View source for Rally Ireland

{{About|the event organised by Motorsport Ireland|the Ulster Automobile Club event|Circuit of Ireland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox motorsport championship
| logo            = 
| pixels          = 100px
| caption         = 
| current_season  = 
| category        = [[Rallying|Rally]]
| country         = 
| region          = 
| inaugural       = 2005
| section1 = {{Infobox motorsport championship|child=yes
| name = [[World Rally Championship]]
| constructors = 
| tyres           = 
| champion rider  = 
| constructor     = 
| current_season  = 
}}
| folded          = 2009
| drivers         = 
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| champion codriver = 
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| website         = 
}}
{{Infobox recurring event
|name              = 
|logo              = 
|genre             = 
|dates             = 
|frequency         = Annual
|location          = 
|country           = [[Republic of Ireland]]<br/> [[Northern Ireland]]
|first             = 
|last              = 2009
|status            = 
|organised         = [[Motorsport Ireland]]
|sponsor           = 
|website           = 
|current           = 
}}

'''Rally Ireland''' was  added to the [[Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile|FIA]] [[World Rally Championship]] (WRC) calendar in [[2007 World Rally Championship season|2007]]. It was not part of the [[2008 World Rally Championship season|2008]] schedule, but returned as the First round of the championship in [[2009 World Rally Championship season|2009]]. The north–south event is the largest sporting occasion on the island of Ireland with over 250,000 spectators and a TV audience in 180 countries.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} As part of the WRC rotation Rally Ireland is not part of the [[2010 World Rally Championship season|2010]] season but was expected to figure in 2011. However, on 19 February 2010 [[North One Television|North One Sport]] the WRC promoter, announced that Rally Ireland would not be awarded a place on the 2011 calendar.<ref>[http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81604 Ireland to miss out on 2011 WRC slot ] Autosport Website 2010-02-19 Retrieved 19 February 2010</ref>

==Stage locations==
The 2007 event took place between 15 and 18 November 2007, starting with the ''Super Special Stage'' in the grounds of the [[Parliament Buildings (Northern Ireland)|Stormont Parliament Buildings]] on the outskirts of [[Belfast]], [[County Down]].

The remainder of the event was based in the north-west of Ireland in the counties of [[County Sligo|Sligo]], [[County Fermanagh|Fermanagh]], [[County Donegal|Donegal]], [[County Leitrim|Leitrim]], [[County Tyrone|Tyrone]], [[County Roscommon|Roscommon]] and [[County Cavan|Cavan]].

==Organisation structure==
''Rally Ireland''  is organised by [[Motorsport Ireland]]. The event itself joined the WRC in 2007 when it was won by reigning World Champions [[Sébastien Loeb]] and [[Daniel Elena]] in a [[Citroën C4]]. The rally is managed by Event Director [[John Naylor (motorsport)|John Naylor]] and the Clerk of the Course is [[Gordon Noble]].

A steering committee which is charged with developing the event is in place. This committee is chaired by [[Austin Frazer]] and includes representative of [[Motorsport Ireland]] (MI) and The [[Association of Northern Ireland Car Clubs]] (ANICC).

Rally Ireland received strong government support from both sides of the border.<ref name=ri>{{cite web |url=http://www.rallyireland.org/about/rally-ireland |title=Rally Ireland//About |accessdate=16 November 2007 |work=Rally Ireland |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071116120855/http://www.rallyireland.org/about/rally-ireland |archivedate=16 November 2007 }}</ref> It continues a long tradition of cross-border rallying in Ireland, which dates back to the early years of the [[Circuit of Ireland Rally]] in the 1930s.<ref name=it>{{cite news |first=Bob |last=Montgomery |title= PastImperfect|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/motors/2004/0414/1079399179234.html |series=Motors |newspaper=The Irish Times|date=14 April 2004 |accessdate=16 November 2007}}</ref>

==Surface==
[[Image:Crash out of WRC Rally Ireland.jpg|thumb|right|[[Marcus Grönholm]] crashes out at [[Lough Gill]], [[County Sligo]], [[2007 World Rally Championship season|2007]] ]]
The Rally was held on [[asphalt concrete]], which was very wavy and slippery due to the humidly Irish weather, what makes this character being similar to the ''[[Rally Monte Carlo]]'' (with exception of snow). This character had even marked a high retirement-rate in this rally.

==Past winners==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Driver
! Co-Driver
! Car
|-
| [[2005 Rally Ireland|2005]]
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[Matthew Wilson]]
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[Michael Orr]]
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[Ford Focus RS WRC]]
|-
| [[2006 Rally Ireland|2006]]
| {{flagicon|IRL}} [[Eugene Donnelly]]
| {{flagicon|IRL}} [[Paul Kiely]]
| {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Toyota Corolla WRC]]
|-
| [[2007 Rally Ireland|2007]]
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Sébastien Loeb]]
| {{flagicon|MON}} [[Daniel Elena]]
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Citroën C4 WRC]]
|-
| [[2009 Rally Ireland|2009]]
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Sébastien Loeb]]
| {{flagicon|MON}} [[Daniel Elena]]
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Citroën C4 WRC]]
|}

==See also==
*[[West Cork Rally]]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.rallyireland.org Official website]
*[http://www.wrc.com?WT.mc_id=wiki WRC.com – Official site of the World Rally Championship]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zgy_rLz8zk SS2, 5 & 10]

{{World rallies}}
{{Rally Ireland}}

[[Category:Rally Ireland| ]]
[[Category:Rally competitions in Ireland]]
[[Category:Recurring sporting events established in 2005]]
[[Category:Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2009]]
[[Category:World Rally Championship rallies|Ireland]]
[[Category:2005 establishments in Ireland]]
[[Category:2009 disestablishments in Ireland]]