Jim Clark Rally - 29-31 May 20 - CANCELLED

RALLY CANCELLED FOR 2020

Posted: March 17, 2020 1:46 PM

Over the past few days, it has become clear to the organisers of the annual Jim Clark Rally that the running of this year's event scheduled to take place over the weekend of 29-31 May 2020 will have to be cancelled.

We are all only too well aware of the reasons for this decision. The news headlines continue to be dominated by the effects, and indeed the dangers, of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the uncertainty of its duration. In fact the situation is likely to get a lot worse before it gets any better.

With that in mind, the rally organisers have spoken with Scottish Borders Council, motor sport's governing body Motorsport UK, and the event's sponsors, Beatson's Building Supplies plus other stakeholders and interested parties. The unanimous decision is that the rally should be cancelled for 2020.

As we know only too well, sporting events attract more than just competitors. They need dozens of Officials, Marshals, Paramedic and Recovery crews as well as attracting thousands of spectators. On that basis, the current Government and medical advice is that such events should be cancelled.

Despite all that, this was an easy decision to take - the public's health comes first.

We all face difficult times ahead, but rally fans can rest assured that the enthusiastic team behind the annual Jim Clark Rally will not be idle over the coming weeks. Plans for this year's proposed event were already well underway with a new stage being added to the established favourites.

This work will not be wasted as attention turns now to 2021.

Points Make Prizes

Posted: March 12, 2020 5:36 PM

This year's Beatson's Building Supplies Jim Clark Rally to be run over the weekend of 29-31 May will play host to four National rally championships and two regional rally championships, plus the event will once again play a part in the ever popular Armed Forces Rally Team series for Land Rovers. As such, this year's event is expected to attract entries from all four corners of the UK.

The Beatson's Building Supplies Jim Clark Rally will be Round 4 (of 7) of the national Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Championship, the UK's premier tarmac stage rally series. This year the annual competition will include private and closed road rallies in the north west of England, Wales, the Isle of Man, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the south west of England (close to the Welsh border), with the final round taking competitors north once again to the north east of England.

This series primarily attracts current competition machinery including World Rally and R5 cars as well as the full range of clubman cars and those fighting for honours in the various capacity class sub divisions.

The Fuchs Lubricants RACRMC Historic Asphalt Rally Championship is a ten round mixed surface national series with events both on tarmac roads and forest gravel stages. Entries here are limited to 'older' rally cars which are split into date of manufacture as well as capacity classes.

The various categories include two wheel drive cars from the period prior to 1968, then from 1968 to 1974, 1975 to 1981, 1982 to 1985 with a separate class for four wheel drive cars from 1986 to 1990. With the current/modern spectacular machinery limited to the Protyre series, this Historic category provides an equally enthralling spectacle for rally fans with the older cars appealing every bit as much to the younger generation as those who remember seeing them and hearing them first time round.

The HRCR Motoscope Northern Historic Rally Championship comprises two sections. An asphalt series of 6 rounds and a forest gravel series of 8 events and both are open to 'period' cars.

The main events on Sunday's Beatson's Building Supplies Reivers Rally will be for Scotland's two premier championship contests, the KNC Groundworks Motorsport UK Scottish Rally Championship and the Marshall Construction Scottish Tarmack Championship .

Both Scottish championships are open to allcomers and yet are quite different. The Scottish Championship competition is mostly a forest gravel road based event - with one close road rally, the Reivers - while the Scottish Tarmack series is held entirely on sealed surface stages.

The AS Performance North of England Tarmacadam Championship is a ten round all-tarmac series with events in the north of England and Scotland catering for all types of current and past machinery.

Adding their own brand of entertainment and competition to proceedings are the Armed Forces Rally Team Land Rovers, who will be taking part in both events. Always the fan's favourites, the enthusiastically driven Land Rover Wolf Defenders look completely ill at ease being hurtled around the Borders roads. Forces personnel compete throughout the year on their own navigational and driving exercises for the chance to take part on a sporting rally. And if you thought the competition was cut-throat in the other championship events, that's nothing compared to the rivalry between the Army, Air Force and Navy crews.

Naturally both the Jim Clark and Reivers events are open to non-championship registered crews adding even more variety to the mix.

On this basis the Beatson's Building Supplies Jim Clark Rally and Reivers Rallies are shaping up to provide one of the most colourful and spectacular events seen on Borders roads for years.

Beatson's Building Supplies Jim Clark Rally, 29/30/31 May 2020

Posted: March 7, 2020 5:28 PM

The organisers of the Jim Clark Rally are delighted to announce that Beatson's Building Supplies will be their headline sponsor for this year's event which will take place over the weekend of 29-31 May 2020.

Scotland's top independent building supplies company, Beatson's are as well known in motor sport as they are in the building trade.

The company already sponsors the annual Beatson's Building Supplies Mull Rally in October each year and they sponsor the Spectator's Bridge at Knockhill Racing Circuit.

Former motor racing driver, and currently enjoying a successful switch to rallying, Managing Director John Marshal said:
"My son Ross, who is also a director in the family business, and I both enjoy motor sport and this involvement is all about putting something back into the sport from which we derive so much enjoyment."

"Having our name associated with two of Scotland's best rallies helps the business as well," he continued, "the Mull Rally is pretty unique because of its Inner Hebridean location. The Jim Clark Rally is pretty unique too, but is more easily accessible for rally fans as it takes place on the Scottish mainland. Jim Clark was also one of my boyhood heroes when I was growing up and it's just a pleasure to be able to support two of Scotland's best loved motor sporting events."

Rally Chairman Dan Wright said:
"We are delighted to welcome Beatson's Building Supplies on board as the Jim Clark Rally's headline sponsor. This will provide a great boost to the whole team who have been working hard to make this year's event even better."

Deputy Clerk of the Course Colin Smith added:
"Plans are already well advanced for this year's event at the end of May so the news from Beatson's Building Supplies is a big encouragement for the whole team behind the scenes. This year we are planning 13 Special Stages using 7 separate stretches of public road. This will include one brand new section that hasn't been used before! The Regulations are being finalised now and Entries will open at the beginning of April."

Beatson's Building Supplies is the biggest independent building materials supply firm in Scotland servicing the whole of the building industry across the country from its five central locations in Alloa, Stirling, Dunfermline, Cumbernauld and Penicuik.

Event Website

Posted: March 7, 2020 5:28 PM

Jim Clark Memorial Rally