Borders Race Of The Reivers

The Borders Race of the Reivers hopes to become a new venue on the Road Racing Calendar

The purpose of these pages is to establish backing and support for a motorcycle road race or similiar event which would take place annually in and around Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders.

The main reason for trying to establish an event of this nature is that Jedburgh has had various motorcycling greats past and present in and around the area.

Jim Guthrie, Jim Clarke, Steve Hislop, Stuart Easton and Kevin Brown, past Scottish Champion.

Slightly further afield we have Ian Simpson and the Duffus family and of course the Paul Bird Motor Sport team in Penrith. Slightly further south we have Chris Palmer from Carlisle, not forgetting Mark Buckley of Loch Lomond and Ian Bell of Bedlington.

There are already other annual motor sport events in the area such as the Jim Clarke Rally, The Brick and Steel Rally and the Borders Rally which all use public roads and are all car based. There is also the BMF show at Kelso which is motorcycle based as are the annual meetings of the Scooter and Goldwing clubs. All of these events attract large crowds from both this country and abroad and are well supported locally. Generating business for the towns that they use.

The race format would hopefully consist of a supersport race and a superbike /superstock race on a Saturday with the chance of fitting in a supertwin 650cc and sidecar event. This would keep the event small enough so as not to stand on the toes of established race meetings like the Northwest 200 or the Isle of Man TT. However it would be hoped that it could generate interest from racers and others and be used as a tester for large events or track racing by teams until it becomes an event in its own right.

The Irish road racing fraternity are very keen for this to go ahead and have even expressed an interest to include it in their yearly race calendar.

We would welcome a connection as we feel the potential is great due to the fact that the area and Jedburgh is located between Scotland's central belt and large English cities such as Newcastle, Manchester and Liverpool with the ferries to Amsterdam only being an hour away. Access to the Borders is good via road and rail, with stations at Newcastle, Carlisle, Berwick not forgetting Glasgow and Edinburgh. Also the M6, A7 A68 and A1 all come into this local with nationally recognised biking roads all over the region.

Also Scotland has only two race tracks that are in regular use, Knockhill and East Fortune, both of which are small with Knockhill mainly caters for cars. There are currently no motorcycle road races held in Scotland and with the relative success of the Thundersprint in Cheshire, we are confident with the correct direction and support that this event could be a success for the area and motorcycle racing as a whole not forgetting local companies and businesses.

We have the backing of various racers and their management, Red Torpedo a motorcycle clothing manufacturer, Edinburgh Woollen Mills, Glasgow Ducati, Borders Breweries, Duke Video and local politicians to name but a few.

Your support would be a boost and we also believe it would be a good way to promote Jedburgh and the Scottish Borders. Figures from Castletown in the Isle of Man which is smaller in size than Jedburgh hold a race meeting the Southern 100 and attract 20-25, 000 visitors to the area. The Relentless North West 200 race attracts 100, 000 visitors.

We realise that these figures are high but it is something to aim for as Mr. Alan Shand Scottish Auto Cycle Union / Sports Scotland and Mrs Paula McDonald Event Scotland have stated that for these type of event each person visiting the area will spend £100-£200 each. The simple maths make this a conservative extra income to the area of £150 x 15, 000 visitors = £2, 250, 000. Hopefully the event would grow in strength as has happened in Northwich, Cheshire where, after a short existence, they now attract visitors in excess of 40, 000. The whole town is closed down to facilitate the event with the county council being a partner in the event. They also attract national and international media coverage as well as racers and teams with celebrities also taking part and ex racers such as Carl Fogarty, Giacomo Agostini, Valentino Rossi, Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill to name only a few.

The proposed route for the event is eleven point one mile long and takes in the following roads: -

- Start /Finish A68 outside Border Meringues and Aqueous Granite.
- North to Bonjeward on the A68 turning left towards Cleekamin.
- Right off the A68 onto the A698 towards Hawick.
- Left at the junction with the B and over the Dunion Hill.
- North towards Jedburgh entering the Castlegate and towards the town.
- Turning right at the junction on the Castlegate and the Canongate.
- Proceeding down the Canongate turning left onto A68 and towards the start /finish.

That would conclude one lap, however, the amount of laps per race and classification of motorcycle has yet to be determind. This route is long enough to make it viable but importantly brings the visitors to Jedburgh itself and to its amenities, as the main High Street will be left open and unaffected except for hopefully more sales and business. The amount of roadside furniture is also at a minimum on this route along with very few cats eyes which are not permitted.

Diversions for this route can also be easily established and are commonly used for other events and road works. The diversions will place traffic back onto main roads from main roads with the minor back roads known to locals still being relatively unaffected and useable including access to Lanton. For the emergency services, the access is viable should an incident occur and the areas needed for marshals are plentiful.

This route also allows for varied spectator viewing points and access, with the potential for land owners to also make some financial gains from the event. Parking areas are also plentiful and none of the major routes into the area that are diverted will affect visitors attending.

The planning of the proposed event is still in the early stages and the full business plan is to be finalised with a meeting with the Hon. Michael Moore to be confirmed.

If you wish to help or have any issues or questions please just message us as this whole venture is to increase the profile of firstly Jedburgh and then the area.

None of the people who are involved in the initial stages of this event and the setting up are being paid for their time or the work put in.