JENNINGS POWERS HIS KUMHO-SHOD SUBARU TO MEMORABLE VICTORY IN THE GALWAY INTERNATIONAL RALLY
Posted: February 12, 2016 4:40 AM
Garry Jennings achieved a memorable overall victory on last weekend's Corrib Oil Galway International Rally (February 5-7), using his Kumho-shod Subaru Impreza to beat three-times British Rally Champion Keith Cronin's Citro?n DS3 into second place by almost 3.5 minutes.
This was a notably sweet result for 2013 Irish Rally Champion Jennings, who had never won the event before, despite many years of trying. And though on this occasion he led from start to finish there were still concerns throughout, with many competitors crashing out as a result of the challenging conditions and worries over the Subaru's wipers and central differential; the latter was of particular concern and something the team were understandably keen to keep secret from their fellow competitors.
Jennings was once again partnered by Letterkenny-based Rory Kennedy, who is these days the most successful co-driver in the history of the Irish Tarmac Championship.
Commenting on the result, Kumho Motorsport's Steve Thompson remarked: "This was a typically dominant drive by long-standing Kumho ambassador Garry and we are delighted to have contributed to his maiden win in this ever-popular event. The conditions were typically tricky and it was rewarding to see our tyres stealing a march on the products of rival manufacturers."
The next round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship is the West Cork Rally on March 12/13.
Videos: Tarmac Championship End of Day Reviews
Posted: February 11, 2016 4:58 PM
Day 1
Day 2
In-Car (Updated)
Posted: February 9, 2016 12:52 PM
David Guest & Paddy Robinson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) SS4
Sam Moffett & Karl Atkinson (Ford Fiesta R5) SS4
Marty Gallagher & Dean O Sullivan (Ford Fiesta R2) SS14
Callum Devine & Keith Moriarty (Opel Adam R2) SS7
Kieran O'Donoghue & Peter Falvey (Honda Civic) SS14
Paul Rowley & Patrick Brides (Skoda Fabia S2000) SS11
Joseph McGonigle & Ciaran Geaney (Skoda Fabia S2000) SS14
Maiden Galway win for Jennings as Cronin leads the Tarmac Championship
Posted: February 9, 2016 8:21 AM
Garry Jennings and Rory Kennedy in a Subaru WRC were the winners of the Corrib Oil Galway International Rally when they had over three minutes to spare over the Citroen DS3 R5 of Keith Cronin & Mikie Galvin who now lead the championship. Alastair Fisher & Gordon Noble came home third overall in a Ford Fiesta R5 after a tough fifteen stage event where the weather conditions made life very difficult for the competing crews. While the attrition rate wasn't as high as the first day, Desi Henry & Liam Moynihan who were fourth overnight retired on stage 10 when they crashed their Skoda Fabia R5.
The Modified section of the rally saw Wesley Patterson & Johnny Baird take the win by over a minute from Tom Flaherty & Patrick Curley, both in Escorts, while Jason McSweeney & Stephen Quin were third in a Mitsubishi Lancer. Eugen Meegan & Sarah Whelan had been leading overnight but crashed on stage 12. Ray Cunningham & Adrian Cusack won the Historic category in a Mini, while Kieran O'Donoghue & Peter Falvey won the Junior category in a Honda Civic.
Class winners: Callum Devine/Keith Moriarty (Opel Adam),
Richard Whelan/James Whelan (Citroen DS3 R3),
David Guest/Paddy Robinson,
Sam Moffett/Karl Atkinson,
Roy White/James O'Brien.
NATIONAL EVENT:
1 Wesley Patterson/Johnny Baird (Ford Escort) 1h 50m 52s,
2 Tom Flaherty/Patrick Curley (Ford Escort) 1h 52m 01s,
3 Jason McSweeney/Stephen Quin (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 1h 52m 31s,
4 Patrick McHugh/Pauric O'Donnell (Ford Escort) 1h 52m 49s,
5 Andrew Fanning/Andy Hayes (Ford Fiesta) 1m 54m 41s,
6 Ross Marshall/Dave Robson (Ford Escort) 1h 54m 46s.
HISTORIC RALLY:
1 Ray Cunningham/Adrian Cusack (Mini Cooper S) 2h 00m 30s,
2 David Goose/Richard Wardle (Ford Escort) 2h 03m 25s,
3 Luke MacCarthy/David Hogan (Porsche 911) 2h 03m 41s.
JUNIOR RALLY:
1 Kieran O'Donoghue/Peter Falvey (Honda Civic) 55m 36s,
2 Mark Murphy/Michael Hamilton (Honda Civic) 55m 40s,
3 Mark O'Leary/Ciaran Graal (Toyota Starlet) 56m 08s.
Leaders After
SS1- Garry Jennings/Rory Kennedy (Subaru Impreza WRC)
The opening round of the 2016 Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Rally Championship takes place this coming weekend and the Corrib Oil Galway International Rally has attracted one of the best entries of any Irish rally for a number of years. Despite the absence of the 2015 champion Donagh Kelly, the entry list boasts many previous championship winners. Top seed and 2013 Tarmac Champion Garry Jennings has never won in Galway, his best result was second overall two years ago, but with his Impreza WRC fully refettled he will be one of the favourites for victory. Declan Boyle won the event two years ago on his way to becoming the 2014 Tarmac champion and with his state of the art Fiesta WRC will fancy his chances of winning this event again.
The top five contains two more former Tarmac Champions in Derek McGarrity and Tim McNulty, the latter making his long anticipated return after a four year absence, while Roy White has recently switched to a WRC and will be looking to gain more experience of his car. 2014 Billy Coleman Award Winner Dean Raftery is at six on his home rally driving a hired Subaru Impreza WRC S9 and while the car may be lacking in outright speed compared to the newer Fiestas and Subarus, he can still be expected to put in a strong showing. World Rally cars cannot win the championship outright in 2016, but can win the individual rounds, and they are eligible for the WRC Trophy.
Declan Gallagher the current Modified Champion has a Subaru Impreza WRC S8 for this event and as it is out of homologation, will run in the modified category, while others to feature in this section will include the Escorts of Wesley Patterson, Chris Armstrong, Tom Flaherty and Liam Howlett along with the spectacular BMW M1 of Eugene Meegan. Stephen Greaney had a good result on this event twelve months ago while Mark Nangle is another to feature strongly in the modified championship over the past few years in his Impreza.
With class 5 (R5 / S2000) now the highest category eligible to win the Tarmac Championship, there is sure to be some tremendous battles throughout the year, and some of the best young talent in Ireland will be on show in Galway. Keith Cronin is a former winner of the event and the three time BRC champion will be one of the favourites for this year?s title in his Citroen R5. However when the opposition includes the Moffett brothers, Desi Henry, Brendan Cumiskey, Alastair Fisher and Stephen Wright to name but a few, anything can happen it promises to be a superb spectacle.
The Historic competitors will have their first outing of the year following the unfortunate cancellation of the Historic Rally of the Lakes in December, and there are several former champions on the list including James O?Mahony and Dessie Nutt, while John Coyne makes the trip from the US in his beautifully prepared Sunbeam Lotus in which he won the 1982 Tarmac championship. There are nine entries in the Junior Category with Robert Counihan (Corolla), Mark O?Leary (Starlet) and Brian Lavelle (Civic) making up the top three seeds.
There are fifteen stages over the weekend with nine stages tackled on the first day between Kilreekil and Portumna with the first stage beginning at 9.16am. The remaining six stages run between Loughrea and Gort on the second day with service in Portumna on the first day and Gort on the second day. You can keep up to date on Twitter (@irishtarmactroa), Facebook (Irish Tarmac Rally Championship) and the championship website at www.irishtarmac.com.
Corrib Oil Galway International Rally - Full Rally Preview
Posted: February 3, 2016 9:41 AM
The 2016 Corrib Oil Galway International Rally takes place over the coming weekend, 5th to 7th February inclusive.
Galway Motor Club is delighted to confirm that there is a capacity entry with teams coming from Germany, Australia and America in addition to numerous UK and Irish crews., over 100 in total. The competing teams, their sponsors and crews, and the thousands of spectators that will line the route will bring a welcome early season boost to visitor numbers to Galway city and county. The event has retained its full weekend format and is expected to generate over 2,000 bed nights for hotels and guest houses. The rally is estimated to bring approximately ?5m spending to the local economy.
At the recent launch, Clerk of the Course, Kieran Donohue said "Galway Motor Club is indebted to the staff of Galway County and City Councils, An Garda Siochana, Failte Ireland, the Road Safety Authority, the Directors and staff of Corrib Oil, the 300 volunteer marshals from all over Ireland, and most of all the residents along the route for their assistance with temporary road closures to ensure the safe running of the event."
The rally will get under way with a Ceremonial Start in Eyre Square on Friday 5th February at 8pm, following afternoon scrutineering of cars at the Galway Race Course from 2pm. These are ideal opportunities to see the rally cars and drivers prior to the start of the competition.
Headquarters for the event is the Clayton Hotel, Ballybrit, Galway. The rally route will cover 9 closed road stages on Saturday 76h February and a further 6 on Sunday 7th February. The rally Service Park will be in Portumna Mart on Saturday and in Gort Mart on Sunday, by kind permission of the Mart Committees. Sunday evening will see the Ceremonial Finish back at Clayton Hotel from approximately 3.30pm. Admission to all events is free over the weekend.
Road Safety:
The Corrib Oil Galway International Rally is an event that is sanctioned by the FIA under an official Permit issued by Motorsport Ireland, and supported by the RSA ? The Road Safety Authority of Ireland. The 'Keep the Race in its Place' campaign is extremely successful in talking to predominantly young people who follow motorsport. The Galway Motor Club is eager to remind everyone of the need to drive safely at all times ? hence the message 'Keep the Race in its Place'. All competing cars will carry this logo and message, and extensive signage to promote this road safety message will be visible.
Kieran Donohue, Clerk of the Course, encourages fans travelling to the Corrib Oil Galway International Rally to heed the message from the organisers to 'Keep the Race in its Place', to slow down, never drink and drive and to always wear a seatbelt. All spectators on the closed road stages must obey the Marshals at all times, as they will be implementing a comprehensive Safety Plan. A traffic management plan has been put in place with the support of the Gardai.
Traffic Diversions:
In order to facilitate the safe running of the event there will be temporary Road Closures on certain roads in south and east County Galway on Saturday 6th February and Sunday 7th February. All will be clearly sign posted and marshalled. All residents have been informed of the times and road closure arrangements and the details have been advertised by Galway County Council. There will also to additional traffic in the Eyre Square area from 7.00pm to 9.00pm on Friday 5th February to facilitate the Ceremonial Start; in the vicinity of the Race Course on Friday afternoon and Sunday afternoon, at the Clayton Hotel, and in Portumna during Saturday and Gort during Sunday.
Nominated Galway Charity:
Galway Motor Club has chosen Blood Bike West as its charity partner for the rally. Blood Bike West is a charitable organisation established by volunteers to deliver essential urgent medical supplies, out of hours, between hospitals, healthcare sites and laboratories. The volunteers provide the service free of charge. The charity's volunteers will be promoting awareness at various locations along the rally route and all support will be much appreciated by them.
Rally Programmes:
The Official Rally Programme contains full listings of stage times, service area times, detailed Ordnance Survey Route Maps and all of the information required to locate the many spectator access points. The Programme costs ?10 and is available from the Clayton Hotel and from various Corrib Oil filling stations, newsagents and outlets in the city and county, listed on the rally website, www.galwayinternationalrally.com
Leading Entries :
The entry of more than 100 cars have been seeded by the organisers and the rally winner is likely to come from one of the top 20 seeds.
Seeded number 1 is Garry Jennings from Fermanagh and Rory Kennedy in a Subaru WRC. Declan Boyle from Donegal, with his cousin Brian Boyle co-driving, is at Number 2 in a Fiesta WRC. The number 6 seed is top local driver Dean Raftery from Craughwell, winner of the Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of the Year award in 2014. The entry also includes no less than 14 of the new generation R5 rally cars. 2016 is the first year for these cars to feature as the lead class in the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Rally championship, and competition is going to be intense. The talented young drivers who drive these cars are very likely to spring a surprise result at the end of the event!
Overseas Entries:
Among the entries from outside of Ireland taking part in this year's event, are number 50, Kai Dieter Kolle from Germany in a Porsche Carrera. John Coyne makes the trip from Canada to take part in the Historic event in a Talbot Sunbeam and Tomas Davies travels from the Wales in his new Fiesta R5.
Leading Local Entries:
Members of Galway Motor Club taking part in the event will be seeking to put their name on the prestigious Brian G Thornton Memorial Cup. The top seeded Galway drivers are:
Car Driver Navigator Address Make/Model
6 Dean Raftery Mark Kane Craughwell Subaru WRC
24 Stephen Greaney Kieran Feeney Galway Escort Mk2
25 Tom Flaherty Patrick Curley Circular Road Escort Mk2
32 Pat Kelly Jonathan Kelly Galway Subaru STI
33 Tommy Cahill Enda O Leary Galway Mitsubishi Evo
34 Justin Comer Adrian Comer Galway Mitsubishi Evo
44 Jonathan Folan Ross Forde Galway Citroen DS3
45 Richard Whelan James Whelan Galway Citroen DS3
Media Coverage:
Results, regular updates and more detailed information will be available on the rally website: www.galwayinternationalrally.com and also links on www.rally.ie. and www.rallynews.com .
Galway Bay FM will be reporting from all 15 stages throughout the weekend with regular updates and driver interviews.
Galway Motor Club has secured TV coverage on TG4, UTV Ireland, and Motors TV with one hour programmes to be broadcast in the coming weeks.
Seeded Entry List
Posted: January 25, 2016 4:38 AM
No. Driver/Navigator (Car) [Class]
1 Garry Jennings/Rory Kennedy (Subaru Impreza WRC S12B) [7]
2 Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Ford Fiesta WRC) [7]
3 Derek McGarrity/Diarmuid Falvey (Ford Fiesta WRC) [7]
4 Roy White/James O'Brien (Ford Fiesta WRC) [7]
5 Tim McNulty/Paul Kiely (BMW Mini WRC) [7]
6 Dean Raftery/Mark Kane (Subaru Impreza S9 WRC) [7]
7 Declan Gallagher/Ryan Moore (Subaru Impreza S8 WRC) [15]
8 Keith Cronin/Mikey Galvin (Citroen DS3 R5) [5]
9 Josh Moffett/Jason McKenna (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
10 Alastair Fisher/Gordon Noble (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
11 Sam Moffett/Karl Atkinson (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
12 Stephen Wright/James Fulton (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
14 Joseph McGonigle/Ciaran Geaney (Skoda Fabia S2000) [5]
15 Jonathan Greer/Kirsty Riddick (Citroen DS3 R5) [5]
16 Desi Henry/Liam Moynihan (Skoda Fabia R5) [5]
17 Aaron Machale/Enda Sherry (Skoda Fabia S2000) [5]
18 Brendan Cumiskey/Ronan O'Kane (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
19 Tomas Davies/Eurig Davies (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
20 Wesley Patterson/Johnny Baird (Ford Escort RS Mk2) [14]
21 Chris Armstrong/Chris Melly (Ford Escort) [13]
22 Eugene Meegan/Sarah Whelan (BMW 1M) [14]
23 Tommy Doyle/TBA (Renault Clio R3) [13]
24 Stephen Greaney/Kieran Feeney (Ford Escort) [13]
25 Tom Flaherty/Patrick Curley (Ford Escort RS) [14]
26 Patrick McHugh/Pauric O'Donnell (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
27 Callum Devine/Keith Moriarty (Opel Adam R2) [1]
28 Marty Gallagher/Dean O'Sullivan (Ford Fiesta R2) [1]
29 Stephen Hernon/Jeff Case (Subaru Impreza N12B) [4]
30 David Guest/Paddy Robinson (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [4]
31 Aidan Wray/Gary McElhiney (Evo X JRM) [4]
32 Pat Kelly/Jonathan Kelly (Subaru Impreza N11) [20]
33 Tommy Cahill/Enda O'Leary (Mitsubishi Evo) [15]
34 Justin Comer/Adrian Comer (Mitsubishi Evo 5) [15]
35 Andrew Fanning/Andy Hayes (Ford Fiesta Evo) [20]
36 Joe Connolly/Richard Connolly (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
37 Jason McSweeney/Stephen Quin (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [20]
38 Liam Howlett/John McGrath (Ford Escort RS Mk2) [13]
39 Ross Marshall/Dave Robson (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
40 Davy Armstrong/Martin McGarrity (Ford Escort) [14]
41 Paul Rowley/Patrick Brides (Skoda S2000) [5]
42 John Watters/Shane O'Donnell (Ford Escort) [14]
43 David Carney/Ray Fitzpatrick (Citroen DS3 R3 MAX) [3]
44 Jonathan Folan/Ross Forde (Citroen DS3 R3) [3]
45 Richard Whelan/James Whelan (Citroen DS3 R3) [3]
46 Peter O'Kane/Tommy Cuddihy (Mitsubishi Evo 10) [4]
47 Seamus Connolly/Gary McCrudden (Toyota Corolla Twincam) [11R]
48 Declan Wilmott/Anthony Nestor (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
49 Mark Nangle/Nollaig Breen (Subaru Impreza) [20]
50 Kai Dieter Kolle/Michaela Alexy (Porsche Carrera) [14]
51 Gus Kearney/Tommy Hayes (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [4]
52 John Mulholland/John Henderson (Skoda S2000) [5]
53 Gavin Kelly/Eamonn Gillespie (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
54 Liam Egan/Raymond Coppinger (Subaru Impreza WRX Sti) [4]
55 Patrick Kearney/Alistair Wyllie (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
56 William Mavitty/Andrew Brown (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [4]
57 John Reddington/Paddy McCrudden (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
58 Tommy Flanagan/Keith Flanagan (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
59 Anthony Masterson/Tommy Clinton (Ford Escort mk 2) [9]
60 Joe Donoghue/Dylan Donoghue (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
61 Eamon Lee/TBA (Ford Escort) [13]
62 Andrew Burke/Colin Keegan (Honda Civic EK4) [2]
63 Frank Cunningham/Arron Forde (Ford Cosworth 4x4) [E4]
64 James O'Mahony/Kerrie Barry (Ford Escort) [D5]
65 Andrew Slattery/Shaun Forde (Peugeot 208 R2) [2]
66 John Byrnes/Brian Grant (Renault Clio) [2]
67 Ed Twomey/Sean Hassett (Fiesta R2) [2]
68 William Creighton/Liam Regan (Peugeot 208 R2) [2]
69 Ray Cunningham/Adrian Cusack (Morris Cooper S) [B2]
70 Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride (Porsche 911) [B5]
71 Luke MacCarthy/David Hogan (Porsche 911) [B5]
72 Stephen Bawn/Desmond Roche (Ford Escort) [12]
73 Declan Forde/Chris King (Ford Escort Mk2) [10]
74 Paul McHugh/Brian Commins (Honda Integra Type R) [1]
75 Owen Gibbons/Martin Haverty (Peugeot 205 GTi) [10]
76 Des Lyons/TBA (Honda Civic EK4) [17]
77 Sean Walsh/TBA (Honda EG6) [11F]
78 John Spiers/Susanne Niedrum (Porsche 911) [C4]
79 John Coyne/Christy Farrell (Talbot Sunbeam Lotus) [D5]
80 Frank Rafferty/Warren Tighe (Chrysler Sunbeam) [11R]
81 Liam McIntyre/Ruth Phillips (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
82 Aidan Doyle/Kerrill Dempsey (Honda Civic Vtec) [11F]
83 Kyle McGettigan/Dale McGettigan (Toyota Corolla) [11R]
84 Kelvin Garney/Kieran Burke (Citroen Saxo) [11F]
85 David Goose/Richard Wardle (Ford Escort RS1800) [D5]
86 Philip McKibbin/Lynn McKibbin (Ford Escort) [B1]
87 Alex Schmieder/Steffan Schmieder (Ford Escort RS1800) [D5]
88 John O'Sullivan/Eoghan McCarthy (Honda Civic) [11F]
89 Marcin Mleczko/Jakub Splawski (Opel Corsa) [9]
90 James Buckley/Paddy Abbey (Honda Civic) [9]
91 Sean Moran/Mark O'Sullivan (Ford Escort) [9]
92 Alex Howes/Christy Costello (MG ZR) [10]
93 Nick Barnett/Martin Brady (Honda Civic Type R) [17]
94 Denis O'Brien/Ryan O'Brien (Opel Corsa) [10]
95 Guil Nascimento/Robbie Ward (Honda Civic Type R) [17]
J1 Robert Counihan/Damien Fleming (Toyota Corolla Twincam) [J2]
J2 Mark O'Leary/Ciaran Graal (Toyota Starlet) [J1]
J3 Brian Lavelle/Shane Byrne (Honda Civic EK4) [J2]
J4 Justin Ryan/Andy Walsh (Honda Civic EK4) [J2]
J5 Noel Murphy/John Burke (Honda Civic Vtec) [J1]
J6 Kieran O'Donoghue/Peter Falvey (Honda Civic eg6) [J2]
J7 Mark G Finnegan/Brian McLoughlin (Suzuki Swift GTI) [J1]
J8 John O Flaherty/Kevin Rohan (Honda Civic) [J2]
J9 Mark Murphy/Michael Hamilton (Honda Civic) [J2]
Corrib Oil Galway International Rally Rally Guide Released!
Posted: December 9, 2015 10:20 AM
On behalf of Galway Motor Club it gives me great pleasure to present our "Rally Guide" for the 2016 Corrib Oil Galway International Rally.
I commend Corrib Oil on stepping up to sponsor this, the first major sporting event of the year in Ireland. Thanks go to Eugene Dalton, his family and all the enthusiastic staff of Corrib Oil for what promises to be a great weekend?s motorsport in Galway City and County. I also extend to all competitors a "Céad Míle Fáilte" to Galway for the rallying, the hospitality and the "craic", for this, the 46th year of International rallying in Galway.
For 2016 the event will once again be Round 1 of the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. (Round 2 of the Historic Championship). Happily, the event will retain a two-day format with headquarters at the Clayton Hotel, Galway. Parc Ferme will be nearby. To help competitors save costs, there will be just 5 different stages to recce, all in a compact route containing 15 stages over the two days. For 2016 we have a totally revised route format giving competitors more stage mileage, particularly on the Saturday, and an earlier finish on Sunday, in order to facilitate competitors from home and abroad with their travel plans. Another change, by popular demand, is to give Historic Rally competitors the chance to drive the full route, and be seeded with the main field for the two days of competition. Competitors will not have to complete any stages in darkness, also avoiding costs for additional lighting for cars and crews. The Service Area for each day will be centralised. We will be running "Rally 2" throughout the rally allowing competitors various opportunities to re-join the rally after retirement and get value for their entry fee and costs. Finishers under "Rally 2" will also be eligible to score points in the Clonakilty Black Pudding Irish Tarmac Rally Championships.
The entry fee will be ?750 ? a small increase over previous years ? and still probably the most cost effective International Rally in Ireland or the UK! As there are 200 kilometres of closed road stages, we offer tremendous value for money.
The Junior Rally will complete all 6 Sunday stages for an Entry Fee of ?350. The event will benefit from extensive TV coverage on National and International TV channels and will also continue with our very popular Live Social Media service.
On behalf of the Club, I wish you a safe and enjoyable rally weekend and I hope you will savour the hospitality that awaits you. I recommend that you extend your stay and appreciate the welcome which you will experience here in Galway City & County.
Kieran Donohue.
Clerk of the Course,
2016 Corrib Oil Galway International Rally.
Main Sponsor Announced for 2016 Galway International Rally!
Posted: December 8, 2015 7:29 AM
Galway Motor Club has announced that the title sponsors for the 2016 Galway International Rally will be a Galway company, Corrib Oil. Preparations are well advanced for the event which will take place over the weekend of the 5th to 7th February 2016.
The Galway Motor Club Committee is delighted that the event, which has been running annually since 1971, has attracted such a prestigious brand name.
Eugene Dalton, Managing Director of Corrib Oil, stated "I am delighted that our company has been given the opportunity to sponsor the first major sporting event in Galway next February. The event is a long established one, now running for 45 years, and continues to attract significant media coverage, including extensive TV coverage of the city and county, and attracts top teams from Ireland, UK, Germany and USA each year."
The 2016 event will again have International Status and will be the opening round of the Clonakilty Black Pudding Tarmac Rally Championship. The Clerk of the Course is Kieran Donoghue from Headford, an experienced organiser and rally competitor. The rally will have a three day format. There will be an opening Ceremonial Start in Galway city on Friday 7th February. Over the following two days there will be a total of 15 stages. The Saturday route will be extended considerably for 2016, and will cover 9 closed road stages in the south and east of the county. A further 6 stages will be covered on the Sunday closer to the city, with a centralised Service Area each day. The event Headquarters will be the Clayton Hotel in Ballybrit, Galway. The event will have categories for Historic Rally cars, which this year will cover the full route of the International Rally, and a Junior rally, which will cover the Sunday stages.
The 2015 Galway International Rally was won by Donagh Kelly from Donegal in his Ford Focus WRC. Donagh had a very successful year subsequently and was crowned Tarmac Rally Champion at the end of the season. For 2016 the championship will feature a new category of rally cars, named "R5". These cars are rallied extensively in Europe in particular, and the Corrib Oil Galway International Rally will see a number of these exciting new cars making their International rally debut.
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