The Irish Tarmac Rally Championship has revealed its calendar of events for 2022. The seven-round championship makes its return after organisers were forced to cancel 2020 and ’21 editions due to coronavirus restrictions.
Next week’s Killarney Historic Rally is the opening round of ITRC’s 2022 Historic Championship while the main championship gets underway at its traditional Galway Rally curtain-raiser.
West Cork, Circuit of Ireland, Killarney, Donegal, Ulster, and Cork are set to complete next year’s all-asphalt series.
“We are back,” declared ITRC manager Paddy Flanagan. “There has been a void for the last 21 months, a void felt even more by club members, competitors, and rally fans.
“I cannot thank the member clubs, TROA directors and representatives enough for their dedication to run a full championship in 2022.
“It is difficult enough to run a rally in normal times nevermind during a pandemic with all the extra work involved.”
Fans will be excited to see that each round is aiming to run in full international format as two-day rallies. The Donegal International Rally being the only exception as it takes place over three days in June.
Rally Insight understands several top drivers have already stated their intent to compete in Ireland’s premier series next year. It is a tantalising prospect after Ireland’s recent run of overall battles in rallies throughout Autumn.
2022 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship calendar:
Killarney Historic Rally // 27 November 2021
Galway International Rally // 5-6 February 2022
West Cork International Rally // 19-20 March
Circuit of Ireland Rally // 15-16 April
Killarney International Rally of the Lakes // 30 April – 1 May
Donegal International Rally // 17-19 June
Ulster International Rally // 19-20 August
Cork 20 International Rally // 24-25 September
The Ulster Rally’s 2022 date is dependent on the running of Rally Northern Ireland. The proposed UK round of next year’s World Rally Championship is still unconfirmed but it shares the same August weekend as the Ulster Rally.
However, Ulster Rally organisers have contingency plans in place to run on a different date if required.
The 2021 Ulster Rally takes place this weekend but with no Tarmac Championship this year, it only counts towards the British Rally Championship.
September’s Cork 20 International Rally has been the only other ITRC event to run since the start of last year but it didn’t form part of any championship. Still, as Ireland’s first post-lockdown closed-road rally, Cork 20’s success was a pivotal moment for the sport.
Organisers will launch the 2022 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship in Killarney’s Gleneagle Hotel at 9 p.m. on Friday 26 November.
Championship registrations can be made on rallyscore.net and in-person on the Killarney Historic Rally.
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Photo by Mark McCullagh