360 Motorsport Park Explores Rally Stage Potential
Photos by Robert Edmonds and video by Paul A
360 Motorsport Park outside Tralee is planning to expand its offering with a new 1.8km tar-and-chip rally test stage.
The layout incorporates some of the facility’s perimeter roads and its existing drift figure-of-eight section and is being promoted as a potential shakedown venue for rally cars.#
Operators believe it could also host a short rallysprint-style event in the future.
The venue, which already caters for drifting, off-road motorcycling, and track activities, has been steadily growing its motorsport footprint in recent years.
The addition of a rally stage would mark its first move towards stage rallying.
Last week, well-known local driver Rob Duggan carried out a private test on the new stage before travelling to San Marino to contest Rally Legend.
He tested his Ford Escort Mk2, which has been recently fully rebuilt ahead of his trip to San Marino this week.
Duggan reported that the stage allowed him to stretch the car as far as third gear and said it suited his needs.
“It might not be fully ideal as a pre-Molls Gap shakedown,” he said. “But I got a couple of kilometres done after the rebuild and it was exactly what I wanted.”
Management at 360 Motorsport Park are now inviting local clubs to view the track and assess its suitability for rally-related activities.
While any competitive use is still some way off, the test marked an encouraging first step in establishing Tralee as a rally testing base.
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