Cooperative Spirit Brings Rally to Stormont

Rally fans across Northern Ireland and the border counties will be delighted next month with the opportunity to enjoy the spectacle of world class rallying, kicking off with a stage right in Belfast.

With the Spanish round just completed on Sunday, headquartered in Salou and taking place in the mountains and open countryside backing the Costa Daurada, a spectator friendly event at Stormont will open the first ever round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) to visit these shores.

It kicks off on Thursday 15th November at 6pm and sees the top rally drivers compete head to head around Parliament Buildings’ grounds and a flying finish over the specially designed bridge.

Meanwhile, the North West isn’t missing out as the championships has adopted a local landmark as its prize.

Rally Ireland, a joint initiative of Fáilte Ireland and Sport NI, has commissioned a copy of Maurice Harron’s well-known ‘Hands Across the Divide’ bronze statue to present to the winner of the local event.

Seán O’Connor, co-promoter of Rally Ireland said: “This statue captures for us the spirit and essence of what this event is about – integration, friendship and co-operation.”

Rally Ireland has enjoyed great support in securing the WRC from both governments in Ireland and this was the key to the success of Rally Ireland winning a bid to be part of the WRC event.

This level of co-operation between political jurisdictions is unique in the World Rally Championship. It’s an illustration of positive cross-border co-operation between governments, sponsors, sporting bodies and individuals that generates goodwill and social capital in terms of volunteer time and promoting the island of Ireland.

The all-tarmac rally is the penultimate round of the championship, which means the outcome may very well be decided on the Irish asphalt. It is paired with the season's final round, Wales Rally GB.

(BMcC)