glen Snr and Gordon Glen.

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He said: “I’ve been doing it for many years, in many different cars. The first year we did it in a 1968 Volvo Amazon. This year in a lovely 1979 Opel Kadett GTE. Having done it for many years we’re now in it to win it.

“We’ll be leaving Glasgow tonight into the snow and starry night and, hopefully, we should be in a good place to win in France.”

Clydebank-born car enthusiast David Robb, 69, who owns two Rileys, told the Post he was delighted to see the town become a starting point for the historic event for the first time since 2012.

He said: “I was born on Montrose Street and grew up in Clydebank.

“It’s nice to see where the cars are leaving from and it resonates with what I did in my youth seeing it leaving from Clydebank.”

Another spectator, Bobby Barlow, 62, from Hardgate added: “It’s been very interesting. I’ve recognised some of the cars and it brings back memories of when I started driving as a teenager.”