Million Dollar Bash

A major cross-border motor racing event has been described by ex-Formula One racing boss Eddie Jordan as “on a par” with Ireland’s hosting of the prestigious Ryder Cup golf tournament. In what is a huge coup for the organisers, for the first time ever, Rally Ireland is to be part of the FIA World Rally Championships.
The event will take place here on November 15-18.

Rally Ireland, the brainchild of former World Rally Championship (WRC) racing driver agent Sean O’Connor, was set-up in 2005 with the aim of bringing the prestigious World Championship event here on a bi-annual frequency.
The three day event will cost approximately €4m to run, with funding coming from both Fáilte Ireland and Sport Northern Ireland. But O’Connor argues that this is money well spent because of the estimated 807 million viewers, from over 160 different countries, who are expected to tune in.
“It’s an illustration of positive cross-border co-operation between governments, sponsors, sporting bodies and individuals,” O’Connor, who also worked for Marlboro’s Formula One team, observes. “It is estimated that over 150,000 spectators will turn up to see the 90 rally drivers – including 40 WRC International regulars. World championship leader Marcus Gronholm of Finland and Frenchman Sebastian Loeb, who is the reigning World Champion and the most successful driver in the history of the WRC (28 wins in total) will both be there.”

GREAT OPPORTUNITY
The Rally Ireland event, which will give many of the 50 Irish drivers the opportunity to compete for the first time ever at WRC level, also has an impressive management board, chaired by ex-Formula One team owner Eddie Jordan. Trevor Ringland, the former Ireland and Lions rugby international, is deputy chairperson.
Jordan told Hot Press that he doesn’t miss life in the fast lane of Formula One racing since retiring from the sport over two years ago. But the 59-year-old admits to still having a passion for fast cars – and is now planning to come back to Ireland in November to promote this exciting rally racing initiative.
‘I got involved for a number of reasons,” he says. “Firstly, I think this is a great opportunity to showcase Ireland to a TV audience in over 160 countries. Also, as a major North / South project, it contributes to the growing spirit of co-operation. Lastly, having been involved in motor sport all my adult life, it is fantastic to be involved in bringing the WRC to Ireland for the first time.”
It’s a big undertaking – but Jordan has no doubt about the Irish organisers’ ability to deliver.
“I have known the key people involved with Rally Ireland for many years and they have all earned the respect of the international motor sport community” he declares. “I have full confidence that they will organise an event on par with the best in the WRC series.”
“While most people know me from my single-seater racing, I have also competed in rallies here in my earlier days as a driver, and it’s a fantastic sport to compete in or to watch. We have a great rallying heritage here and I think that helped us win the WRC bid against many much bigger countries.”

THRILLS APLENTY
Independent research commissioned last year by Rally Ireland put the value of hosting a WRC round to be e46 million for the economy. But Jordan thinks it will be much more than that, when you take corporate hospitality for the overseas VIPs who will attend into account. “Then you will have the social value of a successful joint North and South sporting effort,” he adds. “I don’t think you can put a price on that. So to be honest we don’t know the full value till after we have run in the event in November.”
Jordan says his ambition is to make the WRC event a permanent fixture in the Irish sporting calendar. “I would like it to become as important as the Ryder Cup. After all, we are becoming good at staging these world events. From the outset it was our plan to target a long-term position in the WRC calendar for the island of Ireland. If we do a good job in November, we can be confident of running again.”
The Rally Ireland event will open on November 15 and there will be thrills aplenty – and maybe the occasional spill – as cars compete head to head and against the clock on a circuit on the Stormont grounds in Belfast.
The event route will take in eight counties, north and south of the border, and will conclude with a special stage at Mullaghmore, County Sligo on November 18. The Irish round will consist of 19 stages – predominantly in the North West Region – covering counties Sligo, Cavan, Donegal, Fermanagh, Roscommon, Sligo, Leitrim, Tyrone and Belfast/Antrim. The Service Park & HQ in Sligo will be the “hub” for the event.
The previous rally in New Zealand was extraordinary. Only 3/10ths of a second – the blink of an eye – separated Gronholm from Loeb after three days of hard rallying that covered some 350 kilometres of competitive stages. It was the closest-ever finish in the 30 year history of the WRC! Here’s hoping we’ll see a similar level of excitement in Ireland.

For further information log onto the Rally Ireland website at www.rallyireland.org