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The weekend of the 22nd & 23rd of March sees the long-awaited return of rallying to the midlands. The hills around Carrick-on-Shannon have seen world class competition with many of the rally greats, such as Vatanen, Arikkala & Jimmy Mc Rae to name but a few, crossing the hills in the closing stages of the Circuit of Ireland in the late 70’s and early 80’s. The popularity of rallying in Ireland has grown exponentially over the last ten years due to the quality of cars, competitors and stages.
130 crews will descend on Carrick-on-Shannon on the Saturday morning the 22nd for familiarisation with the stages. The event will be run over 48 competitive stage miles on the Sunday consisting of two stages ran twice. Some of the local crews hoping to take part in the event include: Sean Gallagher, Frank Farry, Thomas Daly, Richard Flynn and Trevor & Alan Graham. The town of Carrick-on-Shannon will experience a massive influx of both competitors and spectators for the weekend, which will open the tourist season in dramatic fashion. The Bush Hotel in Carrick will be the Headquarters for the event thanks to the co-operation of Manager Joe Dolan and our own Clerk of the Course Ciaran Dwyer.
The event has had some prestigious winners over the years including Eddie Torrens, Mickey Farrell, Connie Smith, Charlie Donnelly, Niall Maguire and Tommy Graham. Tommy has competed for many years in rallycross and represented Ireland in the Internations Cup. Tommy's first rally was in fact the Midland Single Stage in 1996 in a rear-wheel drive Astra. Last year Thomas Mc Govern and Kevin Maher won on their ever sideways Ford Escort Mk 2.
Stages 1 and 3 take place in the Croghan area just outside Carrick with stages 2 and 4 running winding through the Hillstreet area just outside Elphin. The stages are a classic mix of fast straights and tight twisty turns.
The launch for the Midland Motor Club Mini Stage Rally will be held in The Bush Hotel, Carrick On Shannon, this Friday night the 7th of March at 8.30pm. Entries are now open for the Mini Stage and regs can be obtained by ringing 043 47819, by sending a self-addressed envelope to the event secretary: Josephine Lane-Flynn, Ravens Rock, Stonepark, Co. Longford.