For the first time ever Ireland is hosting a round of the World Rally Championship, 3 days of live Rally action taking place throughout the North West.
Rally Ireland is round 15 of the 2007 FIA World Rally Championships and will take place from 15th-18th November. The event will open with a Super Special Stage in Stormont, Northern Ireland’s Parliament Buildings on Thursday evening (Stage 1). The event route includes eight counties, north and south of Ireland, including Antrim, Donegal, Cavan, Fermanagh, Leitrim, Sligo, Roscommon & Tyrone. (See page 2) The Rally will conclude on Sunday with a Special Stage at Mullaghmore, Co.Sligo and the service park will be at Sligo Institute of Technology.
What we can expect….
Over 90 cars competing
150,000 Spectators
55 Support Helicopters
2,000 stewards from all over the world
24 TV Channels
50 million TV viewers worldwide
5.5 hours of live TV coverage
See the best Manufacturer Team drivers in the world..
1.Sebastian Loeb France Citroen
2.Dani Sordo Spain Citroen
3.Marcus Gronholm Finland Ford
4.Mikko Hirvonen Finland Ford
5.Manfred Stohl Austria Citroen
6.Petter Solberg Norway Subaru
7.Chris Atkinson Subaru Australia
8.Jari Matti Latvala Finland Ford
9.Henning Solberg Norway Ford
10.Xavier Pons Spain Subaru
Friday 16th November
Stages 2-10.
Sligo – Leitrim – Sligo.
All Stages take place in Leitrim, with 3 return visits to the service area in Sligo.
Stage 2 Geevagh
Geevagh area
Stage 3 Arigna
Drumkeeran area
Stage 4 Lough Gill
Parkes Castle area
Stage 5 Geevagh
Geevagh area
Stage 6 Arigna
Drumkeeran area
Stage 7 Lough Gill
Parkes Castle area
Saturday 17th November
Stages 11-16.
Sligo–Fermanagh/Tyrone- Sligo.
All Stages take place in Fermanagh and Tyrone, with 1 return visit to the service area in Sligo.
Stage 11 Sloughan Glen
Ederney area
Stage 12 Ballinamallard
Dromore/Trillick area
Stage 13 Tempo
Ballinamllard/Tempo area
Stage 14 Sloughan Glen
Ederney area
Stage 15 Ballinamallard
Dromore/Trillick area
Stage 16 Tempo
Ballinamllard/Tempo area
Sunday 18th November
Stages 17-20.
Sligo–Fermanagh/Tyrone- Donegal-Sligo.
All Stages take place in Fermanagh/Tyrone and Donegal, with 1 return visit to the service area in Sligo.
Stage 17 Murley
Clogher area
Stage 18 Fardross
Slieve Beagh area
Stage 19 Donegal Bay
Rosnowlagh area
Stage 20 Mullaghmore
Cliffony area
Tips for Spectators:
· Special Stages will close to the public from early morning 3 hours before the 1st car is due – so allow plenty of time to get to where you want to be.
· There are defined areas for spectators at the viewing points on the stages and spectators must stay within the defined areas.
· There will be Park & Ride facilities identified at each stage area. There is a charge of £5 for this service.
· Officials will patrol the stages from the previous evening to prevent parking in prohibited areas and please be careful not to park cars or camper vans on the stages.
· Limited parking will be allowed on some of the roads adjacent to many of the stages and will be patrolled by An Garda Siochana and the Police Service of Northern Ireland as appropriate. If your vehicle – either a car or camper van causes an obstruction or blocks a right of way it will be towed, you will receive a fixed fine and will have to pay a storage and towing fee.
· In many cases you may have to walk up to 3km to reach a viewing point so allow time for this.
· There will be some parking on roads leading onto the stages where you may be blocked in and you need to consider this before you select your viewing point but if that stage is repeated you will have the possibility to see the action twice.