Rally Ireland has announced details of the route for next January’s World Rally Championship opening round.
Details are contained in Rally Guide 1, which is available on www.rallyireland.org. This follows a route inspection and approval by the FIA, the sport’s governing body, and the leading international teams who will take part.
The 2009 World Championship will be launched in Belfast on Saturday 24 January, in a global TV event featuring drivers from Ford, Citroen, Subaru and Suzuki competing with international celebrities at Stormont Castle near Belfast.
Shakedown, where the teams test their cars, will be held near Sligo on Thursday 29 January, followed by the official start at Fermanagh Town Hall at 7.30 pm that evening.
With a total of 19 special stages and a route covering 1407 km, the event will visit counties Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Cavan, Tyrone, Fermanagh and Donegal.
The Service Park will again be based at the 52 acre site of the Institute of Technology, Sligo, which the teams will visit twice daily for repairs and service on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The following areas will feature on the event:
• Cavan: A new stage runs twice on Friday near the village of Glangevlin.
• Roscommon: A special stage in Arigna coupled with a new passage control in Boyle on Friday. This visit by the cars to the town will be supported by a festival organised by the local community and Roscommon County Council.
• Leitrim: Will again feature the popular stages of Glenboy and Aughnasheelan with the Lough Gill stage starting in the county and most of the Arigna stage also being run in Leitrim.
• Tyrone/Omagh District: Sloughan Glen and Ballinmallard will run on Saturday and will be run twice.
• Tyrone/Dungannon District: Murley and Fardross run on Friday, for the first time in the dark, providing a unique spectacle for both the drivers and fans.
• Fermanagh: Tempo and part of the Ballinmallard stage run on Saturday, in addition to the ceremonial start on Thursday.
• Donegal: On Sunday morning the popular Donegal Bay stage will be run in the opposite direction to the 2007 event with a new street stage in Donegal town starting at lunch time on Sunday February 1. This stage will be broadcast live on TV around the world.
• Sligo: Rally HQ, Service Park, Shakedown stage and Official Finish
Gordon Noble, Clerk of the Course announced: ‘We are pleased with our new route which provides a real challenge to the drivers, good spectating options for the fans and spectacular images for TV viewers around the world.’
