Members of Ross and District Motor Sports Club were on hand this weekend to welcome competitors, who were taking part in the National Road Rally 2017, to Ross-on-Wye.

The National Road Rally sees bikers from all over the country take part in the event. It is a scatter rally organised by the Auto Cycle Union (ACU) and the British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF).

This year, around 510 entrants took part in the National Road Rally. Stuart Harrold, of Ross Motor Sport Club, told the Gazette that the event has been running since well before the second world war.

Ross-on-Wye was one of 65 ‘Controls’ that form the National Road Rally matrix. The ‘Controls’ are mainly in England, but there are some that are just over the border in Wales.

The event, which began at 12 noon on Saturday, July 1st, finished at 8am on Sunday, July 2nd. During this time, the bikers were able to set their own route and ride up to 540 miles around the rally matrix, covering at least 22 controls.

Competitors began the event at one of the controls, but they needed to complete the event in one of three designated finish points. The nearest finish point to Ross was Nailsworth, so right through Saturday, into the early hours of Sunday morning, Ross and District Motor Sports Club manned their clubhouse on Kyrle Street, so make sure competitors had a hot drink before they set off on the last leg of their journey.

Mr Harrold told the Gazette that on Saturday evening, the bar was opened to members of Ross Motor Sports Club, so many of them were able to go to the clubhouse and socialise with the competitors as they dropped in to the control station. He added that the fish and chip shop around the corner was very popular with many of the riders, who had worked up an appetite during their journey.

Many members of the Motor Sport Club had taken part in the National Road Rally in previous years, so they were able to reminisce about their experience doing the event, and several members had brought in memorabilia to be put on display in the clubhouse during the weekend. The centre piece was a shield, celebrating the fact that in 1962, the club won the team award.