Rally cars will take centre stage in Tralee town on Saturday.
Tralee Chamber Alliance and Kerry Motor Club will host a static display of rally cars on the Mall and in the Town Square on the eve of the Tralee-based club’s Rose Hotel Circuit of Kerry Rally which takes place on Sunday.
Up to 20 modern and classic rally cars will go on show in the town centre from 12.30pm on Saturday afternoon.
Members of the club will be on hand to showcase motorsport to the general public and talk about their cars and their passion for the sport.
Cars on display include Mike Quinn’s Subaru Impreza World Rally Car, originally built for 2003 World Rally Champion Petter Solberg and used by the Norwegian during the 2005 season. The local driver is one of the favourites for this year’s title.
Ballyduff driver Mike Dowling will display his early 1970s Ford Escort Mk1, a beautiful example of a 40-year-old car perfectly adapted for modern rallying.
Going the full circle with Blue Oval machinery, Limerick Ford dealer Keith Lyons will demonstrate his Ford Fiesta R5, a four-wheel-drive turbocharged machine that strikes little in mechanical resemblance to its road-going cousins.
One of the most exotic rally cars on display will be a Porsche 911, owned by Mike Buckley of Killarney. Porsche rally cars are a rarity the world over, and this is one of the few in Ireland.
A modern Renault Clio will sit alongside the historic Porsche offering the general public a glimpse on how the sport has evolved over the last four decades.
The event will kick off with a photoshoot at Tralee Wetlands before the convoy of rally cars (up to 20) will make their way to the town centre where they will go on show from 1230pm to 5 pm.
Members of Kerry Motor Club will be present to discuss their cars and the sport while the official rally magazine for Sunday’s event will also be on sale.
Town centre-based business will be involved from music store Hugh Culloty showing rally footage, Minx boutique dressing their window in Rally Racewear and Der O’ Sullivan’s delicatessen supplying refreshments to the crews while Kerry Motor Club’s resident DJ Ray Stack will entertain the many spectators expected to attend.
“We are calling it Rally Town, where the cars are the stars,” said Kerry Motor Club organiser Tony McCarthy. “There will be over one-million-euro worth of cars on show.”
The Rose Hotel Circuit of Kerry has been Kerry Motor Club’s flagship event since 1975.
This year’s rally is a counting round of the locally sponsored Top Part West Coast Rally Championship and the Moriarty’s Centra Kingdom of Kerry Rally Championship.
The rally has attracted over 100 drivers from all over Ireland the UK with one entrant, a Kerry emigrant, returning from New York to compete on the rally.
The rally creates a welcome early start to the tourist season Tralee and north Kerry.
For further details please contact:
Sean Moriarty, assistant event PRO on 0044 7908 8306889 or 087 6771019
