Three venues approved for Rally Ireland’s WRC bid

Motorsport Ireland has revealed that Limerick, Tralee, and Waterford will rotate hosting the World Rally Championship between 2025 and 2027 as Rally Ireland’s bid progresses.

The announcement was made at a Dublin press conference on Tuesday morning following visits to three potential venues over the previous week. Delegates from Motorsport Ireland and the WRC Promoter viewed potential service parks in Limerick, Tralee, and Waterford to assess which was best suited to catering for the highest level of rallying.

After analysing and scoring the different locations, it was decided that all three were more than capable of hosting a WRC round. Each location will host Rally Ireland for a year apiece over the initial three-year contract.

It hasn’t been decided which of the three locations will host the first event in 2025.

Ireland’s interest in bringing the WRC back to its notorious closed-road asphalt stages came to light in 2023. An application of interest was sent out to motor clubs across the country as the search for a 10,000-square-metre service park, headquarters, media area, and fan zone began.

Now that the venues have been confirmed for Rally Ireland, the next major step in making Ireland’s WRC dream a reality will be securing 15 million euros of funding.

An application for funding is already making its way through government.

While 15 million euros remains a significant investment over Rally Ireland’s initial three years between 2025 and 2027, organisers are confident a 300 million euro return makes it a desirable investment for government.

Ireland last hosted a WRC round in 2009 when Sebastien Loeb doubled up on his victory two years earlier. Those events took place in November and February respectively, however, Rally Ireland’s latest bid is aimed at taking place in August or September.

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Photos by Gavin Woods