Donegal International Rally

Donegal International Rally
Donegal International Rally logo.
Category	Rally
Country	County Donegal, Ireland
Inaugural season	1972
Drivers' champion	Gareth McHale
Official website	http://www.donegalrally.ie/
Current season

The Donegal International Rally is an annual sporting event held in County Donegal, Ireland. It is one of Ireland's oldest annual rally competitions and is a top event in the Irish Rallying calendar.^[1] It has a reputation for being one of the country's most challenging rallies.^[2] The event begins and concludes in Letterkenny.^[3]

History

The event began in 1972 with Cahal Curley the first winner. The event was postponed for the two consecutive years of 2001 and 2002 due to the Foot-and-mouth disease^[4] and a serious accident. The rally was abandoned in 2008 after a spectrator was hit by a driver.

The rally attracts approximately 50,000 spectators each year. The event is estimated to be worth over €20 million to the Donegal economy each year. The event was previously sponsored by Shell. The current sponsors of the Donegal International Rally are Topaz Energy and The Mount Errigal Hotel.^[1]

2001 event

Crowds at the 2008 Rally in Donegal Town.

At the 2002 event two marshals were killed. The two 22-year-old men, one from Moville, the other from Crossmaglen, died when a car crashed into spectators at around 2.00pm. Three men were also injured. The remaining stages of the event were cancelled after the serious accident on Stage Two.^[5] Andrew Nesbitt was announced as winner as he led the rally at the time of the accident.

This led to the Motorsport Commission to inspect safety at all future events.^[6]

2008 event

At the 2008 event an 18-year-old spectator died after being hit by a competing car, at 3.30pm. The accident happened at Ballyare, about four miles from Letterkenny. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.^[7]^[8]^[9] The road was closed and did not re-open for some time. Organisors cancelled the rally for the rest of the day and later announced that the 2008 event would be abandoned as a mark of respect^[10]^[11] Eugene Donnelly was announced as winner as he led the rally at the time of the accident.

2010 event

On Saturday Afternoon 19 June 2010, a co-driver died after the car he was in crashed on the Knockalla stage, south of Portsalon, of the event shortly after 3pm. Thomas Maguire, Aged 26, from Longwood, County Meath was killed and his driver, Shane Buckley, critically injured. As a result, the final stage of the rally was cancelled. This was the first time in the rally's history that a competitor was killed during the rally.^[12]

Winners

Year	Winner	Car
1972	Cahal Curley	BMW 2002
1973	Cahal Curley	Porsche Carrera
1974	Cahal Curley	Porsche Carrera
1975	Achim Warmbold	BMW 2002
1976	Brian Nelson	Porsche Carrera
1977	Billy Coleman	Lancia Stratos HF
1978	Ari Vatanen	Ford Escort RS1800
1979	Brian Nelson	Ford Escort RS1800
1980	Jimmy McRae	Vauxhall Chevette HSR
1981	John Lyons	Ford Escort RS1800
1982	John Lyons	Ford Escort RS1800
1983	Vincent Bonner	Ford Escort RS1800
1984	Billy Coleman	Opel Manta 400
1985	Billy Coleman	Porsche 911 SCRS
1986	Billy Coleman	MG Metro 6R4
1987	Bertie Fisher	Opel Manta 400
1988	Mark Lovell	Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
1989	David Llewellin	Toyota Celica
1990	Austin McHale	BMW M3
1991	James Cullen	Ford Sierra Cosworth
1992	Bertie Fisher	Subaru Legacy
1993	Bertie Fisher	Subaru Legacy RS
1994	Stephen Finlay	Ford Escort RS Cosworth
1995	Bertie Fisher	Subaru Legacy RS
1996	Andrew Nesbitt	Toyota Celica
1997	Austin McHale	Toyota Celica
1998	Andrew Nesbitt	Toyota Celica
1999	James Cullen	Subaru Impreza 555
2000	Andrew Nesbitt	Subaru Impreza WRC
2001	Event did not run (Foot-and-mouth disease)	-
2002	Event Cancelled Andrew Nesbitt	Subaru Impreza WRC
2003	Andrew Nesbitt	Subaru Impreza WRC
2004	Eugene Donnelly	Toyota Corolla WRC
2005	Eugene Donnelly	Toyota Corolla WRC
2006	Andrew Nesbitt	Mitsubishi Lancer WRC
2007	Sébastien Loeb	Citroën C4 WRC
2008	Event Cancelled Eugene Donnelly	-
2009	Gareth McHale	Ford Focus
2010	Gareth McHale	Ford Focus
2011	Tim McNulty	Subaru WRC
2012	Garry Jennings	Subaru WRC
2013	Sam Moffett	Subaru S14 WRC
2014	Declan Boyle	Subaru Impreza S12 WRC

References

External links

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