'How the hell can the planning of this rally go ahead when investigation of my husband's death hasn’t even been completed?'

Dai Roberts' widow reveals heartache following tragedy at Jim Clark...

Dai Roberts is pictured at the ceremonial start in Duns on May 23rd, 2025. Also pictured are police near the scene of the tragedy, and Dai and his wife Louise together, top.
Author: Ally McGilvrayPublished 23rd Oct 2025
Last updated 23rd Oct 2025

The widow of a man who died while taking part in this year's Jim Clark Rally has revealed she's had no contact with the event's organisers since the tragedy five months ago.

Dai Roberts was co-driving a Hyundai i20 N Rally2 when the car crashed on a single-track road near Edrom, in the Scottish Borders.

Emergency services were alerted to the incident around 10.50am on May 24th, but the 39-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

Fellow Welsh man James Williams, who had been driving the vehicle, survived and was taken to Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary for treatment for injuries described at the time as serious but not life-threatening.

Dai's wife, Louise, had been following the racing action back home in Carmarthen but revealed she wasn't officially told what had happened until police contacted her more than five hours later.

"On the day of the rally, I saw that Dai had stopped on stage, because I always followed him on the tracker," she told Greatest Hits Radio.

"I sent a text to him asking if everything was okay, but I didn’t get a reply.

Louise Roberts is pictured arm in arm with her husband Dai.

"I then saw (a report saying the event had been stopped), so I was ringing around a few of the boys to see what had happened.

"I had to find out that Dai had died on scene by James's Dad. I was not informed by the Jim Clark Rally of this, despite my name being on his entry form as Next of Kin."

And she added: "I’ve had no contact with the rally organisers since the incident. I had to wait for Dai’s death certificate to come through the post to see what time he actually passed away."

Dai Roberts is pictured leaving the start of the Jim Clark Rally in Duns.

Earlier this week, the Jim Clark Rally revealed it will "take time to remember Dai" when the event returns to Duns and Berwickshire in 2026.

But Louise, who wasn't consulted on the decision, has raised concerns over the timing of the announcement.

Posting on Facebook, she said: "How the hell can the planning of this rally go ahead when investigation of my husband's death hasn’t even been completed?"

And later she added: "I’ve yet to have Dai’s belongings, including his helmet and boots, returned as they are still with police.

"We have two small children and the eldest is not happy that the rally is running so soon after losing his dad, while his daughter is too young to understand properly."

The Jim Clark Rally - named after the late Formula One legend, who stayed nearby - is believed to be worth almost £4 million a year to the local economy.

Motorsport UK announced a full investigation into the circumstances of the incident in May, which it's understood could take up to nine months to complete.

And this week it confirmed that investigation is still "ongoing".

A spokesperson said: "Safety at motorsport events – for spectators, officials and competitors – remains of paramount importance to Motorsport UK and its associated clubs.

"In the circumstances, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time, save that the Motorsport UK investigation is not straightforward, and is necessarily secondary to the separate investigation of the Police Service of Scotland which must take precedence.

"Motorsport UK continue to assist the Police Service of Scotland in that separate investigation."

We've put the points raised to the Jim Clark Rally and are awaiting a response.

In relation to its own investigation, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Enquiries are ongoing."

Crowds lined the banking at the Langton water splash the evening before the tragedy.

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