Rally Ireland was added to the

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backs ...

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

(WRC) calendar in 2007. It was not part of the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

schedule, but returned as the First round of the championship in 2009. The north–south event is the largest sporting occasion on the island of Ireland with over 250,000 spectators and a TV audience in 180 countries. As part of the WRC rotation Rally Ireland is not part of the 2010 season but was expected to figure in 2011. However, on 19 February 2010 North One Sport the WRC promoter, announced that Rally Ireland would not be awarded a place on the 2011 calendar.Ireland to miss out on 2011 WRC slot
Autosport Website 2010-02-19 Retrieved 19 February 2010

Stage locations

The 2007 event took place between 15 and 18 November 2007, starting with the ''Super Special Stage'' in the grounds of the Stormont Parliament Buildings on the outskirts of

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, County Down. The remainder of the event was based in the north-west of Ireland in the counties of Sligo, Fermanagh, Donegal, Leitrim, Tyrone,

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who buil ...

and Cavan.

Organisation structure

''Rally Ireland'' is organised by Motorsport Ireland. The event itself joined the WRC in 2007 when it was won by reigning World Champions

Sébastien Loeb Sébastien Loeb (; born 26 February 1974) is a French professional rallying, rally, auto racing, racing and rallycross driver. He is the most successful driver in the World Rally Championship (WRC), having won the world championship a record nin ...

and Daniel Elena in a Citroën C4. The rally is managed by Event Director John Naylor and the Clerk of the Course is Gordon Noble. A steering committee which is charged with developing the event is in place. This committee is chaired by Austin Frazer and includes representative of Motorsport Ireland (MI) and The Association of Northern Ireland Car Clubs (ANICC). Rally Ireland received strong government support from both sides of the border. It continues a long tradition of cross-border rallying in Ireland, which dates back to the early years of the Circuit of Ireland Rally in the 1930s.

Surface

The Rally was held on asphalt concrete, which was very wavy and slippery due to the humidly Irish weather, what makes this character being similar to the ''

Rally Monte Carlo The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially ''Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo'') is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. The rally now takes place along the French Riviera in Monaco and southeast ...

'' (with exception of snow). This character had even marked a high retirement-rate in this rally.

Past winners

References

External links

Official websiteWRC.com – Official site of the World Rally ChampionshipSS2, 5 & 10
{{Rally Ireland Rally competitions in Ireland Recurring sporting events established in 2005 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2009

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...