Published: Thursday, 4th March, 2010 2:55pm

Is it end of the road for Rally Ireland?

by Editorial Department

Comments (0) | Print | Email

Rally Ireland starts with Enniskillen Castle in the background but a return now seems unlikely.

The world's best rally drivers are unlikely to grace the roads of Fermanagh in the foreseeable future following the news that Rally Ireland has been dropped from the 2011 provisional World Rally Championship calendar.

The event which attracted over 270,00 spectators to the area in 2009 has been omitted from the 2011 schedule released last week, and with the ratification of the calendar by the sports governing body regarded as a mere formality, it looks like the end of the road for the Irish round of the World Rally Championship.

Motorsport Ireland admitted in a statement they had been advised by North One Sport, the global promoters of the WRC, that Rally Ireland "has not been included in their 2011 calendar proposal to the FIA".

Motorsport Ireland revealed they had presented North One Sport with a detailed plan for the 2011 event at a meeting in London in September, but that the FIA had decided to re-evaluate the location of the events to increase the geographical spread of the host nations.

Their decision to move away from a rotational system which saw some rallies included every second year meant there were surplus events, and Rally Ireland has become one of the casualties, despite being voted the second best event in the 2007 season and being bestowed the honour of opening the 2009 championship.

The reasons behind the decision have not been revealed, but with the 2009 event having incurred substantial financial losses and the funding from the governments both north and south of the border likely to be reduced given the current climate of spending cuts, Rally Ireland was always going to have its work cut out to deliver the rally in 2011. Despite this, Motorsport Ireland and the organising team behind the rally were still determined not to let their position at the forefront of world rallying slip, and were hoping their efforts would be rewarded by a slot in the calendar next year.

The decision comes as a blow not only to local rallying enthusiasts but also to the local economy, which benefitted from the huge influx of visitors during both the 2007 and 2009 events. Rally Ireland's debut in the WRC in 2007, which was centred around Fermanagh, attracted 254,000 spectators, and was watched by 62 million global viewers in over 180 countries, making it the most watched round of the entire championship that year. The economic benefit to the area was estimated at €48 million, and that figure grew in 2009 with an additional 16,000 spectators estimated to have attended the second running of the rally.

On the stages Sebastien Loeb gave local fans a master class on his way to winning the rally on both occasions, but sadly it seems he will not return to these shores in the near future. Motorsport Ireland have said they will continue to participate as a partner in the World Rally Organisers Group with a view to capitalising on any opportunities that may arise, but unless there is an unexpected change of direction from the FIA it seems Fermanagh's stint as a WRC venue is over.