PETITION LAUNCHED TO SAVE JIM CLARK RALLY
A petition has been launched to help the Jim Clark Rally return to asphalt as the rallying community awaits the results of an enquiry into the fatalities on the 2014 running of the event.
The Lord Advocate – the chief legal officer of the Scottish government – is compiling a report into the incident two years ago when three people were killed while spectating on the rally.
While the wait continues for the Lord Advocate’s dossier to be published, the rally can’t run to a closed-road format and the incident remains under investigation.
The petition description reads: “We would like the Lord Advocate to bring his inquiry regarding the fatalities on the 2014 event to a conclusion.”
It was reported that the rally brought in more than £3 million for the local economy, while the gravel version has proved far less popular.
A Crown spokesperson told MN of the enquiry: “The investigation, under the direction of the Crown’s Health & Safety Division and the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit (SFIU), into the tragic events at the rally in 2014 continues.the families will continue to be kept updated in relation to any significant developments.”
Callum Black – who was on the podium before the 2014 event was cancelled – believes the event offers an unrivalled challenge. “It’s the only place you can do closed-road rallying over here,” said Black. “You’ve got a stage like Abbey St Bathans where it’s all happening, there isn’t a minute to stop and think. It’s got a bit of everything, it’s a real challenge.”
The British Rally Championship had included the event on its original calendar for 2016, but without closed roads, the rally lost that opportunity.
To read the petition, visit: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/jimclark-rally-we-want-our-closed-roadrally-back.
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