LATEST NEWS

All images are copyright, Seamus Counihan- crspics.com

22-11-2004

irish rally review of 2004

Full details will soon be released on the first book dedicated to Irish Rallying.  Brought to you by crspics.com the IRR 2004 will cover all rounds of the National and Tarmac Championship in detail and also bring reviews of the other main championships.  The IRR 2004 will be a hardbacked publication in a unique landscape format and will consist of over 166 pages of full colour photographs.  B4 in size will mean that it will be 14in in width and 9.75 in height.

The release date for the IRR 2004 will be Xmas week.  price will be inthe region of E30.00 and it will be available on the online shop and through Easons.

Keep in touch for further details.

23-10-2004

GALLIGAN SEALS CHAMPIONSHIP WITH FIFTH OVERALL

Oldcastle's Rory Galligan took his second one make championship today with GpN victory on the Bulldog Rally to clinch a prize of a works Mitsubishi drive in next years BRC.  Other Irish interest on the event saw Brendan Crealey retire out of second in GpN but Brendan Kelly and Derek Brannigan came home 14th overall two places ahead of Adrian McElvaney who was a further four clear of Aaron MacHale in 20th with his younger brother Gareth fourth in the Peugeot Cup in 34th place.

11-7-2004

FAST FREDDY’ RETURNS

Peugeot World Rally driver Freddy Loix confirmed for PlayStation®2 Rally Experience

Peugeot Sport works driver Freddy Loix has been confirmed as an entry for the PlayStation®2 Rally Experience at Punchestown on July 25th. The Belgian, who is making his second appearance at the international rally sprint, will drive a Peugeot 206 WRC and joins Ford Rallye Sport ace Markko Martin of Estonia as one of the star drivers who will compete in the one day motorsport spectacular.

One of the world rally championship’s funniest and most likeable characters, Freddy will double drive Ireland’s sole Peugeot 206 WRC with the car’s regular driver George Tracey. A big hit with spectators in 2001 when he drove for the Ralliart World Rally Team on the event, ‘Fast Freddy’ as he is known to his fans gained a large number of Irish supporters and his return to Punchestown will be very popular with rally followers from around the country. Freddy will travel to Ireland fresh from competing in the Eifel Rally in Germany on July 15-17 which he and the Peugeot Sport team are using as preparation for the World Rally Championship counting Rallye Deutschland next month.

‘We are delighted to confirm Freddy as an entry for the PlayStation®2 Rally Experience. He really enjoyed his last visit to Ireland and has wanted to come back ever since to enjoy more of the Irish hospitality. Freddy gained a lot of Irish fans on his last visit so it is great that we have been able to organise for him to come back and entertain the crowds once again’, said event organiser Ronan Morgan.

The PlayStation®2 Rally Experience takes place over a 4km asphalt stage at Punchestown Racecourse, on Sunday, 25th July and will see each of the 30 invited drivers compete over 8 timed runs of the exciting spectator course.

In addition to giving Irish sports fans the rare chance to see top world rally championship drivers in action, the 2004 event will be a unique opportunity for WRC fans and gamers alike to preview WRC 4TM, the fourth addition of the only officially licensed game of the FIA World Rally Championship. Spectators will also be able to test their own rallying skills in a WRC Challenge in the PlayStation Dome which will be located in the main paddock.

Full details of the PlayStation®2 Rally Experience including directions to Punchestown can be found by logging on to the event’s official web site www.punchestownrally.com

 

7-6-2004

RORY GALLIGAN WINS GROUP N ON THE MUTINY

Rory Galligan collected his first overall GpN award of the year with a comfortable win on the Mutiny Rally in Wales.  Top points in the Mitsubishi Lancer Challenge and sixth overall were his rewards after a hard day in the Welsh dust.  Gareth MacHale's current good run was halted slightly with sixth overall after he suffered a broken wishbone on the opening stage.

31-5-2004

Sony Computer Entertainment Ireland announce the Sponsorship of the
PlayStation®2 Rally Experience ‘04 @ Punchestown.




Dublin, May 31st 2004 – Sony Computer Entertainment Ireland today announced
the sponsorship of the PlayStation®2 Rally Experience ‘04. The event takes
place on the 25th of July and is the highlight of the Irish motorsport
calendar, attracting some of the biggest names and teams from world
rallying to Ireland.

Held at the award winning Punchestown racecourse, located only 30 minutes
from Dublin, the one day spectacle features 30 of the top driver/car
combinations in the country. The event takes place over a 4km asphalt stage
with each driver completing 6 runs. Lead driver for this year’s event is
Ford Focus driver Markko Martin, currently lying in second position in the
WRC.

PlayStation®2 will be previewing WRC 4™, the fourth edition to the
multi-million selling WRC franchise, at this years PlayStation®2 Rally
Experience. Not due for release until November 2004, this will be a unique
opportunity for gamers and WRC fans alike to see the only officially
licensed product of the FIA World Rally Championship for next generation
consoles.


Commenting on the announcement, Niall O’Hanrahan, Managing Director of Sony
Computer Entertainment Ireland said:
‘PlayStation™ has a long history of association with various motor sports
and driving games. We, in particular, have a strong involvement with rally
sports. We are in the fourth year of an exclusive license agreement with
the WRC and are therefore particularly delighted with being the title
sponsor of the PlayStation®2 Rally Experience @ Punchestown.’ ‘The addition
of the PlayStation®2 brand name to the title is just the calibre of
endorsement that illustrates the thrilling potential of the event’, added
Ronan Morgan, event promoter.

16-5-2004

MacHALE’S SOLID SECOND

On his first ever venture into the British forests Aaron MacHale took his Agip Mitsubishi Lancer to a fantastic second in Group N.  The Irish Tarmac Championship frontrunner was starting his assault on the British Championship and the Welsh Rally was only his third ever forest rally.  Aaron was undaunted by the challenge that lay ahead of him as his competitors would have far greater knowledge of the stages
Saturday’s afternoon start would see Aaron move quickly into third position and hold that throughout the day.  Aaron’s pacenotes were to be his biggest problem as he found them to be completely different to his usual tarmac setup.  Looking forward to a good run on Sunday he had to back off on the first stage of the morning when a branch got wedged between the body of the car and the exhaust.  That problem fixed, an overshoot on the next cost another twenty seconds as he got caught up in his own dust.  Still though he maintained his class position and later moved into second. 
Now driving much better he was pushing for twelfth but caught a car three miles into the stage and lost valuable time but still managed to hold onto a well earned second in Group N and take thirteenth overall.  It was a great family weekend as his father Austin took his Focus WRC to second overall.  Next on the list for Aaron will be the third round of the British Championship the Scottish Rally.
Second in class here follows up another strong finish in the Irish Tarmac Championship with third in class and ninth overall on the Rally of the Lakes in Killarney which was watch by record crowds on the May bank holiday weekend.
Aaron MacHale is supported by, Agip, Murphy Motors Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi Irl, Ferrybridge Hire, Kumho Tyres, Patch, Hose Doctor, Pacenotes Rally Newspaper and irishrallycalendar.com.

 

11-5-2004

MacHale’s Maximum Manx

For Gareth MacHale competing on the Roush Manx Rally marked only his second ever visit to the island.  Having previously been there at the age of five his lack of knowledge of the stages would put him at a great disadvantage.  Gareth commented, “It is one of the classic events with very famous stages”.  The McGarrity Motorsport tended machine was setup perfectly for the island though and a maximum charge was on the way.  A clean run over the opening night stage on Friday evening was the only happy part of the first three stages as three overshoots on the next two would see Gareth drop well down the order.  Fastest time on the fourth would promote him to third and leave him thirty seconds behind Chris Moore and Stuart Jones.  Saturday morning would see the start of yet another MacHale comeback charge.  Time was rapidly made up on the leader Chris Moore and when his driveshaft failed on the seventh stage Gareth was up to second and only a handful of seconds off the lead. 

The lead was soon to be Gareth’s and Stuart Jones was now struggling with driveshaft problems of his own.  “Visibility was down to about thirty yards in places which was very tricky flying through the cattle gates.”  With seven of the stages run in the fog Gareth found this to be his hardest challenge ever, but showed great composure to hold his nerve and the lead to the end.  In doing so he held of Ieuan Rowlands by over twenty seconds and took his second victory of the year and returned to the head of the Peugeot TOTAL 206 Super Cup again.  Not only did Gareth top the Peugeots but he finished inside the top thirty was the first homologated two wheel drive car home.  “The stages were fantastic and I cannot wait to come back”.  Next for us is the Mewla Rally and I’ll be looking to keep up our winning pace and will be going for win number three.

As usual backing comes from Colm McEvoy Auctioneers, Garyaron Homes, Allsports Logistics and the irishrallycalendar.com.

 

22-4-2004

WHO WILL TAME KILLARNEY TARMAC?

With two rounds now completed in the seven-event 2004 Pirelli Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, the attention of the contenders and their supporters now turns to Killarney for the Ordnance Survey Ireland Rally of the Lakes, which will take place on the May Bank Holiday Weekend.  The Rally of the Lakes, celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year, is well established as a firm favourite among Irish and overseas competitors and fans, annually attracting both in large numbers to the south-west.

Eugene Donnelly took victory on the 2003 Rally of the Lakes, and later secured the National Rally Championship and the Northern Ireland Championship in what was an ultra-successful year for the Maghera man.  Donnelly drove a Subaru Impreza WRC in 2003, but he and co-driver, Paul Kiely, have switched to a Toyota Corolla WRC for 2004. Having recorded second place finishes on the Circuit of Ireland at Easter and on the opening round in Galway in February, Donnelly currently heads the 2004 Pirelli Tarmac standings, and his consistent pace should ensure that he will be in the shake up for the title at the end of the season.

Derek McGarrity, the reigning Tarmac Champion, trails Donnelly by just a single point in the 2004 Pirelli series, and comes to Killarney on the back of a second Circuit of Ireland win in a row.   The Glengormley driver led for a time in Killarney last year, before contact with the scenery resulted in the loss of two minutes, and he will be eager to make amends this time around.  Having sold the Subaru Impreza S9 in which he triumphed on the Circuit of Ireland, it remains to be seen what car McGarrity will bring to Killarney, but it will most likely be another Imporeza of similar specification.

Another driver with memories of 2003 to erase is Austin McHale.  The Dubliner, three times previous a winner in Killarney, took the lead on the third last stage of the Rally of the Lakes, but then crashed out on the penultimate test.   He now has a Ford Focus WRC03, perhaps the most advanced rally car in the country, at his disposal, and it would be a foolish man who would bet against him on any of the remaining Tarmac rounds.  He currently lies third in the title race.

The Galway International Rally winner, Tapio Laukkanen, is next in the points table.  The Andorran-domiciled Finn beat the 'home' team in the West, but failed to add to his tally on the Circuit when an under-bonnet fire on the opening stage forced him to retire.  A good points haul in Killarney is essential if he is to add the 2004 Irish Tarmac Championship to the British title he won in 1999.

Donie O'Sullivan and Paul Nagle were the 2003 Rally of the Lakes runners-up, and, one year on, they have a massive opportunity to become the first Kerry crew to win the event outright.  Donie purchased a Ford Focus WRC 01+ (a 2001 version with some 2002 parts added) during the winter, and he and Paul took their first ever overall victory on the West Cork Rally in March.  This was followed by another victory on the Circuit of Kerry earlier this month, and a third place finish on the Circuit of Ireland.  The 'match-practise' will certainly not do them any harm in the run up to their home rally, and no doubt a local success would be celebrated with great enthusiasm by their fellow Killarney & District Motor Club members.

In addition to the various Fords, Subarus and Toyotas currently being used by the top drivers in the Pirelli Tarmac Championship, two extra World Rally Cars are to be debuted at the Rally of the Lakes.  Eamonn Boland will give the Mitsubishi Lancer WRC2 its first run in Ireland, while George Tracey has entered a Peugeot 206WRC, another supercar which has not previously seen action in this country.

In the Group N category for Production-based cars, Dessie Keenan heads the table from fellow Mitsubishi drivers, James Foley and Aaron McHale, while in the Pirelli Historic Tarmac Championship, Mervyn Johnston and Richard Hyland (Mini Cooper S) lead by virtue of second place finishes on the first two rounds.

Ordnance Survey Ireland Rally of the Lakes 2004
Top Ten Seeds
1 Tapio Laukkanen/Harri Kaapro, Subaru Impreza WRC S7
2 Derek McGarrity/Dermot O'Gorman, Subaru Impreza WRC S9
3 Eugene Donnelly/Paul Kiely, Toyota Corolla WRC
4 Austin McHale/Brian Murphy, Ford Focus WRC03
5 Donie O'Sullivan/Paul Nagle, Ford Focus WRC01+
6 Eamonn Boland/Damien Morrissey, Mitsubishi Lancer WRC2
7 George Tracey/Jakes Kelly, Peugeot 206WRC
8 Peadar Hurson/TBA, Subaru Impreza WRC P2000
9 Tim McNulty/Anthony Nestor, Subaru Impreza WRC S7
10 Liam McCarthy/Kieran Murphy, Toyota Corolla WRC

Pirelli Irish Tarmac Rally Championship 2004
Positions after two of seven rounds*:
1: Eugene Donnelly/Paul Kiely, Toyota Corolla WRC, 24 points;
2: Derek McGarrity/Dermot O'Gorman, Subaru Impreza WRC S9, 23;
3: Austin McHale/Brian Murphy, Ford Focus WRC03, 18;
4: Tapio Laukkanen/Harri Kaapro, Subaru Impreza WRC S7, 15;
5: Donie O'Sullivan/Paul Nagle, Ford Focus WRC01/02, 11.
 

20-4-2004

George Tracey is to Debut the first privateer Peugeot 206 in Britain & Ireland at the Killarney Rally of the Lakes,May 1-2. The ex Freddy Loix car is the first to rally privately in Ireland or the UK and is bound to attract huge attention from both media and rally fans alike. George from Cabinteely in Dublin,Ireland has been involved in various forms of motorsport over the last few years,
this however will be a big change for George as he has to date mainly competed in Group N. " I am really looking forward to seeing what the 206 will be like. I did a couple of rallies in 2003, the last being the Killarney historic in December, so I think I will be going somewhat faster through Molls Gap over the May weekend!.It will obviously take me time to adjust to the new machinery so don't expect me to be swapping times with the big boys just yet,"said George. It will be a learning curve weekend for George as he will have little time to test the car as he will be abroad prior to the event. " I am looking firstly to finish the event and get as many miles under my belt with the new car as I can, if we can get a top ten finish and learn about the car,I will be very happy." 
George will have support from Eircopters Helicopters.
 


12-4-04

McGARRITY DOES THE DOUBLE

Derek McGarrity completed a start to finish win on this years Circuit of Ireland Rally and in doing so did the double and will look for a hat trick next season.  Second throughout and putting up a great fight was Eugene Donnelly and Donie O'Sullivan won the Focus battle with Austin MacHale to take third.  Group N went to long time leader Dessie Keenan.

11-4-04

Gallagher Wins Opening French Peugeot Round

Irish rally star, Shaun Gallagher, 23, has won the
opening round of the 2004 French Peugeot 206 Super
Cup. Gallagher, who finished 3rd in the championship
last year, battled through some of the roughest stages
he has ever driven on to come away with his maiden
victory in the French Cup.

Having worked with Skip Brown Cars in the British
Peugeot 206 Cup for the past two years Shaun decided
to have the car prepared by them for 2004 and as
always it arrived at the event perfectly set up and
reliability was second to none.

The Rally Terre d'Auvergne was a two-day, ten-stage
gravel event, run in the mountains around Issoire and
Clermont Ferrand. Despite spending the winter rallying
on snow, Shaun was instantly on the pace and was
settings top three fastest times from the beginning of
the event.

In tricky, rough conditions, with patches of snow on
the stages Shaun swapped times with Thierry Brun,
Oliver Moni and Arnaud Augoyard and finished the
opening day in fourth position, with just thirty
seconds separating the top five drivers.

The second day of the event was drier and the pace
increased even more. With that Shaun pulled back over
twenty seconds in just two stages and was now just one
position off the lead. 

Fastest stage times on three of the days five stages
saw Shaun and co-driver Richard Pashley grab the lead
and extend their winning margin to forty seconds.

"I am absolutely over the moon, this is my first win
in France and to win the first round of the year is
even better. The team and car were top class and we
had no mechanical problems over the entire weekend"
commented Shaun.

Shaun's next event is the Rallye Terre d'Auxerrois on
the 1st and 2nd May.

 

8-4-04

MacHale’s Fighting Spirit

            Entering round two of the Peugeot Total 206 Super Cup as championship leader Gareth MacHale was looking to increase his championship lead.  Knowing he was coming up against some stern local knowledge from Ieuan Rolands and Stuart Jones, Gareth was prepared to have a good go at the North Wales event.  As with most things in life not everything goes according to plan, and when a re-seeded car left the road in front of him on the opening stage the Championship leader had to stop to offer assistance.  Fortunately the crew were unhurt and Gareth continued but dropped about twenty seconds to his rivals.  Trying hard to make up some of this time on the following stage would see a high speed overshoot over some logs and a time consuming engine stall was the result.

            Ending the first loop some 55 seconds adrift of the leaders and in eight place Gareth decided to put in one of his customary charges and try and salvage some championship points.  Climbing swiftly to fifth place Gareth was soon to find himself swapping times with the leaders.  With too big a gap ahead Gareth decided to pace himself to the finish.  With the stages being very muddy a sensible and mature approach would see him take fifth.  “The stages were very slippy, but I would love to have done them on a dry event as the mud made it a bit of a lottery”

            Next on the list for the Dubliner in the Pacenotes backed 206 is the Manx National which returns to Gareth’s favoured surface, tarmac.  As usual backing comes from Colm McEvoy Auctioneers, Garyaron Homes, Allsports Logistics and the irishrallycalendar.com.

 

28-2-2004

FLYING START FOR MacHALE

Gareth MacHale continued on where he left off after winning the last round of the winter cup with victory on the opening round of the new Peugeot 206 Cup on the Sunseeker rally in Bournemouth.  A cautious approach to the two opening Super Specials around the promenade in Bournemouth would see Gareth enter the forests six seconds down on 206 expert Chris Moore. 
Knowing he could not afford any slip ups Gareth pushed from the very first stage on Saturday morning to haul himself into contention for the lead.  Gareth’s only problem for the whole day arose on the fourth stage when he caught a punctured 206 runner and dropped 25 seconds.  Already on a quick pace Gareth had to up it another gear and he arrived into the final loop 8 seconds behind Stuart Jones
The penultimate stage would see Gareth throw caution to the wind as he took 13 seconds out of Jones to lead the event and hold onto it through the last stage.  Commenting afterwards Gareth said “I was delighted to win the first round, it was my first time on the event and my first time on snow, which I loved”  “It was a very hard rally and the car ran faultlessly thanks to Gerry McGarrity Motorsport and Asquith Autosport”.  Backing once again came from Colm McEvoy Auctioneers, Garyaron Homes and new sponsor Allsports Logistics.

28-2-2004

GALLIGAN WINS FIRST ROUND

Rory Galligan stepped back into a rally car competitively for the first time in over a year to win the opening round of this years Mitsubishi Lancer EVO challenge.  Rory had a seven second margin over his old sparing partner Paul Wedgbury at the finish.  Rory also nothced up third in Group N and tenth overall. 

Other Irish interest saw Brendan Crealey win GpN and finsih sixth overall, two places ahead of Stephen Harron.  Ollie O'Donovan headed home Roy White in 17th and Michael Curran took 23rd.  Padraig Price took a rare trip into the woods with 32nd and a welcome return for Brendan Kelly saw him take 40th.  John Foley Jnr was the next Irish contestant home in 45th with Gareth MacHale leading the Peugeot 206 runners home in 47th and also be the first two wheel drive car home.  Rodney Wilton came home 64th.

28-2-04

Ordnance Survey Ireland Rally of the Lakes 2004
Press Release 1
27th February 2004 (Immediate Release)
 
 
25th ANNIVERSARY RALLY OF THE LAKES
PROMISES STERN TEST OF TARMAC ELITE
 
The Ordnance Survey Ireland Rally of the Lakes 2004, now just over two months away, is set to attract some of Europe's most spectacular drivers to Killarney and the south-west of Ireland, to decide one of the sport's most coveted titles.  The rally, which takes place on May 1st and 2nd, celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year, and the organisers, Killarney & District Motor Club, are making plans to ensure that the occcasion will be a memorable celebration of the very best in Irish motorsport.
 
A testing route has been laid out to challenge competitors on the 2004 Rally of the Lakes, comprising of nineteen special stages in total, eleven on Day One and eight on Day Two.  The format will be broadly similar to that of the 2003 event, which saw Maghera's Eugene Donnelly and co-driver, Paul Kiely, take victory ahead of the local crew of Donie O'Sullivan and Paul Nagle.
 
Ordnance Survey Ireland will be the main sponsor of this year's Rally of the Lakes, (as it has been since 2000), and its continued support is greatly valued by Killarney & District Motor Club.  Killarney's Gleneagle Hotel will again serve as the Rally Headquarters.   The Gleneagle has become an integral part of the Rally of the Lakes over the years, and vice versa.  Both have progressed extensively during the last quarter-century.
 
Noreen Marshall will be the Clerk of the Course for the Ordanance Survey Ireland Rally of the Lakes 2004 .  She previously served as Rally Secretary, and now takes over the COC position from her husband, Mike Marshall, who moves into the new role of Event Manager.  Mike was the Clerk of the Course for the event since its inception in 1979, and his record of twenty-four years in charge of a major Irish rally is unlikely to be matched in the near future, if ever.
 
The 2004 Rally of the Lakes will be a round of four championships: the Pirelli Irish Tarmac Rally Championship; the West Euro Cup; the 023 Tiles Southern Four Championship and the Ford Ireland Focus Rally Championship.
 
The Pirelli Tarmac Championship is the premier rally series on this island, comprising of six International events throughout the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, plus two further rounds in Scotland and on the Isle of Man.  The 2004 Tarmac Championship is currently being led by Finland's Tapio Laukkannen, following his victory on the Galway Rally earlier this month.
 
The West Euro Cup has rounds in Norway, Ireland, France, The Netherlands and the Isle of Man.  2003 saw the WEC gain its first Irish champion, when Navan's Paddy White wrapped up the title on the Golden Tulip Rally in The Netherlands last September.
 
As the name suggests, the Southern Four Championship, is based in the southern part of Ireland, and it attracts significant support from competitors in this area.  Killarney & District Motor Club members, Johnny O'Sullivan and Denis Cronin are among the past Southern Four champions. 
 
Once again, the Ford Ireland Focus Rally Championship gets its season underway at the Rally of the Lakes.  This popular one-make series is part of Ford's 'Staircase of Talent' for up and coming drivers, with the championship winner being awarded a test in a Focus World Rally Car at the end of the year.
 
Regualtions and Entry Forms for the Ordnance Survey Ireland Rally of the Lakes 2004 will be available soon from:
Event Secretary,
International Rally of the Lakes,
14 Muckross Grove,
Killarney,
Co. Kerry,
Republic of Ireland,
Tel. + 353 (0)64 32026,
Fax.+ 353 (0)64 35963,

 

15-2-04

KULIG DIES IN RAIL CRASH

14 Feb, 09:43

Janusz Kulig, one of Poland’s leading rally drivers, died yesterday in a collision with a train in the south of the country.
Kulig is reported to have been struck by a train travelling from Tarnow to Krakow as he drove a Fiat Stilo through an unprotected level crossing. The crossing had barriers, but they had not been lowered.
Kulig was planning to contest the Polish Championship for Fiat this year. He tackled the Production World Championship last year and won the class on the Swedish on the road, only to be excluded at post-event scrutineering when it turned out that his recently purchased Mitsubishi had an illegal flywheel.
He was the runner-up in the 2002 European Championship, driving a Focus. He leaves a wife and daughter.
worldrallynews.com 2000-2004
 

29-1-2004
Austin McHale Launches Sanyo Ford Focus WRC 03 team.

     
 

Austin McHale today ended months of speculation with the launch of his new Ford Focus WRC03 rally car.  The team which will receive major backing from Sanyo was launched at the Moran's Red Cow Hotel by M-Sports John Steele.  Plans were announced for an assault on both the Pirelli Irish Tarmac Championship and the British Championship.


18-1-2004

EUGENE DONNELLY TEST NEW COROLLA FOR THE FIRST TIME.  CLICK BELOW
FOR EXCLUSIVE FIRST PICTURES.

10-1-2004

BIO-TECH Water Treatment
AND

              HARRINGTONS Restaurant

                                   ARE PLEASED TO PRESENT

                         THE DINGLE PENNINSULA

                  Circuit of Kerry Car Rally Sunday April 4th 2004

                     ORGANISED AND PROMOTED BY KERRY MOTOR CLUB

 

Kerry Motor Club, organisers and promoters of the prestigious and popular Circuit of Kerry Car Rally are delighted to announce its return to the picturesque Dingle Peninsula for the 2004 running of the event. At a press conference on Saturday January 10th in the rally headquarters .The Smerwick Harbour Hotel, the club announced details of their forthcoming event. Scheduled for Sunday April 4th the event will provide an early season boost to the local tourist industry with the event worth an estimated Eur3 million to Dingle and its surrounding hinterland.

The rally is a counting round of two very important championships, The Dunlop National Rally Championship and The Top Part West Coast Championship and as a result the club are expecting an entry well in excess of the 150 cars permitted to start. With the driver of each competing car bringing a team of approximately 10 personnel with them for the event, accommodation in the area is going to be at a premium. The club also stated that a team of 150 marshals, stewards and safety officers will be employed for the duration of the event and the majority of these will be drafted in from clubs outside the county. Thousands of spectators and supporters are also expected in Chorca Dhuibhne for an action packed weekend of motorsport.

The rally will be headquartered in The Smerwick Harbour Hotel, Ballyferriter and will be jointly sponsored by BIO TECH Water Treatment and Harrington’s Fast food Restaurant, Pier Top, Dingle. The Dingle Peninsula Traders and tourism interests from the region have also given their support to what is considered one of the most popular sporting occasions in the county.

The official launch for the event was attended by Mr John O Donoghue T.D, Minister for Tourism, who praised the efforts of both Kerry Motor Club and the business people of the Dingle Peninsula for their efforts in bringing such a prestigious event to the area especially as it comes at what is considered a very quite time in the hospitality industry. The popular rally will kick start the tourist season in the beautiful west Kerry fishing port in what is expected to be a bumper year for the region.

Saturday’s event was also attended by local councillors Brendan McGearilt (Fianna Fail) and Seamus Fitzgearld (Fine Geal) who are also delighted to be associated with the event. Garda Tom O Grady of Dingle Gardai was also in attendance and will work closely with the event organisers to ensure a safe weekend to all concerned.

Details of the exact route for this years rally have yet to be finalised but it is anticipated that some of classic West Kerry stages will be used again, in addition to some new roads not previously used for such an event. Kerry Motor Club will begin a route survey over the next couple of weeks and will chose a route that not alone provides a word class challenge to the rally drivers, but also ensure that safety is of the utmost priority and that the event will cause minimum disruption to the general public by keeping road closing times as short as possible. Kerry Motor Club will work in close liaison with Kerry County Council to ensure that all bylaws regarding a large event like this are obeyed and the route chosen will not create any unnecessary damage to the road network of the peninsula. With this in mind, a spokesperson for the club praised the cooperation of the residents along the route and only for their assistance an event of this stature could not take place. He said “The residents of the route are the unsung heroes of Irish motorsport and we are very grateful to them for the assistance we have received in running this event over the years. It just would not be possible without their cooperation”

The organisers of the event have secured massive television coverage for the event with camera crews from TG4, TV3 and Sky Sports covering the rally, which means shots of the fantastic scenery of the Dingle Peninsula will broadcast into millions of homes throughout Ireland and further a field.

The Pirelli Irish Tarmac Rally Championship

 Pirelli Tyres is pleased to announce that for the 2004 season it will become the title sponsor of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. The Championship will now be known as the Pirelli Irish Tarmac Rally Championship.
“Pirelli is demonstrating its continued commitment to the development of rallying in Ireland from the grassroots through to the very highest echelons of the sport”  said Wayne Nickless, Pirelli Marketing Director. “We are thrilled to have clinched the sponsorship of both the premier rally Championships in the UK and Ireland – with the Pirelli British Rally Championship and the Pirelli Irish Tarmac Championship”.
We are very pleased to welcome Pirelli as sponsors of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship” said Tom Walsh, Chairman of TROA. “We are delighted to form an association with such a prestigious company as Pirelli who have a long history of success in Motorsport. We look forward to working with them to build the profile of the Championship for the benefit of both the competitors and events”.

FIRST CHOICE FLOORING GALWAY INTERNATIONAL RALLY 

       6/8 FEBRUARY.

 

BUY AND SELL CIRCUIT OF IRELAND INTERNATIONAL RALLY  

      10/12        APRIL.

ORDNANCE SURVEY INTERNATIONAL. RALLY OF THE LAKES

                                                                                                30 APRIL/2 MAY

SHELL DONEGAL INTERNATIONAL RALLY                            18/20 JUNE 

JIM CLARK MEMORIAL INTERNATIONAL RALLY                       2/4 JULY

MANX INTERNATIONAL RALLY                                                  29/31 JULY

ULSTER INTERNATIONAL RALLY                                    3/4 SEPTEMBER

MUNSTER CORK 20 INTERNATIONAL RALLY           2/3 OCTOBER

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