News, Sport

Thousands Of Spectators Expected In Killarney Area For Rally Of The Lakes

.
At the launch of the Killarney and District Motor Club  International Rally of the Lakes at The Gleneagle  Hotel, Killarney on Sunday were seated from left, Lisa Foley (Secretary), Michael O’Mahoney (Rentokil Initial), Paul Ahern (Aherns Motor Group), Cllr Marie Moloney, Mayor of Killarney,  Darren McCormick  (Clerk of the course) and Patrick O’Donoghue (Gleneagle Hotel). Standing from left are Joe McCarthy,  Colman Hegarty (Irish Tarmac Rally Championship), Martin Farrell, Brian McArdle, OSI, Denis McCarthy, Dan Keane (Killarney and District Motor Club Chairman), Ivan Hurley (Press Officer) and John Buttimer (IPS Packaging Southern 4 Championship) . Picture: Eamonn Keogh

THE International Rally of the Lakes is set to roar into Killarney this coming weekend.

The rally, in its 41st edition, is set to attract tens of thousands of spectators to the town for what is sure to be a festival-like atmosphere over the May Bank Holiday Weekend.

The rally returns for the first time in three years, as the 2020 and 2021 events had to be put on hold due to the Covid 19 Pandemic.

Continued below…

.

The rally has a range of title sponsors for the 2022 event. Rentokil Initial, Aherns.ie Motorgroup, The Gleneagle Hotel and OSI have all joined forces to ensure the rally remains viable in what is a difficult return to action for both rallying and the businesses themselves following the pandemic.

Close on 200 cars and crews set to tackle Killarney’s iconic stages, some of which are on every rally competitor’s bucket list to complete.

The rally kicks off on Friday evening, with a ceremonial start ramp on Main Street. The first car is due over the ramp at 7 pm. Radio Kerry DJ Ivan Hurley will be on land to get Main Street rocking in anticipation of the arrival of the competing cars.

The rally proper starts Saturday in the late morning, with runs over Kilsarcon, Banard and Gortnagane, before a trip to service in Liebherr Container Cranes. Crews will once again tackle those 3 stages in the afternoon.

Rally traffic can be expected in Kilcummin, Scartaglin, Gneeveguilla, Rathmore and Barraduff on Saturday.

After an overnight halt in Killarney, competitors will have the daunting task of Molls Gap and Ballaghbeama to negotiate in the morning, each stage being run twice.

The afternoon will see the crews fight for the rally win on ‘Shanera’ and ‘Caragh Lake’, where overall and class winners will be crowned Killarney’s champions. Sunday traffic will be in the Muckross, Glencar, Beaufort and the Killorglin areas.

The crews will then make their way to Rally HQ, The Gleneagle Hotel for a champagne celebration on the Finish Ramp before a trophy presentation later on that evening at a function that evening.