Ireland 2009

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Originally Posted by alexlake

why are there so few cars rallying? seems abit poor. is this ALL cars??

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Yes, THAT IS ALL see above for entry list 7 forfaits !!!

Withdrawals aren't uncommon in Irish rallying. I suppose having the rally early in the year makes it difficult because often last minute deals dont have time to go through/cars aren't ready etc. Part of the appeal of running the Irish round was the large amount of WRCs.

The JWRC has pretty much died and then you have the self-explanatory economic climate stuff. It is just really a sorry sight not seeing any works Subaru's in any of the pictures.

glad I didnt bother going then, 36 cars!

Was McShea doing shakedown?

According to local news rain Friday morning, might clear for a few hours and then more rain. Sat should mostly be clear with rain returning in the evening.
Temps 6 - 9 c.

Mirek, I believe McShea didn't do shakedown.

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Originally Posted by alexlake

why are there so few cars rallying? seems abit poor. is this ALL cars??

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It's a sad fact but a lot of guys realised that for the cost of doing Rally Ireland where they would get little or no exposure, they could do three or four rounds of the Tarmac or National Championships.

That said, it is a real shame that more of the Irish WRCs are competing. Fair play to those that have come out, in particular to the MacHale clan with their three Focus WRC's. Daddy Austin has said that it might mean they will have to give some national events a miss later on in the year, but they felt it was important to support their local event after years of trying to get the WRC to Ireland.

The reality though is that in the current economic situation there are an awful lot of WRC cars sitting in sheds and garages going nowhere and depreciating fast. Entry lists on national rallies are still fairly healthy but that is increasingly down to the clubmen in their Escorts and Civics rather than the class 8 and 4 drivers.

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Originally Posted by CarlosF

It's a sad fact but a lot of guys realised that for the cost of doing Rally Ireland where they would get little or no exposure, they could do three or four rounds of the Tarmac or National Championships.

That said, it is a real shame that more of the Irish WRCs are competing. Fair play to those that have come out, in particular to the MacHale clan with their three Focus WRC's. Daddy Austin has said that it might mean they will have to give some national events a miss later on in the year, but they felt it was important to support their local event after years of trying to get the WRC to Ireland.

The reality though is that in the current economic situation there are an awful lot of WRC cars sitting in sheds and garages going nowhere and depreciating fast. Entry lists on national rallies are still fairly healthy but that is increasingly down to the clubmen in their Escorts and Civics rather than the class 8 and 4 drivers.

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I think when it first got granted a WRC round the top Irish guys were all for it and everyone wanted to get out there on the world stage. It obviously didn't take long for the appeal to wear off, especially when people are tightening the purse strings. It is pretty telling when such a rallying hot bed cant even muster over 40 entries. Bad times.

noel157: Thanks

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Originally Posted by CarlosF

It's a sad fact but a lot of guys realised that for the cost of doing Rally Ireland where they would get little or no exposure, they could do three or four rounds of the Tarmac or National Championships.

That said, it is a real shame that more of the Irish WRCs are competing. Fair play to those that have come out, in particular to the MacHale clan with their three Focus WRC's. Daddy Austin has said that it might mean they will have to give some national events a miss later on in the year, but they felt it was important to support their local event after years of trying to get the WRC to Ireland.

The reality though is that in the current economic situation there are an awful lot of WRC cars sitting in sheds and garages going nowhere and depreciating fast. Entry lists on national rallies are still fairly healthy but that is increasingly down to the clubmen in their Escorts and Civics rather than the class 8 and 4 drivers.

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Having watched some vids from the rally today, looks really great, but I wouldnt want to pay money to watch 36 cars, just not value for money. very sad, but i want to see at least 70-80 cars :(

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Originally Posted by Simmi

The JWRC has pretty much died and then you have the self-explanatory economic climate stuff. It is just really a sorry sight not seeing any works Subaru's in any of the pictures.

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yeah, im going to look a right wally now with all my SWRT gear on :( (yeah, im one of those saddos that bought loads of the SWRT range! :rolleyes: what a fool!)