Tragic end to Jim Clark Rally in the Borders

THE Jim Clark Rally was won in tragic circumstances yesterday by Irishman Daniel McKenna after several spectators were injured in an incident on the penultimate stage which caused the rest of the event to be called off.

Callum Black and co-driver James Morgan in their Citroen DS3 on a stage before the tragic incident which caused the Jim Clark Rally to be ended prematurely. Photograph: Jakob Ebrey

The 26-year-old from Monaghan, piloting a Citroen DS3 and co-driven by Arthur Kierans, claimed his first British Rally Championship victory.

The event, the second round of the British Rally Championship, ended, though, with a serious incident in which a number of spectators were believed to be seriously injured.

It is understood a rally car, travelling at competitive speed, was in ­collision with a number of spectators lining the narrow Borders road.

The incident – on the second run through Swinton, the 16th of the scheduled 18 Tarmac stages of the 197-mile event – caused the immediate cancellation of the event.

Emergency services were immediately on the scene of the incident to attend to the injured.

No official statement was released by the rally’s organisers, or the police immediately after the incident.

The Jim Clark Rally is the only event to be held on closed ­public roads on mainland UK, and is acknowledged as being one of the fastest rallies in the country.

The event, run over roads between Duns and Kelso and named after Scotland’s double Formula 1 world champion, traditionally attracts thousands of spectators who line the route.