The Rally of the Lakes is an on-road rallying event held in the south-west of Republic of Ireland. It takes place each year on May bank holiday weekend. Organized by Killarney and District Motor Club, the rally has been running since 1979.[1] Traditionally, it starts in Killarney and runs across County Kerry. For a number of years it has been the third/fourth round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. Since 2011 it has been sponsored by vehicle check company Cartell[2] and known as the Cartell.ie Rally of the Lakes.
| Category | Rally |
|---|---|
| Inaugural season | 1979 |
| Drivers' champion |  Callum Devine |
| Co-Drivers' champion | Noel O'Sullivan |
| Irish Tarmac Rally Championship | |
 Current season | |
| Rally of the Lakes | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 29, 2022 - May 1, 2022 |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Location(s) | County Kerry |
| Country | Ireland |
| Most recent | 2023 |
| Organised by | Killarney and District Motor Club |
| Sponsor | cartell.ie Gleneagle Hotel |
| Website | Website |
History
edit2020-2021
editThe event was planned to take place on 2–3 May 2020. On 12 March all motorsports events were postponed in the light of the coronavirus pandemic.[3] On 20 March, Motorsport Ireland issued a statement that all motorsport events are suspended until 1 June 2020.[4] [5] On 28 April the Tarmac Rally Organisers' Association announced that the 2020 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship is cancelled.[6] The event can still go ahead anyway, but will not be a counting round of the ITRC. No further announcements came from the club, the event did not take place.[7] Due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the 2021 event was also cancelled.
Previous winners
edit| Year | Driver | Co-Driver | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Billy Coleman |
Brendan Neville | Ford Escort RS |
| 1980 | Ger Buckley |
John Caplice | Vauxhall Chevette HSR |
| 1981 | Demi Fitzgerald |
Leo Whyte | Vauxhall Chevette HSR |
| 1982 | James Doherty |
Michael Curley | Vauxhall Chevette HSR |
| 1983 | Billy Coleman |
Con Murphy | Opel Ascona 400 |
| 1984 | Billy Coleman |
Ronan Morgan | Opel Manta 400 |
| 1985 | Billy Coleman |
Ronan Morgan | Ford Escort G3 |
| 1986 | Austin McHale |
Christy Farrell | Opel Manta 400 |
| 1987 |  Mark Lovell |
Roger Freeman | Ford Sierra RS Cosworth |
| 1988 | Austin McHale |
Ronan McNamee | Opel Manta 400 |
| 1989 | Russell Brookes |
John Brown | Ford Sierra RS Cosworth |
| 1990 | Bertie Fisher |
Rory Kennedy | BMW M3 |
| 1991 | Bertie Fisher |
Rory Kennedy | Ford Sierra Sapphire Cosworth 4x4 |
| 1992 | Bertie Fisher |
Rory Kennedy | Subaru Legacy RS |
| 1993 | Bertie Fisher |
Rory Kennedy | Subaru Legacy RS |
| 1994 | Bertie Fisher |
Rory Kennedy | Subaru Impreza 555 |
| 1995 | Frank Meagher |
Pat Moloughney | Ford Escort RS Cosworth |
| 1996 | Bertie Fisher |
Rory Kennedy | Subaru Impreza 555 |
| 1997 | Austin McHale |
Brian Murphy | Toyota Celica 4WD Turbo ST185 |
| 1998 | James Leckey |
George Millar | Subaru Impreza 555 |
| 1999 | Ian Greer |
Dean Beckett | Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 |
| 2000 | Stephen Finlay |
Rory Kennedy | Ford Focus WRC |
| 2001 | No Rally - Foot-and-mouth disease outbreak | ||
| 2002 | Andrew Nesbitt |
James O'Brien | Subaru Impreza WRC |
| 2003 | Eugene Donnelly |
Paul Kiely | Subaru Impreza WRC |
| 2004 | Derek McGarrity |
Dermot O'Gorman | Subaru Impreza |
| 2005 | Andrew Nesbitt |
James O'Brien | Subaru Impreza |
| 2006 | Tim McNulty |
Anthony Nestor | Subaru Impreza WRC |
| 2007 | Kris Meeke |
Jonas Andersson | Subaru Impreza WRC |
| 2008 | Eamonn Boland |
Damien Morrisey | Subaru Impreza WRC |
| 2009 | Tim McNulty |
David Moynihan | Subaru Impreza WRC S12 |
| 2010 | Denis Cronin |
Helen O'Sullivan | Subaru Impreza |
| 2011 | Daragh O'Riordan |
Tony McDaid | Subaru Impreza WRC S12 |
| 2012 | Daragh O'Riordan |
Tony McDaid | Subaru Impreza WRC S12 |
| 2013 | Garry Jennings |
Neil Doherty | Subaru Impreza WRC S12B |
| 2014 | Sam Moffett |
James O'Reilly | Ford Fiesta WRC |
| 2017 | Conor Murphy |
Damien Fleming | Honda Civic WRC |
| 2018 | Manus Kelly |
David Gleeson | BMW E30 |
| 2019 | Craig Breen |
Paul Nagle | Ford Fiesta R5 |
| 2020 | Cancelled, COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 2021 | |||
| 2022 | Callum Devine |
Noel O'Sullivan | VW Polo GTI R5 |
| 2023 | Callum Devine
|
Noel O'Sullivan | VW Polo GTI R5 |
Partners and Sponsors
edit- Killarney and District Motor Club
- The Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney
- Ordnance Survey Ireland
- Rentokill Initial
- Aherns.ie Motor Group
References
edit- ^ History of Rally Of The Lakes
- ^ Cartell.ie page referring to sponsorship deal
- ^ "Motorsport Ireland Statement on Covid-19". Motorsport Ireland. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
- ^ "MOTORSPORT IRELAND STATEMENT ON COVID-19". Motorsport Ireland. 20 March 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ "Circuit of Kerry Rally 2020 – POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE". Kerry Motor Club. 14 March 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
- ^ "2020 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship Cancelled". Motorsport Ireland. 28 April 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "News". Rally of the Lakes. Retrieved 7 May 2020.