Jim Clark Rally will not take place this year

In 2014 Iain Provan, 64, Elizabeth Allan, 63, and Len Stern, 71, were killed when a car careered off the track in Coldstream and the Motor Sports Association now says the event cannot take place until the FAI (fatal accident inquiry) has been carried out.

In an email to rally organiser Dan Wright; the Chief Executive of the Motor Sports Association, Rob Jones, explains: "Following extensive consultation with our insurance brokers and our insurers, I am able to confirm the position of the MSA regarding any proposal for the JCR (Jim Clark Rally) to be run in 2017. 

"It would not be appropriate for MSA to issue a permit for the JCR until the FAI has been completed and the Sheriff has issued his findings."

But organisers say they do not understand the decision.

In response to the email, Mr Wright said: "In any other workplace or sporting endeavour, routine carries on while FAIs are underway, so we don't understand the insurer's reasoning behind this decision. 

"They may well have consulted extensively with their insurance partners, but the rally organisers were not consulted."

While Rally Manager, Russel Blood added: "We understand that the Inquest process under English law differs from Fatal Accident Inquiries under Scots Law, so to take this decision without wider consultation, is not what should be expected from a sport's UK national governing body. 

"This outcome has thoroughly demoralised the whole team behind the running of this major motor sports event."

And it's not just the organisers who feel aggrieved.

Borders MSP John Lamont described the decision as a "big blow" for the region.

He told us: "The Jim Clark Rally has been a major contributor to the Borders economy and the loss of the event for yet another year is a big blow to the organisers, local businesses and motor sports enthusiasts.

"With the MSA now saying the rally can't take place while the Fatal Accident Inquiry is ongoing, there is a real risk the event will be lost forever. 

"FAIs are notoriously slow processes and if this decision stands there is little chance that the rally will take place in the next few years meaning its slot in the motor sports calendar may be lost.

"The organisers rightly feel that not enough has been done to try to save this important sporting event. 

"When the FAI was announced, I asked the Crown Office to make it clear that the holding of an FAI did not in itself prevent the rally taking place. 

"That did not happen and the future of the event has now been put in jeopardy. I urge the Lord Advocate and the Scottish Government to now make it clear that there are no legal reasons why the rally cannot continue in an attempt to change the decision of the MSA."