The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Bumper season of motorsport is planned for Kerry road this year
MOTORSPORT enthusiasts in the county are set for a very busy 2019 with five events planned in Kerry or just over the county bounds.
Circuit of Kerry
KERRY Motor Club is at an advanced stage of planning for its April 7 Circuit of Kerry and club members were out in force over the weekend conducting final route surveys and visiting residents along the proposed route.
Based again in the Rose Hotel in Tralee the rally will feature nine stages in the general Castleisland area over roads that have not been used for rallying for a number of years. The rally is on an opt year from the Triton Showers National series, however, it will form the second round of the locally sponsored Top Part West Coast Championship and the opening event in the Moriarty’s Centra Kingdom of Kerry Rally Championship.
Eoin Duffin has been appointed as clerk of the course and as a rally driver himself has chosen a route that will be both challenging to competitors and one that allows safe spectator viewing.
More details will be released as they get finalised with both the club and local bodies like resident associations and Kerry County Council.
Rally of the Lakes
KILLARNEY and District Motor Club’s Rally of the Lakes on May 4 and 5 will celebrate its 40th running with an almost brand new route.
Clerk of the course Dermot Healy and his and his team undertook a route survey over the Christmas break. While it is far too early to confirm exactly what roads the rally will visit he confirmed in a social media post:
“We have plans well underway to make the 2019 event something very special. I can tell you the stages for this year’s event will be very different as well as being spectacular. Some have not been rallied in over 20 years. We have some major plans and surprises in store which will be rolled out over the next few weeks.”
Forestry Rallying
TWO major forestry rallies will take place just over the county bounds this year and one will include stages in Kerry.
Limerick Motor Club will base its March 3 forestry rally at Rockchapel GAA Grounds in County Cork and will run the famous Mount Eagle forest gravel stage as part of its itinerary.
Mount Eagle has been used by both Kerry Motor Club and Killarney and District Motor club over the years, the last time over ten years ago when KDMC last organised a counting round of the Irish Forestry Rally Championship. Clerk of the course for this event is wellknown Newcastlewest-based co-driver Anthony Nestor who is a previous winner of the Circuit of Kerry and the Rally of the Lakes. Munster Car Club will run its Abbey Hotel Moonraker Forestry Rally out of Ballyvourney, county Cork on Saturday, April 13.
Killarney Historic Rally
THE country’s only dedicated rally for historic and modified rally machinery will run slightly earlier this year – on November 30 – in an effort to gain more daylight running hours.