ISLE OF WIGHT SCOOTER RALLY WHO DOES IT BELONG TO?

A small island at the foot of the country has for years been the biggest annual gathering of scooterists, but who should lay claim to it?

Last month saw the annual August bank holiday pilgrimage by thousands of scooterists to the Isle of Wight scooter rally. For many it’s a tradition that has spanned decades, seemingly the jewel in the crown of the scooter rally calendar. From ferries crammed full of scooters to hotels booked up for months in advance, there always seems to be an air of excitement towards the build up. For the people who live there it gives a timely boost to the island’s economy as pubs and bars rake in a month’s takings over just one weekend. Many local entrepreneurs see it as a golden opportunity by putting on a host of events and in some cases raising their alcohol prices to cash in on the quick windfall. Combined with regular scooter rally organisers, it’s all become part of the fabric that is the rally itself.

For years the epicentre has always been Ryde town centre, with this being the place to be. Not only for the weekend’s entertainment but the rally in general; if you’re not based in Ryde then you are not there in some people’s eyes. Over the years due to lack of available rooms and places to stay the rally has spread. Sandown, the next major town along, has seen a big influx of scooterists and has also seen a rise in events put on over the weekend. Likewise the campsite at the speedway track which combines with the main dealer area and has grown hugely.

Many scooterists now choose to camp rather than pay the overinflated B&B prices. All this has lead to a diversification of the rally which, with big numbers attending over the weekend of the rally, has never been seen as a problem. However it now seems different factions of scooterists settle in different places during the rally, which has lead to a split among some, and claims as to who actually controls it or who has the rights to the rally itself.

In the 1980s, like any other National rally, it was just another seaside resort that scooterists attended. It did have the status of being held on the prime bank holiday weekend but that was its only advantage. However, thatt all changed after the infamous 1986 riot there which stopped the rally, seemingly forever, after the island’s authorities vowed that scooterists would never return. This is where the claims then start to emerge as to who is responsible for the success it has now become.

Though a National rally would still be held, from now on it would be at the beginning of the season. It was thought by the island’s council that not many would bother to venture all the way there for two days in the cold tail end of winter. The prestigious August bank holiday spot was first given back to Torch Promotions who began to hold a rally specifically catering for the Modernist movement. Again the thinking behind it was that these clean cut types were not the kind of people who were going to go on the rampage or start rioting and burning things.

As the years went by, the August Mod rally stated to grow bigger as numbers began to increase, swelled by scooterists who saw it as a ‘back door’ route of entry. Slowly the island’s council began to believe that the new breed of scooterists had grown up and were less likely to cause

These clean cut types were not the kind of people who were going to go on the rampage or start rioting and burning things.

trouble. Eventually over time this would lead to them being made more welcome, whereupon the rally started to grow significantly. As it grew, the islanders began to take advantage of the financial opportunity that arose and with the collapse of the NSRA this had given a free hand to virtually anyone wishing to put on an event. With the rally becoming more commercial the Mod side, which was now run by the New Untouchables, decided to move away to an entirely new location. Even so, this didn’t deter scooterists who by now were travelling from all over the world to join in and soon enough it was branded the Isle of Wight International Scooter Rally.

It now seems there is a growing debate as to actually who is responsible for the rally still being there, with some even laying claim to it. There is no doubt that it was the modernist movement that got the rally reinstated on the August bank holiday, and that the promoters in the later 1990s that pushed it forward to being the commercial success it is today.

The reality though, is that while there are people and organisations who have helped it throughout both the good and bad times, and struggled against nonscooterist commercial vultures, no one can stake an actual claim of ownership.

The Isle of Wight scooter rally has always been, and always will be, owned by the scooterists themselves.