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EchoLive.ie, 28 Dec
The event has been running in West Cork since 1977.
West Cork Rally organisers announce expansion of event for 2024
Dunmanway’s Jason McSweeney (Ford Fiesta R5) and his Blackpool
co-driver Liam Brennan were the top County Cork crew in the Clonakilty
Park Hotel West Cork Rally last year. They finished seventh overall.
Picture: Martin Walsh.
Amy Campbell
The annual West Cork Rally, which receives the largest number of
overseas entries of any rally in the country, is to expand in 2024.
The rally takes place on St Patrick’s weekend in Clonakilty, where it
has been based since the first event in 1977.
Traditionally a two-day event run over 14 stages on the Wild Atlantic
Way, the organisers at Cork Motor Club have announced that The West
Cork Rally will now run for three days, from March 15-17 2024, Friday
to Sunday, while previous years’ rallies have been held on the Saturday
and Sunday only.
Cian Donnellan from Cork Motor Club told The Echo that initially “the
idea came from a financial standpoint" saying that a three-day rally is
more cost-effective to run.
"Then it boiled down to seeing if there was support from the various
stakeholders and members," he added.
“Everybody that we went to was supportive,” he said, explaining that
they surveyed over 300 competitors in the rally and the idea of a
three-day event was well received.
Discussing how the extra day will affect the layout of the event, he
explained that it will still run in West Cork as it has done since 1977
and that it will have the same format and same start times for the
sessions.
Friday afternoon and night stages will be added.
They have yet to decide if the three-day event will continue in future
years, with Donnellan explaining, “It’s always been a thing in the club
that we’ll try something new, after every West Cork Rally we have a
debrief where we sit with the stakeholders and see if there were any
learnings – the aim is that it will become a future runner but we’ll
have to see how the first year goes first.”
There has previously only been one three-day rally in Ireland, in
Donegal, so the Cork Motor Club is excited to “join that rank”, saying
“it’s always been an exclusive thing, the three-day event.”
Motorsport Ireland is aiming to bring the World Championship to Ireland
next year, so the Cork club has reached out to international teams
inviting them to participate in 2024’s West Cork Rally to get
acquainted with Irish tarmac, and the representative confirmed “there’s
interest from the continent.”
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