THE Rubis Jersey International Motoring Festival got off to an ear-splitting start on Thursday evening with the Rolling Roadshow.
Formula 1 cars – the Brabham BT59 from 1990 and the 1980 Shadow DN11 – and the 1988 Le Mans-winning Jaguar XJR-9 roared down Victoria Avenue at sunset to the delight of hundreds.
And thousands are expected to flock to town for what remains of the packed four-day itinerary.
Over this weekend, the challenging Westmount Hillclimb will return, with the Active Arena providing demonstrations of Jersey’s motorsport disciplines.
Food, drink, live music, and entertainment, as well as static displays of classic, vintage, and modern cars and motorcycles will be on offer in the People’s Park.
Welcoming over 40,000 visitors last year – 1,000 of them from off the Island – the JIMF is the largest event of its kind in the Channel Islands.
Organisers from the Classic Vintage and Modern Racing Club of Jersey said they are committed to a sustainable future, with 2024’s festival showcasing vehicles powered by sustainable fuel supplied by Rubis. This petrol is made from waste products from the agriculture industry in the UK and is ethanol-free, meaning it leads to a minimum of 65% reduction in emissions.
Organiser Alex Salmon said: “I see this event as a window to motorsport in the Island. As far as population to motorsports events goes, we’ve probably got the highest concentration. What JIMF does is we bring it all together in one place. The great thing is that a lot of the cars are running on sustainable fuel, so we’re making all this noise, but we’re doing it in an environmentally-conscious way.”
Race times
SATURDAY
10am-5pm – Westmount – Westmount Hillclimb
9.30am-6pm – People’s Park – static displays, stands, food, drink and live music
Westmount will be closed between St Aubin`s Rd and Overdale Hospital from 9.30am until 6.30pm.
SUNDAY
9.30am-2.30pm – Westmount – Westmount Hillclimb
10am-4.30pm – People’s Park – Active Arena around Victoria Park
9.30am-6pm – People’s Park – static displays, stands, food, drink and live music
Westmount will be closed between St Aubin`s Rd and Overdale Hospital from 9.30am until 6.30pm.
Route de St. Aubin will be closed between the King George V Homes and Kensington St, The West Park RoB and Pierson Rd will also be closed.
Roads will be closed from 6.30am until 6.30pm.
