Next month will see the World Rally Championship circus roll into Ireland for the first time, in what promises to be a spectacular round of racing, writes Bob Montgomery, in the first of a series of articles about the event
Last year it was golfing's Ryder Cup, but this year the largest sporting event by far to take place in Ireland will be Rally Ireland - the first ever Irish round of the World Rally Championship (WRC).
The event itself is quite remarkable for the level of organisation which is required, and it is expected to be seen by up to 150,000 spectators and a global TV audience of 50 million in some 200 countries.
Seven years ago, the idea of such an event coming to Ireland was little more than a pipe-dream in the strategic plans of Motorsport Ireland, the governing body of motorsport in Ireland.
That the staging of the event is now just over a month away is a tribute to the dedication of a small group of promoters working hand-in-hand with Motorsport Ireland. An initial strategic plan for Irish Motorsport in 2000 highlighted the need for a major event to raise the profile of the sport here. Various ideas were considered but, ultimately, the fact that there were already a small number of Irish people operating in the WRC arena led to serious consideration of mounting a bid for an Irish round of the WRC.
Discussions were initiated with Fáilte Ireland in 2002; unsurprisingly, the organisation was at that stage very focused on the forthcoming 2006 Ryder Cup that was coming to Ireland.
When Fáilte Ireland took up the discussion again, Ronan Morgan and Sean O'Connor - both already operating full-time within the WRC - made a detailed proposal for the staging of Rally Ireland.
Coincidentally, the developing peace process added impetus to the idea, as, right from the start, a cross-Border event was planned. The Northern Ireland Sports Office and the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Peter Hain, gave their backing to the proposal and, together with strong support from the then Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, John O'Donoghue, as well as that of Max Mosley, president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the Irish team was able to convince the FIA to award the event to Ireland.
To demonstrate that Irish motorsport was capable of facing the huge organisational challenge of running a round of the WRC, it was necessary to run two events - a pilot event in 2005 and a WRC candidate event in 2006.
These duly took place and the FIA observers were sufficiently impressed to confirm the awarding of the 2007 event to Ireland.
Thus, this November's event, which takes place between the 15th and 18th, is supported by Fáilte Ireland, through its Sports Tourism Sponsorship Programme, and by Sport Northern Ireland, through its Sports Events Programme. This co-operation from both sides of the Border is reflected in the winners' trophy, a symbolic sculpture titled "Hands Across the Divide".
Rally Ireland is licensed by Motor Sport Ireland and organised with the assistance of the Association of Northern Ireland Car Clubs and Motorsport Ireland affiliated clubs.
No less than 1,500 voluntary marshals will be required to organise the 19 special stages, which are predominantly in the northwest region (including Sligo, Antrim/Belfast, Cavan, Donegal, Fermanagh, Roscommon, Leitrim and Tyrone) with the service park and rally HQ being based in Sligo. With anything up to 150,000 spectators expected to view the event, crowd control will be a major priority for the organisers and elaborate traffic-management plans will be put in place.
There are also a number of spin-offs from the event. The University of Ulster in Northern Ireland will head a group of leading universities across the world to work on a major research project examining the socio-economic impact of the WRC.
It's estimated that the 16 rounds of the WRC are collectively worth €736 million to the various national economies and the projection is that the Irish event will be worth approximately €46 million to Ireland.
The promoters of the WRC events in Finland, New Zealand, Spain, Germany and Ireland will all work closely with their local research partner to provide a worldwide view of the true economic value of the WRC.
In another initiative, Rally Ireland has appointed PCE Energy Management as its sustainability partners for the event. The intention is to significantly reduce Rally Ireland's environmental impact, putting in place strategies to manage direct and indirect sources of carbon emissions with the goal of reducing the carbon footprint of the event. In doing so, Rally Ireland is demonstrating global leadership within the motorsport community.
To this end, the event has the second shortest overall mileage of any event in the history of the WRC, while still retaining a competitive distance of around the required mileage of 220 miles. This compact mileage has been particularly welcomed by team principals, who also see it as cutting down overall costs considerably.
It's fair to say that Rally Ireland has had an enthusiastic welcome from WRC teams and, with its position as the penultimate round of a particularly close season, Rally Ireland is assured of attracting all of the world's top rally crews.
o The second of this three-part preview of Rally Ireland on October 17th, will be focusing on the teams and the challenge they will face from local drivers, as well as giving you information on where and how to spectate.
o Tickets for the Live at Stormont WRC Super Special Stage, as well as tickets for entry into the WRC service park at Sligo Institute of Technology, are now available through www.ticketmaster.ie and www.rallyireland.org. These are the only places tickets are required. The Stormont WRC Super Special Stage is a specially designed spectator-friendly stage in the grounds of Stormont with a flying finish over the specially designed Creagh Bridge.
To find out more about Rally Ireland, log onto: www.rallyireland.org. For the latest news in the World Rally Championship, go to: www.wrc.com.