With the 2010 Safety Direct Galway International Rally fast approaching, the village of Oranmore is preparing for an action packed first weekend in February.
Preparations are progressing at a frantic pace with the date for the official launch to be announced shortly. As a result of the severe flooding that hit south Galway before the Christmas, rally officials have been busy over the festive period putting the finishing touches to route revisions and revised road closing applications in preparation for the big event.
The one thing that is for certain is that the village of Oranmore will be alive and kicking for the rally weekend. Friday night’s ceremonial start will take place in the heart of the village, while centralised service on both the Saturday and Sunday will take place in the Oran Precast grounds. Sunday evening will see the winning crews return to Oranmore village for the finish ramp ceremony.
Top entrants so far for the opening round of the Irish Tarmac Championship are Tim Mc Nulty and David Moynihan, in their Subaru S12B, Galway Summer Rally winners Kevin Barrett and Sean Mullally in their S11 and local crew JJ Fleming and David Hogan in another Subaru, while massive interest will be focused on multi award-winning Craig Breen, who will give the brand new Ford Fiesta S2000 its world debut on tarmac.
This new car is the most important to be developed by M-Sport in recent years as it will form the basis of the works Ford WRC challenger for 2011.
The new Citroen Racing challenge is proving to be very popular with competitors. The series, which consists entirely of Citroen C2 R2s, is one of the premier single-make rally series in the country. The Galway entry is headed by 2009 British C2 champion, Martin McCormack.
The early Group N entrants include former national Group N champion Alan Ring and former works Peugeot driver, Gary Jennings, both in Mitsubishi Evo 9’s.
Early local Modified entries include Tom Flaherty and Patrick Curley, as well as Tommy Flanagan and Leanne Flanagan both in Ford Escort Mk2s. Interest is also high among Honda EK 4 drivers, who will all be keen to take home the Galway Motor Club Honda Challenge prize. With 10 entries being received within hours of the entries opening, it all makes for an exciting competition.
The Safety Direct Galway International Rally will run from the 5th to the 7th of February, with rally HQ again being located in the Clayton Hotel Ballybrit. Further information can be found on the event website; www.galwayinternationalrally.com
