Rally Ireland WRC (Open Letter from COC Tom Walsh)

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Sonic74f

Guest
Open Letter from COC Tom Walsh to All Motor Clubs and Rally followers:

November 2007 will be a momentous time for Irish motor sport when for the first time we host a round of an FIA World Championship. November 15th to 18th 2007 is the date for Rally Ireland WRC, round 15 of the World Rally Championship and is a major achievement for Irish Rallying North and South. It is the result of a number of years of hard work by a close group of promoters and enthusiasts, with the support of Motorsport Ireland, The Association of Northern Ireland Car Clubs and the Motor Clubs throughout Ireland.

Ireland has a place in the 2007 World Rally Championship but is effectively on trial as the FIA seek to find the best 16 events from the 22 that are scheduled to run over 2007 and 2008. All rounds of the WRC (old and new) will be evaluated under a new scoring system over the two years and the FIA will then decide the best 16 for 2009 and future years. As you can see it is essential that we run the best WRC round in the world if we are to maintain our position in the championship long term.

The major difference between organising a round of the World Rally Championship and one of our existing major rallies, apart from the scale of everything, is meeting the exacting requirements of the FIA and the Manufacturer Teams who operate on a totally professional basis. They expect the organisers of a WRC round to meet their many almost daily demands for information and services.

There are a number of areas which pose a particular challenge for Rally Ireland:

Route: As the rally is a joint North/South venture supported by both Governments, we have an obligation to deliver a rally which is equally divided between North and South in terms of special stages and economic benefit.

From a WRC perspective we must run a minimum of 340km and maximum of 360km of special stages with the distance of each loop between visits to the Service Park set at minimum 40km and a maximum of 60km. In addition the entire rally must be serviced from one Service Park.

Special Stages:
The efficient and safe running of all special stages at their scheduled time will be a key requirement for a successful rally. In order to do so we will need excellent spectator management and control. There will be a substantial impact on local communities from the number of spectators and traffic in the area during the running of the rally.

The WRC media including the TV and Radio crews will need access to stage starts and finishes to conduct interviews and arrangements must be made to give them access while the stage is running. In addition there will be specific media points on stages.

We will appoint Special Stage Mangers to take overall charge of each special stage with responsibility for putting together the team to run the stage including all marshals. They will be supported by a Stage Commander who will take the normal stage commanders role when the stage is live with the Special Stage Manager looking after all the other peripheral issues. Each stage will also have a specific Stage Safety Officer.

Service Park:
The Service Park is the centre of the rally and is used as a base for the teams for the week of the event. The WRC teams normally start arriving in the service park on the Monday of the event and will construct their base for completion on Tuesday.

The manufacturer teams must get a space 40mtrs by 20mtrs each which includes their hospitality units. These spaces must be serviced with electricity, communications, water and waste disposal. ISC, who provide the timing, tracking and TV coverage of the WRC, must get approximately 80mtrs by 30mtrs in the main area of the Service Park. Tyre manufacturers and other trade affiliates also need considerable space.

Spectators:
In Ireland we normally have high numbers of spectators and it is anticipated that Rally Ireland will attract even greater numbers who must be catered for in a controlled way. Movement of spectators will be a major issue as we must ensure that it does not interfere with competitors on road sections. A traffic plan will have to be implemented throughout the route, in conjunction with An Garda Siochana and the PSNI. The management of spectators and traffic will be one of the biggest issues on the event. It is possible that we could have numbers comparable to Finland as we have similar demographics and enthusiasm for rallying. In 2006 Rally Finland had 93,000 individual visitors to the Service Park and 390,000 individual visits to special stages. We have to be prepared for similar numbers.

Media:
The media play a major part in the WRC and have a major influence on how an event is perceived throughout the world. Extensive facilities in the form of communications such as telephone lines and broadband internet are needed on the event in Rally HQ and the Service Park. The media centre must be equipped to host approximately 150 journalists and photographers with a separate area for Manufacturers media teams.

A core team has been working on these issues for the past few months and is being expanded considerably at present through the many people who have volunteered their time and skills. The support and commitment of officials and marshals from all over the country for our two previous events were crucial elements in the success of those events. The FIA’s recognition of our ability to organise excellent rallies was one of the major factors which led to Rally Ireland becoming a round of the WRC. This does not happen without the real expertise which exists in every club around the country. All clubs should be proud that they have played a part in building this reputation over a long number of years.

We will be asking for considerable help from the Motorsport community as we will need a considerable number of marshals and officials to successfully stage Rally Ireland. For instance each stage will need the following key officials, Stage Manager, Stage Commander, Stage Safety Officer, Control Officials, Sector Marshals, Media Marshals, Radio Operators every 5km, Time Keepers, and Spectator Marshals.

This is our first communication to the clubs this year and we will be in touch again when the route and itinerary is finalised and intend to provide you with regular updates. This event is our chance to prove that Ireland has the best and most enjoyable rallying in the world.

I know that I can count on your club for its support and look forward to working with you all
 
Well, my assumption from what's been said is that it would have to be held equally within the North and South so Donegal might be a good bet for the South :dunno:
 
and sligo is gettin a couple too. the main format is the same as last years rally ireland but with an addition of another days worth of stages
 
The event begins on Thursday 15 November with the Super Special Stage in the grounds of the Stormont Parliament Buildings in Belfast. This spectator-friendly event will see two cars at a time competing head to head on a specially designed loop of the Stormont grounds. Competition over the four days will also take in a route that covers seven more counties in the north-west of the island: Fermanagh, Tyrone, Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal, Cavan and Roscommon.

Sounds like it's going to cover a huge area! Hopefully this will help spectator traffic but I'd say it's going to be mayhem with the crowd they're expecting!!
 
NewsFlash
4th April 2007

World Rally Championship to cover 8 Counties
“An excellent platform to showcase Ireland” says O’Donoghue
Rally Ireland has today announced the venue and routes for the Irish round of the World Rally Championship.

“The challenging tarmac stages for Rally Ireland pass through some of the most scenic landscape that the island of Ireland has to offer. Given the great array of international talent that will compete, I’m confident that the event will be a sporting triumph and great entertainment for committed rally fans and first time visitors alike,” said Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, John O’Donoghue TD.

“This event will be great fun to watch. One of the key strengths of Rally Ireland’s bid in securing this Championship was the unique cross-border nature of it. We believe that this is the best location in the world for WRC and that Irish and international spectators alike will agree with that,” he concluded.

Speaking at a simultaneous announcement at Stormont Parliament Buildings in Belfast, Minister at the Northern Ireland Office Paul Goggins MP said: “Having the opportunity to bring the WRC to a well-known venue such as Stormont means that thousands of spectators will get the opportunity for the first time ever to experience the thrills of this exciting sport.

“I’m sure that having the opening stage here will greatly increase the sports’ following in Northern Ireland. With many millions of people viewing the event in over 200 territories around the world, kicking off this world championship round at Stormont will be another wonder full opportunity to raise the profile of Northern Ireland internationally.”

Rally Ireland will be the biggest sporting event on the island of Ireland in 2007 and could see up to 150,000 live spectators. The event has introduced a major carbon reduction initiative with the goal of reducing its carbon footprint by 50% this year. Rally Ireland is seeking to secure a long-term slot in the World Rally Championship calendar, and is confident that the support and enthusiasm of spectators and competitors alike will help them secure that objective.

Also attending the announcement were John Naylor, Chairman of Motorsport Ireland, the governing body of the sport, John Rafferty, Head of Product Marketing and Keelin O’Rourke, Sports Tourism Officer from Fáilte Ireland. Clerk of the Course Tom Walsh and Assistant Clerk of the Course Noel Clarke were on hand to show the route to the Minister and guests.

The event begins on Thursday 15 November with the Super Special Stage in the grounds of the Stormont Parliament Buildings in Belfast. This spectator-friendly event will see two cars at a time competing head to head on a specially designed loop of the Stormont grounds. Competition over the four days will also take in a route that covers seven more counties in the north-west of the island: Fermanagh, Tyrone, Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal, Cavan and Roscommon.

Rally Headquarters will be at The Clarion Hotel in Sligo and the Service Park, where all necessary mechanical work on competing vehicles is carried out, will be at Sligo Institute of Technology.

“The route of the event covers one quarter of the counties on the island of Ireland, north and south. That gives us a phenomenal opportunity to reach out to existing fans, but it will also encourage others to come out and see a rally for the first time in their lives, knowing that they’ll be watching the best drivers in the world,” said Rally Ireland Co-Promoter Ronan Morgan.

Rally Ireland is the penultimate round of the World Rally Championships and will take place from 15th to 18th of November.
 
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