Belfast to Host Circuit of Ireland Rally HQ for 2016

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Cooper

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On the RMS Blog: The city of Belfast will once again be a key host for this year€™s Circuit of Ireland Rally with organisers revealing a new home for the Circuit€™s Rally HQ and Service Park at iconic Belfast landmark, the King€™s Hall Complex, Balmoral.

Famous for its boxing showdowns, pop concerts including the Beatles in 1964 and agricultural festivals, The Kings Hall will play host to the Circuit which will be one of the last large scale events at the popular 1930s venue.

Explaining the background to the new move, Circuit of Ireland event director Bobby Willis said:

€œBelfast City is a key hub of the Circuit and it was important to identify a new top quality location to house our Rally Office and Village, Service Park and Media Centre and one which has easy access to all stage routes across counties Antrim and Down.

€œTitanic has been a fantastic site for the past two years but with further development and new infrastructure at Titanic Quarter, it was necessary to move to a different� location to acquire the space and accommodation needed for the 1000 plus competitors and team personnel who will be based at the Service Park from 6th to 9th April.

€œWe thoroughly enjoyed our partnership with Titanic Quarter and I would like to thank them for all their support, but equally the Circuit team is looking forward to utilising a brand new venue and especially one which has a historic connection to the Circuit of Ireland Rally.

“Indeed this is a return visit to the King’s Hall as the venue played host to the start of the 1971 rally when Adrian Boyd and Beatty Crawford chalked up a victory. I€™m sure this year it will be a fitting €˜Last Hurrah€™ for this much loved art deco building.

Bobby Willis also paid tribute to Circuit partner Belfast City Council who alongside Tourism NI, Tourism Ireland and the majority of NI regional councils, provides significant support for the Circuit which last year attracted almost 79,000 visitors to Belfast and other locations throughout Northern Ireland.

With Belfast City Council€™s help we aim to make our legendary event even bigger and better attracting more spectators and reaching out to potential new visitors through coverage generated by Eurosport and Discovery Channel.

Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Arder Carson joined international rally driver Jonny Greer to launch Belfast’s role in the 2016 event.

Welcoming the Circuit to Belfast, the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Cllr Arder Carson said:

“I am delighted that Belfast is again playing a key role in this years Circuit of Ireland Rally, and that the event continues to be a highlight in our city’s calendar. (Read the Full Article Here)



Read the Entire Article Here
 
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Graham

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Completely the wrong choice for HQ & Service IMO.

Yes it is handy to the M1 which allows easy movement north and south but the logistics of keeping traffic flowing around there will be sore on some of the older cars if they are in the gridlock that is now normal in that area
 

davecoupe

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Agreed @Graham , traffic will be a nightmare, it is a good location though and probably has better facilities.

Any indication where the stages will be this year? It would be nice to see them move a day away from the high-hedge stages east of Lough Neagh and vary the terrain by spreading it out a bit over the country.
 

swansty

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There is congestion everywhere in Belfast. I'm sure consideration is being given to keeping cars moving.....
Stage locations are somewhat limited by road mileages but I can assure you they are all excellent stages.

Anyone who is interested in marshalling, give me a shout. I'm "technical zone manager" this year so covering service, refuel, tyre fitting, regroups etc etc but happy to help you get allocated to marshal on stages if you prefer.
 
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