Roy Clarkson was born in 1906 and brought up in Falkirk, He trained and worked as a dentist in Scotland until the war when he moved to Halstead in Essex. Roy hillclimbed motorcycles before acquiring an Iota with which he won the 750cc Class at Bo'ness in September 1947 and  took second in June '48 behind Stan Coldham.

Roy was also a founder member of East Anglian Motor Club in 1950 and helped Gregor Grant set up "Autosport" magazine. He had a wide range of  cars including a competition Ferrari and a Morgan.