Cork 20 Rally

The Cork 20 Rally or Cork 20 International Rally is an annual motorsport rallying event run by the Munster Car Club and held in the vicinity of Cork in Ireland. The Cork 20 Rally was first held in 1912, with the original event named because it spanned 20 hours.[1]

Cork 20 Rally
CategoryRally
CountryIreland
RegionCounty Cork
Inaugural season1912
Drivers' champion Marty McCormack
Co-Drivers' champion Barney Mitchell
Volkswagen Polo GTI R5
Official websiteOfficial Facebook page
Irish Tarmac Rally Championship
Current season
National Rally Championship (1966-1976)
Southern 4 Rally Championship
South East Stages Rally Championship
Sébastien Loeb 2007 Cork 20 rally winner

It is run as a round within the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, and draws competitors from Ireland North and South, Britain, and continental Europe. The rally was part of the National Rally Championship between 1966 and 1976. It became a full international rally in 1977.

History

The event has been run in different parts of County Cork since the 1960s, with Kinsale acting as the main hub throughout the 1970s, and Cork city being home to the event a few times also. The final stage of the 1980 event started on Patrick Street and went through Grand Parade and the South Mall in front of thousands of spectators. In later years, the event was run in the north and east Cork regions,[2] with some sections run in mid Cork also. The event returned to West Cork in 2010.

The format of the original rally was similar to the Monte Carlo Rally, in that there were several starting points; Cork, Dublin and Galway. The cars would then meet at a designated town (for example Clonmel). The final leg would then run from that town into Cork city. The roads were not officially closed for these early events.

In 2007, WRC drivers Sébastien Loeb (C4 WRC), Daniel Sordo (Xsara WRC), and Mikko Hirvonen (Focus RS WRC 06/07) all started the rally, heading a field of 130 of which 17 were World Rally Cars. Sébastien Loeb won the competition after two days and 14 stages.

The event has been run by various organisers since 1912. In the 1950s, the Cork and Munster Motorcycle Club, based at the neo-classical building Vernon Mount, gave their support to the Cork 20 Rally. With various affiliations, the Cork Motor Club became active in motorsport in the Cork area from 1976 onwards. As of 2019, the event was run by the Munster Car Club.

2019

The 2019 CB Toolhire Cork 20 International Rally event took place on 28 and 29 September 2019. The rally was the final counting round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship,[1] a counting round of the ERT Celtic Rally Trophy, Southern 4 Rally Championship & South East Stages Rally Championship.[3]

The race was ran by Paul Browne, Clerk Of The Course and the Deputy COC Brian McCarthy. The rally consisted of 13 special stages, totaling to 208.35 km (129.46 mi), and 423.30 km (263.03 mi) of liaison.[4] A total of 187 entries were enlisted to the event.[5] The overall winners were the International Class entrants Marty McCormack and Barney Mitchell who debuted in Cork 20 with a new Volkswagen Polo R5 - also a debut in Ireland. The 'national section' of the rally was won by Damian Toner & Michael Coady competing in the Modified Class. The Junior Class winners were Kieran Reen & Mark O'Leary.[6]

2020

The rally was scheduled to take place on 26 and 27 September 2020. Because of the on-going restrictions to address the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland, on 25 June 2020 the Munster Car Club board of directors took a decision to cancel the 2020 rally.[7] The Irish Tarmac Rally Championship had already been cancelled in late April.

References
  1. "Cork 20 rally returns to its base in Little Island after three years". echolive.ie. The Echo. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  2. "Documentary on One - Roar and Pace". rte.ie. RTÉ. 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  3. "CB Toolhire Cork 20 International Rally 2019 Press Release 1". munstercarclub.com. March 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  4. "Competitor T&D Schedule". munstercarclub.com. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  5. "2019 Unseeded Entry List 17.09.19". munstercarclub.com. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  6. "Hone to make R5 debut in Cork". rally.ie. 18 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  7. "Cork 20 International Rally - 26-27 Sep 20 - CANCELLED". rally.ie. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.