IRISH TARMAC HUNTS FOR GALWAY EVENT REPLACEMENT
Opening round cancelled amid financial difficulties
The Irish Tarmac Rally Championship chiefs will make a decision on the 2018 schedule following a meeting in Dublin on Sunday after bosses of the Galway International Rally announced last week that it wouldn’t run in 2018.
Galway, the curtain-raiser for the ITRC usually held in February, will not run for the first time since 1971. A “lack of finances” has been cited the key reason for not being able to run.
“It’s not easy organising a rally these days: there’s all sorts of pressures,” said David Gray, chairman of the Tarmac Rallies Organising Association, which runs the ITRC.
“That they have to make a decision which they’re not happy with – nobody is happy with – is a tough call. But if they weren’t happy with the way things were going then it is best do it now rather than two weeks before the rally. I have sympathy for them.
“The organsiers have obviously faced a number of obstacles which meant they couldn’t run, and that’s very sad.”
The directors of Galway Motor Club, which runs the event, issued a statement on the decision on November 10 ( see below).
GMC chairman Pat Shiel said: “Not having a rally next year will be very disappointing for hundreds of intending competitors and volunteers, who start their motorsport year in Galway each February.
“However, the club could not carry the financial risk involved should key elements to its success not fall into place in time. The club fully intends to have the event back in Galway in February 2019.”
Gray confirmed to Motorsport News that the series had options for a replacement, or instead could run as a six-round championship for the second year in a row.
“We always have a plan B. We learned that lesson from last year,” said Gray.
The Circuit of Ireland was cancelled at late notice last year, which also forced the championship to run across six rounds, instead of its preferred seven-round format.
Gray added: “There are a number of rallies which would be very keen to be part of the championship because the championship is now successful. By coincidence, we have a scheduled meeting in Dublin on Sunday. The matter will be discussed there. A decision will be made there. The other option is we leave it at six.”
Gray would prefer a five scores out of seven round format as it is more likely to produce a title battle on the last round, as it did in 2016 when Keith Cronin won the title and four drivers had the chance to win. With this year’s five scores from six rounds format, Sam Moffett only had to start the final round to seal the title.
The loss of the Galway Rally comes during an ongoing insurance crisis in Ireland. Motorsport Ireland, the sport’s governing body in the country, has struggled to find an insurer to underwrite event insurance at a reasonable cost, which has impacted competitors in the form of a levy on entry fees.