Donegal International Rally logo. |
|
| Category | Rally |
|---|---|
| Country or region | County Donegal, Ireland |
| Inaugural season | 1972 |
| Drivers' champion | Gareth McHale |
| Official website | http://www.donegalrally.ie/ |
| Current season | |
The Donegal International Rally is an annual sporting event held in County Donegal, Ireland. It is one of Ireland's oldest annual rally competitions and is a top event in the Irish Rallying calendar.[1] It has a reputation for being one of the country's most challenging rallies.[2] The event begins and concludes in Letterkenny.[3]
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The event began in 1972 with Cahal Curley the first winner. The event was postponed for the two consecutive years of 2001 and 2002 due to the Foot-and-mouth disease[4] and a serious accident. The rally was abandoned in 2008 after a spectrator was hit by a driver.
In 2006 Toni Kelly became the youngest ever female participant in the Donegal International Rally. Kelly was 17 at the time of the event and a fifth-year student at Loreto Convent in Letterkenny.[5]
The rally attracts approximately 50,000 spectators each year. The event is estimated to be worth over €20 million to the Donegal economy each year. The event was previously sponsored by Shell. The current sponsors of the Donegal International Rally are Topaz Energy and The Mount Errigal Hotel.[1]
At the 2002 event two marshals were killed. The two 22-year-old men, one from Moville, the other from Crossmaglen, died when a car crashed into spectators at around 2.00pm. Three men were also injured. The remaining stages of the event were cancelled after the serious accident on Stage Two.[6] Andrew Nesbitt was announced as winner as he led the rally at the time of the accident.
This led to the Motorsport Commission to inspect safety at all future events.[7]
At the 2008 event an 18-year-old spectator died after being hit by a car driven by Welsh driver Elfyn Evans, at 3.30pm. The accident happened at Ballyare, about four miles from Letterkenny. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. He was crossing the road and was hit by one of the competing cars. The scene was described as horrific by witnesses.[8][9][10] The road was closed and did not re-open for some time. Organisors cancelled the rally for the rest of the day and later announced that the 2008 event would be abandoned as a mark of respect[11][12] Eugene Donnelly was announced as winner as he led the rally at the time of the accident.
On Saturday Afternoon 19 June 2010, a co-driver died after the car he was in crashed off of a cliff on the Knockalla stage, south of Portsalon, of the event shortly after 3pm. The Car, a white Citreon C2, fell 400 to 500 ft down the side of the hill but came to a stop in the trees at the edge of a cliff. Thomas Maguire, Aged 26, from Longwood, County Meath was killed and his driver, Shane Buckley, critically injured.The road was closed until the next day, where the Rally officials placed a wreath on the side of the road, where he went off. A group on Facbook was created as a sign of respect. As a result, the final stage of the rally was cancelled. This was the first time in the rally's history that a competitor was killed during the rally.[13]
| Year | Winner | Car | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Cahal Curley | BMW 2002 | |
| 1973 | Cahal Curley | Porsche Carrera | |
| 1974 | Cahal Curley | Porsche Carrera | |
| 1975 | Achim Warmbold | BMW | |
| 1976 | Brian Nelson | Porsche Carrera | |
| 1977 | Billy Coleman | Lancia Stratos | |
| 1978 | Ari Vatanen | Ford Escort | |
| 1979 | Brian Nelson | Ford Escort | |
| 1980 | Jimmy McRae | Vauxhall Chevette | |
| 1981 | John Lyons | Ford Escort | |
| 1982 | John Lyons | Ford Escort | |
| 1983 | Vincent Bonner | Ford Escort | |
| 1984 | Billy Coleman | Opel Manta | |
| 1985 | Billy Coleman | Porsche 911 | |
| 1986 | Billy Coleman | Austin Metro | |
| 1987 | Bertie Fisher | Opel Manta | |
| 1988 | Mark Lovell | Ford Sierra | |
| 1989 | David Llewellin | Toyota Celica | |
| 1990 | Austin McHale | BMW M3 | |
| 1991 | James Cullen | Ford Sierra | |
| 1992 | Bertie Fisher | Subaru Legacy | |
| 1993 | Bertie Fisher | Subaru Legacy | |
| 1994 | Stephen Finlay | Ford Escort | |
| 1995 | Bertie Fisher | Subaru Legacy | |
| 1996 | Andrew Nesbitt | Toyota Celica | |
| 1997 | Austin McHale | Toyota Celica | |
| 1998 | Andrew Nesbitt | Toyota Celica | |
| 1999 | James Cullen | Subaru Impreza | |
| 2000 | Andrew Nesbitt | Subaru Impreza WRC | |
| 2001 | Event did not run (Foot-and-mouth disease) | - | [2] |
| 2002 | Event Cancelled Andrew Nesbitt | Subaru Impreza WRC | [3] |
| 2003 | Andrew Nesbitt | Subaru Impreza WRC | |
| 2004 | Eugene Donnelly | Toyota Corolla WRC | [4] |
| 2005 | Eugene Donnelly | Toyota Corolla WRC | [5] |
| 2006 | Andrew Nesbitt | Mitsubishi Lancer WRC | [6] [7] |
| 2007 | Sebastian Loeb | Citroën C4 WRC | [8] [9] |
| 2008 | Event Cancelled Eugene Donnelly | - | [10] |
| 2009 | Gareth McHale | Ford Focus | [11] |
| 2010 | Gareth McHale | Ford Focus | [12] |
| 2011 | Tim McNulty | Subaru WRC | [13] |