'It's an honour!' Jim Clark's cousin welcomes return of rally to Duns

All roads lead to the Scottish Borders this weekend for the return of the Jim Clark Rally.

140 cars are set to line-up for the ceremonial start in Duns at 6pm this evening (Friday).

Doug Niven is the cousin of the late F1 world champion, the event’s named after.

He told Greatest Hits Radio: “It takes an Act of Parliament to close the public roads to run this rally, so it’s a very special event.

“It’s just fantastic to watch and a great honour for Duns that these people come from all over to show us the skills that they have.

“I’ll be out there watching these drivers plying their trade, and watching the cars going at break-neck speeds.”

Businesses in the Borders are gearing up for a boost, as hundreds of motorsport fans converge on the region.

The Jim Clark Motorsport Museum in Duns will also be open over the weekend.

Doug added: “You can’t get a bed anywhere – everywhere is full with all the mechanics, teams, sponsors, and all the drivers and supporters. It’s a fantastic event.”

WATCH: Click on the link below to view our video from Duns…

Motorists are being warned of disruption ahead, with a number of road closures in place during the three-day event.

Making its return is the popular Langton Mill test and its famous water-splash, with other stages taking in tests at Ayton and Fogo.

The winner of the 86-mile event will be crowned at the ceremonial finish in Duns on Saturday at 2.16pm.

Sunday’s Reivers Rally is a meatier affair than the past with 58 miles of action split across seven stages with just one service halt back at Duns in the middle. The reworked Westruther stage starts and ends the day which also includes two visits to the beautiful vistas of Scott’s View. The event starts and finishes in Duns at 9.30am and 3.54pm respectively.

Fighting to uphold local honour are a trio of Duns drivers – Euan Thorburn, Garry Pearson and Dale Robertson – in state-of-the-art Rally2 cars. Volkswagen pilot Thorburn would appear best positioned to become the first Scottish Jim Clark winner since 2011 thanks to his overall podium last season, but Pearson too is a former Jim Clark podium finisher and will compete in the very latest Fiesta Rally2, run by the factory M-Sport outfit.

Robertson is also Fiesta mounted, and welcomes Kelso co-driver Douglas Redpath into the navigators’ seat, 40 years since Redpath won the Jim Clark alongside Dominic Buckley Snr. Robertson is always fast on his local lanes but is down on seat time compared to his direct rivals as he hasn’t competed since the Jim Clark last year.

Also flying the flag for Scotland is Max McRae – the latest talent from the world-famous McRae rallying dynasty. Co-driven by Cameron Fair, the 19-year-old is already a winner in the Junior European Rally Championship this year and showed well on his Rally2 debut in the BRC back in March.

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