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The Tweed Valley Stages with Cleland Volvo and Jaguar
Drivers competing on a new rally in the Scottish Borders next month will be able to fight it out for a specially commissioned Nations Cup trophy.
The Tweed Valley Stages with Clelands revs into action on July 23rd, bringing back into commission some iconic stages unused for over a decade.
Backed by former British Touring Car champion John Cleland, the event is expected to become a major draw for the Borders, with rally HQ being based in Selkirk.
However, competitors eager to triumph will not only gain the honour of being crowned inaugural champions.
They will also be able to do their bit for their country, thanks to a special award put forward by Macro Motorsport which resurrects an old tradition of ‘friendly’ national rivalry.
When the old Border Counties Rally ran in the forests of the Tweed Valley, Scottish and English crews competed for a nation’s cup.
The innovation was popular and now it is to be reintroduced as a four-way contest, this time including Welsh and Northern Irish drivers.
To qualify, entrants will be asked which nation they wish to represent, based on current place of residence or birthplace.
The winners will be the four crews that score the highest, with no more than two crews from the same class.
Clerk of the Course, Ian James, said: “The award is intended to be fun and to promote the friendly rivalry between the English and the Scots that originally took place on the old Border Counties Rally, a BTRDA Gold Star Championship round that was run annually in the Tweed valley forests.
“Paul Crossley at Macro Motorsport contacted me with the suggestion that we should carry on the tradition. However, we intend to include all the UK countries now, not just Scots and English”.
The Tweed Valley Stages with Clelands Volvo and Jaguar, incorporating around 40 stage miles, is a partnership between North Humberside Motor Club Ltd and Glenrothes Motor Sport Club Ltd.
It will reintroduce famous stages like Elibank and Yair which sharpened the skills of drivers like Jimmy McRae, Roger Albert Clark and former Ladies World Champion, Louise-Aitken Walker.
More at GMSC Tweedy Page
Online Entries at tweedvalleyforeststagesrally.org.uk
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