West Cork on the southern tip of Ireland is steeped in rallying folklore and history, the scenic landscapes is traversed by some very fast flowing roads, the locals are some of the most welcoming in Ireland and to top it all off, they go rallying on Paddy’s weekend. The perfect place for a rally. Round 2 of the Irish Tarmac Championship is based in West Cork and it is a rally has a special appeal. Added to the mix this weekend was the inclusion of competitors from the British Rally Championship and a few famous faces amongst the 160 entrants. …
Author: Dave Harrgan
When our ancestors built the drystone walls that demarcate the fields around Galway on the west coast of Ireland, rallying probably wasn’t foremost in their thoughts, but the bumpy, twisty and narrow lanes that wind between the drystone walls could have been purposely designed rally stages. To build a drystone wall is an arduous task and as the Irish Tarmac Championship roared back into life, even getting to the finish of the Corrib Oil Galway International rally was no different. The start ramp in the centre of Galway is…
The opening round of the 2019 Irish Tarmac championship kicks off this weekend in Galway and what a year it is shaping up to be. The start ramp in Eyre Square will be crossed by over 25 WRC2 specification R5 cars, most of which have registered to contest the Irish Tarmac Championship. Galway makes a welcome return to the calendar after a forced hiatus last season, bolstering what is promising to be an exciting 7 round series. The series is further encouraged by the inclusion of two events where the cream of the British Rally Championship will cross the Irish…
Despite the name, the Easter Stages Rally took place last weekend (one week after Easter) in the rolling countryside between Ballymena and Ballyclare in the heart of Northern Ireland. Round 2 of the Irish Tarmac Championship, the rally had a spectacular entry list with no fewer than 10 R5 cars crossing the start ramp in Ballyclare on Friday morning. Josh Moffett & Andy Hayes in their Ford Fiesta R5 led the crews over the ramp with number 1 on their door. Also in the mix were a number of WRC cars and Derek McGarrity and Paddy Robinson immediately showed advantage…
Last Saturday, bright, blue skies and summer sun shone on Sligo as the competitors completed their recce for the 2017 FAAC Simply automatic/Sligo Park Hotel Rally, but there was a stark contrast in weather conditions as the crews lined up to tackle the opening stage on Sunday morning. The lovely summer sunshine had been replaced with damp drizzly (typical Irish summer) conditions, which soaked the shiny tarmac roads south of Sligo Town and washed debris and mud onto the stages. In very tricky conditions for all the competing crews, Monaghan’s Sam Moffett splashed his way through the stages to take…
For fans and competitors alike, the Jule Donegal International Rally in the very Northwest corner of Ireland, has an irresistible allure. There is something about the event, the stages, the scenery and the atmosphere that seems to draw people to the hills. From the fans on the ditches to drivers like Sebastian Loeb, Colin McRae and Ari Vattanen, Donegal in June is the place to be for 3 days of fast, bumpy tarmac rallying through the backroads and byroads of the rugged landscape. Reinforcing its claim as one of the toughest rallies in Ireland, the 2016 Donegal International Rally covered…
I suppose it’s only right to set the scene from the beginning: this is mainly a car website and I’m mainly a car fan. But there is an active motorbike section on the forum, where members of the 2 wheeled fraternity talk about chains and leather and stuff. Also, I was once the proud owner of an early 90’s 125cc KTM scrambler (which I fell off a lot). A few weeks ago, I had an experience where I felt like I clicked the wrong link and stumbled aimlessly into the motorbike section of RMS. The result? I ending up being…