Galway International Rally essentials – everything you need to know to make the trip to the West even better

The rally will get under way with scrutineering of cars Galway Racecourse from 1.00pm on Friday, followed by a Ceremonial Start in Eyre Square later that day at 8.00pm.

Both are ideal opportunities to see the rally cars and drivers prior to the start of the competition.

Headquarters for the event is the Connacht Hotel, Dublin Road, Galway.

The rally route will cover nine closed-road stages on Saturday and a further 6 closed road stages on Sunday.

The stages are all based around the town of Loughrea with the action getting under way at 8:50am on the Saturday. The rally Service Park will be in the IDA Loughrea Technology and Business Park, Loughrea, by kind permission of the IDA.

Sunday evening will see the ceremonial finish back at Connacht Hotel from approximately 4.30pm.

Admission to all events is free over the weekend.

Road Safety:

The Corrib Oil Galway International Rally is an event that is sanctioned by the FIA under an official Permit issued by Motorsport Ireland and supported by The Road Safety Authority of Ireland. All competing cars will carry its logo and message, and signage to promote this road safety message will be visible.

Aiden Connolly, Clerk of the Course, encourages fans travelling to the Corrib Oil Galway International Rally to heed the message from the organisers to ‘Keep the Race in its Place’, to slow down, never drink and drive and to always wear a seatbelt. All spectators on the closed road stages must always obey the Marshals, as they will be implementing a comprehensive Safety Plan. A traffic management plan is in place with the support of the Gardai.

Cavalcade of competing cars and Ceremonial Start:

A Ceremonial Start will take place in Eyre Square on Friday at 8.00pm, where Mayor Collette Connolly will flag away the leading cars. Prior to that, from 7.00pm to 8.00pm, a cavalcade of the leading rally cars, along with Historic Rally cars from past years will travel from Galway Racecourse along Lough Atalia, Dock Road, Spanish parade, Flood Street and Merchants Road to Eyre Square.

Traffic Diversions:

To facilitate the safe running of the event there will be temporary road closures on certain roads around East County Galway on on Saturday ND Sunday.

All road closures will be clearly sign posted and marshalled. All residents have been informed of the times and temporary road closure arrangements and the details have been advertised by Galway County Council. There will be additional traffic in the Eyre Square area from 6.00pm to 9.00pm on Friday to facilitate the Ceremonial Start, also in the vicinity of the Connacht Hotel and in Loughrea and surrounding areas during both days.

Rally Programmes:

The Official Rally Programme contains full listings of stage times, service area times, detailed Ordnance Survey Route Maps and all the information required to locate the many spectator access points. The Programme costs €10 and is available from the Connacht Hotel and from various Corrib Oil filling stations