The Joule Donegal International Rally in association with the Mount Errigal Hotel and the Pulse Venue has come to a close for this year. The atmosphere is slowly dissipating and life starts to return to normal.
2018 will live long in the memory as the rally took more twists and turns than the roads being used!! Through it all Manus Kelly & Donall Barrett took their third win in a row, ensuring their place in the record books alongside Donegal winning legends Cathal Curley and Billy Coleman.
In the National section of the event the managing director of our main sponsor Joule, Ian Barrett took an equally impressive victory in his Darrian partnered by Paul McGee.
Eamon McGee clerk of the course for the past seven years said, “I am delighted with the way the event has passed off, we ran every stage, on time and no major incidents. The crews were delighted with the route we had laid out for them “Eamon continued “The team behind this Rally is small but they all preformed more than I could have asked of them, the officials and marshals kept the show on the road in changeable weather conditions. We had the cream of Irish Rallying competing on our stages but we also had the cream of Marshals on our stages, they travelled the length of the country and beyond to help. The residents, landowners and business owners along the route need to be thanked as it’s through their goodwill this event happens. I have heard so many heart-warming stories of residents handing out tea, coffee and snacks to our marshals and spectators. We are well aware of the issues on the roads and at night, the Gardai have dealt with this extremely well and prosecuting the offenders and hopefully this will send out a strong message. These people are not rally fans as we have seen the true fans line the stages this year in record numbers in a safe and respectful manner”.
All that remains is to thank everyone one involved in this great event and start counting down to 2019!!!
Donnelly: Donegal was a “leap forward” for Hyundai & MRF Tyres project
Posted: November 13, 2018 7:22 AM
Eugene Donnelly stormed to an overall fastest time on his way to a season-best result at last weekend’s Donegal International Rally, taking his Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing i20 R5 to 6th overall and 4th Irish Tarmac Championship contender home in difficult conditions throughout the three-day event (15-17 June).
Donnelly, who has returned to the championship after a break of several years, has enjoyed a one hundred per cent finishing record so far this season as he continues to develop the Hyundai and MRF Tyres for the unique Irish soil. But his Donegal outing has seen a shift in the performance of the four-wheel-drive machine and the Maghera driver was delighted with the result.
Co-driven by Mark Kane, Donnelly has ensured the Hyundai project in association with Philip Case Rally Sport is continually moving forward and has visibly been able to improve his pace across each of the three events so far this season. A seventh overall on the Killarney Rally of the Lakes was a highlight prior to the weekend.
A string of top-three stages times against the mighty World Rally Cars in the opening half of the season has been an encouraging sign for the five-time Irish champion. His aim to close the gap on the leaders was well on track as he headed to one of the toughest and most daunting rounds on the calendar.
Twenty stages and around 290km of special stage action would lie ahead over the three days and it would be important to ensure the i20 could return to the finish ramp on Sunday evening intact. However, Donnelly would suffer a slower than normal start with Anti-lag issues before the opening test hampering progress on the opening loop. Once fixed, he could begin to find the rhythm which has ensured the successes so far this season.
A difficult opening day and a wrong tyre choice saw the Hyundai finishing in 12th overall after six tests, with work to do over the second leg. In typical fashion, the weather would play its part in the event and whilst those around him faltered, Donnelly used his wealth of experience to guide the Hyundai from 12th overnight, to sixth at the end of day two. Despite more inclement weather from the Atlantic on Sunday, Donnelly fired in a succession of impressive times to secure a season-best sixth spot.
“Well Donegal certainly lived up to its reputation as one of the trickiest on the calendar but I`m delighted to have given the Hyundai i20 its highest ITRC position so far this season, it’s been a real leap forward this weekend,” said Donnelly.
“The icing on the cake was giving the MRF Tyre is first fastest time on Irish soil and it really feels like a win for us. You know its always been a long-term project and to see the progression we are making event by event is so very encouraging. We have a great team behind us and the support from Hyundai Customer Racing and Andrew John has been fantastic ever since we got this off the ground.”
Donnelly started the year without an eye on podium results, but as he edges nearer with each passing rally, he remains optimistic about the future.
“There is much more to come from the car, the tyre and of course Mark and I so the Ulster Rally is one I’m really looking forward to. We have Keith Cronin out in Ypres now in the sister car to this one and we are really focusing on that. It’s a really exciting time for the project and it's still very much in its infancy. Its exciting times for us all.”
The series now heads into its summer break before it reconvenes in August for the Ulster Rally.
Donnelly is supported by Divers Hyundai, MRF Tyres, Sligo Pallets, PPP Group, Midland Tyre Services, McPartland Group, Philip Case Rally Sport, Protune Ireland, CBM Signs and the CFM Group.
Press Release Seven……. The Truly International Rally
Posted: June 3, 2018 2:33 PM
With just under two weeks to the 2018 Joule Donegal International Rally in association with the Pulse Venue and The Mount Errigal Hotel things are really starting to heat up and it’s not just the weather!! Accommodation is at an absolute premium all across the county, with Hotel beds, Bed and Breakfasts and Air BnB’s all at capacity, it’s looking to be a bumper year for revenue coming into the local economy.
The entry list has a truly international feel this year, with crews coming from all corners of Ireland and the UK as well as the United States of America, Canada and Australia. Just some of the crews making the trip this year are; first time navigator Balmore Hernandez he is travelling with all his family from San Francisco to co-drive for Joe Whyte in a historic spec Mini. Tony Quinn from New Zealand is returning from New Zealand once again and this year he is bringing one of his own cars a VW Polo S2000, he will be co-driven by Glenn Alcorn, Glenn is a Leitermacaward native living and working now in Western Australia. Scotland is particularly well represented this year with eight crews making the ferry journey across to rally in the Hills of Donegal.
The route for this year is as follows; Friday sees the crews leave the Mount Errigal Hotel and tackle the stages of Breenagh, Cark Mountain and Letterleague, these stages are repeated twice with centralised service in the council yard in Letterkenny. Saturday and Sunday once again sees centralised service in Milford. Saturday morning will see the crews traverse the Carnhill and Knockalla stages then into service and repeat the stages. In the afternoon Gartan and Trentagh are on the menu for the competitors again these are repeated with a service in between. Sunday has the classic stages of Fanad, Atlantic Drive and Glen repeated before the winners and the remaining crews make it back to the finish ramp at the Mount Errigal Hotel at 5.30pm
Are we ready to Rally………..?? Press Release six
Posted: May 31, 2018 4:34 AM
The 2018 Joule Donegal International Rally team is delighted to announce the entry list for this year’s event. Once again the organisers have been overwhelmed by the number of entries that have been received. The main field is filled to capacity and a lengthy reserve list has been drawn up. The Historic and Junior fields are also running at maximum numbers. Not only is the rally running at maximum numbers but the quality running from car 1 to car 151 it is the crème da la crème of Irish Rallying. Starting at number one are the winners for the previous two years Manus Kelly & Donall Barrett they are the first of ten world rally cars in the field. Hot on their heels will be other WRC drivers Donagh Kelly, Declan Boyle, Garry Jennings and returnee Darren Gass to name just some of the World Car drivers looking to claim Manus and Donall’s Crown.
The main Irish Tarmac Championship class is the R5 category and all the leading Championship contenders are coming to Donegal in a bid to claim maximum points and edge them towards championship glory. Drivers such as Monaghan brothers Sam & Josh Moffett, Robert Barrable, Desi Henry and Jonny Greer are in a strong position after the first three rounds of the championship. Two young guns making their Irish R5 debut are Callum Devine and Rob Duggan these two starlets are looking to show the established stars that they mean business.
The modified cars make up the bulk of the entry on this year’s event, the main class in this category is class 14, there are over 30 crews due to start in this class. Leading the crews away will be last year’s Modified Tarmac Champion Kevin Eves in his Toyota Corolla, and it’s a real who’s who of modified crews rolling over the ramp behind him. Drivers of the calibre of Gary McPhillips, Brian Brogan, and Gary Kiernan, Stuart Darcy and Ryan Loughran plus at least another 15 crews who believe they can be modified Kings on the Sunday evening in Letterkenny.
If for any reason any competitor will be unable to make the start they are asked to contact the event secretary as soon as possible. This is to give the crews on the reserve list a chance to compete on this year’s rally.
Seeded Entry List
Posted: May 26, 2018 3:06 PM
1 Manus Kelly/Donall Barrett (Subaru Impreza WRC S12B) [7]
2 Donagh Kelly/Conor Foley (Ford Focus WRC) [7]
3 Declan Boyle/James O Reilly (Ford Fiesta WRC) [7]
4 Garry Jennings/Rory Kennedy (Subaru Impreza WRC S12B) [7]
5 Darren Gass/Enda Sherry (Subaru Impreza WRC S14) [7]
6 Derek McGarrity/Paddy Robinson (Ford Fiesta WRC) [7]
7 Sam Moffett/Karl Atkinson (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
8 Robert Barrable/Damien Connolly (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
9 Josh Moffett/Andy Hayes (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
10 Desi Henry/Liam Moynihan (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
12 Joseph McGonigle/Ciaran Geaney (Mini WRC) [7]
14 Jonathan Greer/Kirsty Riddick (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
15 Callum Devine/Brian Hoy (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
17 Robert Duggan/Ger Conway (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
18 Eugene Donnelly/Mark Kane (Hyundai i20 R5) [5]
20 Kevin Eves/Chris Melly (Toyota Corolla) [14]
21 Gary McPhillips/James McNulty (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
22 Brian Brogan/Damien McGettigan (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
23 Gary Kiernan/Ryan Moore (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
24 Jonathan Pringle/Paul Sheridan (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
25 Stuart Darcy/William Lynch (Darrian T90) [14]
26 Declan Gallagher/TBA (Toyota Starlet RWD) [13]
27 Adrian Hethrington/Ronan O Neill (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
28 Damien Tourish/Domhnall McAlaney (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
29 Frank Kelly/Liam Brennan (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
30 Barry Meade/Colin Fitzgerald (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
31 Vivian Hamill/Andrew Grennan (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
32 Ryan Loughran/Gareth Doherty (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
33 Damian Toner/Denver Rafferty (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
34 Kevin Gallagher/Noel O Sullivan (Darrian T90) [14]
35 Ian Barrett/Paul McGee (Darrian T90) [14]
36 John Bonner/Leon Jordan (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
37 Wesley Patterson/Johnny Baird (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
38 Phil Collins/Ashley Trimble (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
39 PJ McDermott/Niall Burns (Subaru Impreza WRC S12B) [7]
40 Stuart Biggerstaff/Anthony Nestor (Subaru Impreza WRC S9) [7]
41 Jason McSweeney/Anthony O Connell (Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Evo 9) [20]
42 John O Donnell/Aidan Friel (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
43 Martin McGee/Johnny McGee (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
44 Conor Harvey/Gerard Callaghan (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
45 Mark Alcorn/Kevin McCafferty (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
46 Kevin O Donoghue/TBA (BMW M3) [14]
47 Tommy Doyle/Ger Conway (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
48 Pauric Duffy/Kevin Glynn (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
49 Gary Cooney/John McElhinney (Subaru Impreza WRC S12B) [7]
50 Aidan Wray/Kieran McGrath (Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Evo 10) [4]
51 Shane Maguire/Darragh Kelly (Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Evo 9) [4]
52 William Mavitty/TBA (Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Evo 9) [4]
53 Gavin Kelly/Eamonn Gillespie (Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Evo 9) [4]
54 Mark Boyle/Charles Gallagher (Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Evo 9) [4]
55 Cathan McCourt/Barry McNulty (Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Evo 10) [4]
56 Michael Carbin/Conor Mohan (Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Evo 4) [20]
57 Paul Rowley/Brian Doherty (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
58 Lee Hastings/Alistair Wyllie (Subaru Impreza WRX) [20]
59 Colin Quirke/Kaine Treanor (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
60 Declan McCroary/Stephen O Hanlon (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
61 Keith Lyons/Sean Hegarty (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
62 Kyle McGettigan/Dale McGettigan (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
63 Patrick McHugh/Pauric O Donnell (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
64 Johno Doogan/Ciaran Markon (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
65 Anthony Quinn/Glenn Alcorn (VW Polo) [5]
66 Robert Adamson/Jane Nicol (Skoda Fabia S2000) [5]
67 Andy Davies/Max Freeman (Subaru Impreza WRX) [20]
68 JF Shovelin/Emmet Brosnan (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
69 Stephen Bawn/Chris O Donnell (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
70 Richard Moffett/Martin Connelly (Toyota Starlet RWD) [14]
71 John McQuaid/Thomas Treanor (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
72 Bruce Edwards/Jim Smyth (Darrian T90) [14]
73 Daniel Conaghan/Terence Magee (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
74 Columba Heena/Derek Heena (Toyota Corolla) [13]
75 David Moffett/Karl Egan (Toyota Starlet RWD) [13]
76 William McFadden/Daniel McBride (Ford Escort G3) [13]
77 Johnny Jordan/Gary McNern (Toyota Starlet RWD) [13]
78 Conor Curley/Nigel Frazer (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
79 Michael Dunlop/Robb Fagg (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
80 Barry Morris/Declan Campbell (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
81 JR McDaid/TBA (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
82 Geoffrey Dolan/Connor Murphy (Talbot Sunbeam) [13]
83 Cormac Phelan/Katja Auhl (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
84 Peter Wilson/Brendan McElhinney (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
85 Jason Roache/John McCarthy (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
86 Liam Doherty/Dermot McGettigan (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
87 Conor Watters/Shane O Donnell (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
88 Daniel Breslin/TBA (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
89 Damien Whoriskey/Conal McNulty (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
90 Tommy O Connell/Emmett Sherry (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
91 Gerard McQuaid/Gareth Quinlan (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
92 Oran Donnelly/Paul Hughes (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
93 Shane Cullen/Connor O Loan (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
94 James McCarville/Paddy McCrudden (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
95 Liam McMullan/John Coll (Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Evo 9) [20]
96 Stephen Carey/Nicole Roycroft (Ford Fiesta R5) [2]
97 Michael Boyle/Dermot McCafferty (Honda Civic) [11F]
98 Kevin McLaughlin/TBA (Honda Civic) [11F]
99 Donal Kelly/Aidan Sweeney (Honda Civic) [11F]
100 JP Logue/James Logue (Honda Civic) [11F]
101 Liam McIntyre/Rory McBride (Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Evo 9) [20]
102 Brian Watson/Sean Donnelly (Subaru Impreza WRC S11) [7]
103 Ashley Dickson/Graham Henderson (Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Evo 9) [20]
104 Joe McQuillan/Ashley Boulton (Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Evo 9) [20]
105 Jim McDowall/Charlotte McDowall (Subaru Impreza WRX) [15]
106 Viorel Dobasu/TBA (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
107 Liam Egan/Patrick Brides (Subaru Impreza R4) [4]
108 Andrew Hegarty/TBA (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
109 Denis Ferry/Danny McMenamin (Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Evo 9) [4]
110 Billy McClelland/Steven Browne (Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Evo 3.5) [20]
111 Damien Campbell/Declan McGarrity (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
112 Gary McElhinney/Stephen McGing (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
113 Shaun Murphy/Damien McKenna (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
114 John Dolan/Jack McGinley (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
115 Peter Greene/Conor Comack (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
116 Michael Peoples/Sean Doherty (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
117 Kevin Kelly/Keith Harris (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
118 Declan Campbell/Kevin Creighton (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
119 James Cassidy/Jane Collins (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
120 Vincent Collins/Fintan Kilroe (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
121 Patrick Bradley/Gavin Doherty (Ford Escort G3) [13]
122 Gerard Gibbons/Aodhan Gallagher (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
123 Stephen Peoples/Kieran Burke (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
124 James Fitzgerald/Mossie O Connell (Honda Civic) [11F]
125 Shane Stanley/Kenneth Fuller (Honda Civic) [11F]
126 Danny McBride/Emmett McNulty (Honda Civic) [11F]
127 Ciaran Phelan/Aine Phelan (Honda Civic) [13]
128 Seamus McDaid/Jared Gill (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
129 Anthony McCann/Damien McCann (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
130 Clive McGonigle/Steven Tinney (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
131 Nick Barnett/Martin Brady (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [4]
132 Steve Benton/Peter Thomas (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
133 Stanley McKeown/Nigel Gourley (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
134 Gerard McGivney/Gavin McGivney (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
135 Kieran O Kane/Sean Devlin (Opel Ascona) [14]
136 Shane Carr/Ciaran Carr (Vauxhall Nova) [10]
137 Sam Stewart/Alan Johnson (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
138 Paul Crosby/Trisha Greavy (Toyota Starlet RWD) [11R]
139 John Mulholland/Aidan O Connor (Ford Escort Mk2) [9]
140 Andy Heekin/Kris Farrell (Subaru Impreza WRX) [15]
141 Andrew McTaggart/Shane McTaggart (Toyota Corolla) [11R]
142 Mark Ewing/Danny Cannon (Honda Civic) [3]
143 Christopher Boyce/Pascal Dillon (Honda Civic) [3]
144 Alistair Glenn/Lee Simpson () []
145 Eamonn McLaughlin/Anthony McLaughlin (Vauxhall Nova) [10]
146 Shaun Doherty/Chris Harley (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
147 Brian Henaghan/Patsy Tommy (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
148 Stuart Robb/Adrian Rankin (Toyota Corolla) [11R]
149 David Gordon/Daniel Callaghan (Rover MG) [9]
150 Michael Curran/Michael O Donnell (Honda Civic) [11F]
151 Sean Heraghty/Gary Lockhart (Toyota Corolla) [11R]
152 Shane McFadden/Shane Sweeney (Honda Civic) [11F]
153 Ruairi McGarrity/Martin McGarrity (Peugeot 106) [11F]
154 Aaron McLaughlin/Martin Farren (Ford Fiesta) [20]
155 Stephen McDonagh/Patrick Coll (Toyota Corolla) [11R]
Historics
H1 Martin Doherty/Darragh Doherty (Ford Escort Mk2) [K]
H2 Andy Johnson/TBA (Chevette) [K]
H3 Frank Cunningham/Ross Forde (BMW M3) [C5]
H4 Jimmy McRae/Pauline Gullick (Vauxhall Magnum) [C4]
H5 Ronan Campbell/Ciaran McAnespy (Ford Escort Mk2) [C5]
H6 David Goose/Darren Harvey (Ford Escort Mk2) [D5]
H7 John Keatley/James McKeefrey (Porsche 911) [B5]
H8 Niall Keane/Conor Keane (Talbot Sunbeam) [D3]
H9 Craig McWilliam/Trevor Hamilton (Ford Escort Mk1) [C5]
H10 Brian Devine/Edward McHugh (Avenger) [C2]
H11 Niall Creighton/Gregory Roberts (Ford Cortina) [B3]
H12 James Hall/Tony McCarthy (Audi Coupe) [K]
H14 Peter Thompson/Walter Ainsworth (Talbot Sunbeam) [D5]
H15 Brian Carson/Adam Carson (Mini Cooper) [C1]
H16 Iarla Carty/Stephen Reynolds (Mini) [B2]
H17 Harry Browne/Martin McGrath (Avenger) [C2]
H18 Ivan Warwick/Evelyn Warwick (Audi Quattro) []
H19 Joe Whyte/Baltimore Hernandez (Mini) [B2]
H20 Brendan McAree/Niall Kelly (Porsche 911) [K]
H21 Martin Freestone/Misha Freestone (Ford Escort RS) [C3]
Juniors
J1 Jason Black/Jack McKenna (Toyota Starlet) [J2]
J2 Jonny Treanor/Damien Fleming (Honda Civic) [J2]
J3 Gary McNamee/Brian Brady (Honda Civic) [J2]
J4 Jordan Hone/Aileen Kelly (Adam R2) [J2]
J5 Neil M Brogan/Niall Campbell (Honda Civic) [J2]
J6 Gary Byrne/Dylan Doonan (Honda Civic) [J2]
J7 Brian Moore/Lorcan Moore (Honda Civic) [J2]
J8 Darragh McNern/Trevor Graham (Toyota Corolla) [J2]
J9 Derry Long/Declan Casey (Honda Civic) [J2]
J10 Nicholas Alcorn/James McGlinchey (Honda Civic) [J2]
J11 Gareth Deazley/Eathan McColgan (Honda Civic) [J2]
J12 Ryan Diver/Ryan Brennen (Honda Civic) [J2]
J14 Ryan Moore/Christopher Moffitt (Honda Civic) [J2]
J15 Aaron McIntyre/Ben McIntyre (Toyota Starlet) [J2]
J16 Conor Hagan/Darren McCaffrey (Ford Fiesta) [J2]
J17 Mickey Joe Browne/Sean Browne (Ford Escort Mk2) [J2]
J18 Darren Barrett/TBA (Honda Civic) [J2]
J19 Dylan Baskin/Kevin Whyte (Honda Civic) [J2]
J20 Eoin Kelly/Cormac McDermott (Opel Corsa) [J2]
J21 Cathal Nolan/Stephen Joyce (Honda Civic) [J2]
Reserve List (Juniors)
RJ1 Patrick Brogan/TBA (Honda Civic) [J2]
RJ2 Adam Rankin/Ryan Jordan (Honda Civic) [J2]
RJ3 Michael Cunniffe/Barry Talt (Honda Civic) [J2]
RJ4 Shay Delaney/Iarla McCarthy (Honda Civic) [J2]
Rally Launch - (Fri) 25 May 18
Posted: May 23, 2018 6:07 PM
xciting plans to announce this week ahead of this year’s Joule Donegal International Rally along with associated sponsors The Mount Errigal Hotel and The Pulse Venue both Letterkenny based businesses.
First on the agenda is the official launch of this year’s rally which will take place in the An Grianán Theatre on Friday the 25th of May at 7.30pm. Eamon McGee the Clerk of the Course for this year’s event was quoted “This is a chance to come along and meet the crews before the competition kicks in, they will be on hand to give their opinions and discuss their preparations ahead of the rally”.
Eamon continued “On the night we will announce the top20 for this year’s event and I believe this will spring a few surprises”.
The launch will be free to enter and everyone is welcome. Compere on the night will be Charlie Collins, it will also be streamed live on Donegal Daily and the internet, via Killian Duffy’s ‘OnthePacenote.com’ Facebook page and will be shared across all our social media pages.
Killian will also be providing some innovative and exciting coverage over the rally weekend. As well as his usual stage end and service interviews Killian and his team are planning four nightly programmes. During these nightly shows, Killian will have expert opinions on hand to help to dissect and analyse the action on the stages. More details of this will be announced in the coming weeks.
The official programme for this year Joule Donegal International Rally is available to pre-order via www.donegalrally.ie. These will be posted and will also be distributed to shops on Monday the 28th of May
To keep up to date with all the latest information on this year’s rally logon to www.donegalrally.ie or follow us on all social media platforms.
A Good Friday to Rally - Fundraising Night - (Fri) 30 Mar 18
Posted: March 26, 2018 2:25 PM
The countdown to the Joule Donegal International Rally is well and truly on. with some exciting and innovative ideas to be announced in the coming weeks.
The first exciting announcement is that our associate sponsor the Pulse Venue in Letterkenny are having a Good Friday Rally Party on the 30th March. It’s going to be a fantastic night of live music, the Whistlin Donkeys will be kicking off the night in spectacular fashion, they hit the stage at 10.30pm the guys will rock the Pulse until 12midnight. Then Donegal native David Craig takes to the stage with his big band they will be sure to entertain the crowd. Then Marty Mone from Monaghan will belt out his hits until 3am. It’s guaranteed to be a brilliant night and funds from the night will help offset the expense of running the greatest Rally in Ireland. Everyone welcome and remember the Rally will benefit from your attendance on the night.
The Rally itself is already attracting great interest with crews making enquires from all over Ireland, the United Kingdom, across Europe and indeed further afield. Clerk of the Course Eamon McGee and his team are putting the finishing touches to this year’s route. Eamon said “This year we look forward to putting on an even greater event for all the crews. We were overwhelmed by the support we received in 2017, with that in mind we are looking at giving the competitors more of what they enjoyed last year”.
To keep up to date with all the latest information on this years Joule Donegal International Rally go to www.donegalrally.ie or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/donegalrally.ie
Joule Donegal International Rally to Sparkle in June
Posted: February 20, 2018 6:55 AM
With less than five months remaining to the biggest sporting event in Donegal, it is with great pleasure that the Donegal Motor Club can announce that Joule Energy Systems will once again be the main Sponsors of the Donegal International Rally. Joule Energy Systems now in their fourth year as title sponsors are pleased to be at the forefront of the Biggest Rally in Ireland. CEO of the Company, Ian Barrett, is delighted to be back on board backing the event and no doubt Ian will be bringing his fabulous Fiesta WRC to compete on the event which takes place over the weekend of 15th to 17th of June.
Speaking this week Donegal Motor Club Chairman, Brian Brogan, said “It’s great to have Joule on board again for 2018, their support of the event is very much appreciated and we look forward to working with Ian and his team in making the event yet another special occasion ". Clerk Of the Course Eamon Mc Gee also commented “I would like to thank Joule for their continued support of the event, we aim to make the 2018 Joule Donegal International bigger and better than ever".
With plans well under way for the June spectacle its sure to be yet another great event, with entries over the last few years well over subscribed early interest has already came in from crews from Sweden, China, Australia, Germany and the UK. This just shows the magnitude of the Joule Donegal International Rally.
Also announced this week is that, The Pulse Nightclub in Letterkenny a business well known to the Rallying Community will come on board as an associate sponsor of the Donegal International Rally. Proprietor Mark Crossan has pledged his support to the Donegal Motor Club and they will run a Rally Party night on Good Friday 30th March in the Pulse Night Club Letterkenny. Headline acts on the night will be Hit the Diff Star Marty Moane ,The Whistlin Donkeys and Local Country Star David Craig .All monies on the night will go the Donegal Motor Club Support fund.
Mark said “We have had a long association with the Rally and we are glad to be on board to help the Club as a sponsor and be part of yet another super Rally “. Club Chairman Brian Brogan stated “We would like to thank Mark and all at the Pulse for their support. This kind of help from local businesses will make it another great year in Donegal. I would urge for as much support for this special Night on Good Friday".
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