Following the recent announcement that the Mid Wales Stages Rally in 2017 has been cancelled, the Jim Clarke Memorial Rally has been forced to follow suit. The move comes after the chairman of the Jim Clark Rally, Mr Dan Wright, was informed by email that the MSA would not be issuing a permit for the 2017 event.
The decision follows the deaths of three members of the media on the 2014 event when a rally car left the stage near Coldstream. Six other spectators were injured in the accident which prompted the immediate cancellation of the rest of the 2014 rally. The organisers ran the rally again in 2015 but cancelled the 2016 competition.
As a result of the incident a review in the Scottish Parliament resulted in a range of changes to spectator and media access on rallies but a Fatal Accident Investigation is still ongoing.
In a statement released on the Jim Clark Rally website and on social media, the organisers said that the decision to cancel came after the MSA and their Insurance Brokers decided it would not be appropriate to issue a permit while the FAI and Sheriff’s enquiry are ongoing.
Rally Manager, Russel Blood commented: “We understand that the Inquest process under English law differs from Fatal Accident Inquiries under Scots Law, so to take this decision without wider consultation, is not what should be expected from a sport’s UK national governing body. This outcome has thoroughly demoralised the whole team behind the running of this major motor sports event.”
The team behind the rally now fear that the event may never recover.
