Ireland has a long history in motorsport with too many famous names to mention on the National and International scene worldwide. Ireland also has two major rally championships (national and international) and with some regional championships and also some well known non championship events contested over closed roads (sealed surfaces) and with Irish rallying enjoying a huge following worldwide, it was only fitting that Ireland host a ‘Tarmac Round’ of the 2007 World Rally Championship. The first official Irish World Rally Event took place in the North West of the island in November 2007 in wet and very slippery conditions. Drivers reported that the roads were so technical that they could not include all the details they needed in the Pacenotes. Jari Matti Latvala said that his leg was shaking on the accelerator at one point because of the conditions and speed he was doing at the time. Jari is a very quick and committed driver, so a comment like that can only give an insight into the conditions for the rally and the commitment needed.

Wet roads and ‘cuts’ on the corners meant a lot of wet mud being pulled onto the roads which gave very slippery conditions. But with the top quality organisation and the huge amount of volunteers involved, the rally got huge praise from home, abroad and also from the FIA. Irish Motorsport is well known for its high level of safety and this was again reflected in the comments from abroad and also the FIA, praising the safety and declaring the rally one of the safest in the championship.

It was great for Irish rallying when Rally Ireland was again announced as a round of the WRC. But the big surprise came when it was announced that it would replace Rallye Monte Carlo, one of the stalwart events of the WRC, as the opening round of the 2009 Championship.

With the high number and quality of Rally Cars in Ireland, there was always going to be a very good entry for the first Rally Ireland in 2007. However with the Global downturn taking hold, Irish entries are bound to suffer in 2009 and with Subaru and Suzuki missing from the manufacturers championship, it could mean a lean year for Rally Ireland and the World Rally Championship. Apart from the Ford and Citroen Factory Drivers, some other names confirmed for the event are Niall McShea in Group N and Chis Atkinson has been confirmed for a drive in Citroen’s second team.

With a change in date from November to January, the weather will still be cold but instead of wet conditions, there is now snow and ice also forecast which is not only a regular feature for the opening round of the WRC, usually in Monte Carlo, but also for Rallying in Ireland and on the Galway International in particular. Galway’s usual date has been taken by Rally Ireland and in Galway you can usually see ice in the early morning, dry almost spring conditions by mid day unless there is a very cold spell and then you can also see snow on the high ground, and finally towards the end of the day, very cold conditions as the final stage finishes in darkness. Conditions like this can be expected on Rally Ireland and with the event taking place a little further north than the Galway International, cold and icy conditions could play a major part in the outcome. Lets not forget that Rally Ireland 2007 had a sting in the tail for Championship Contender Marcus Gronholm. Even though its the opening round of the championship and so cannot hope to have any effect on the 2009 championship, maybe the weather and technical conditions facing the competitors in Rally Ireland could have a sting in the tail for one of the Championship contenders or maybe deliver a totally unexpected leader board like in Wales a few weeks ago.

That said, with the Manufacturer Team entries for the WRC halved, we could see some unusual or unknown names on the leader board throughout the season. Instead of looking at 2009 as a year that could be a disappointing year, maybe we should be looking at it as a year that could be very interesting and maybe bringing a new name or names to the international scene, and who knows, maybe even a future world champion. Either way, Rally Ireland has a lot to offer the World Rally Championship now and in the future and we at RallyPortfolio.com would like to wish it every success.

Dermot O’Doherty
RallyPortfolio.com