The National Rally Championship is a

rallying Rallying is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (sometimes called "rally racing" in United States), navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed ...

series in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

. It consists series of events, organized by a different motor club representing the region. The championship consists of eight events that runs in 16 locations switching biennially. The championship is regulated by

Motorsport Ireland Motorsport Ireland is the National Governing Body for four-wheeled motorsports in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Motorsport Ireland is affiliated to the supreme authority for world motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA ...

who are the governing body of

Motorsports Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the po ...

in the

. For sponsorship reasons the series were called Dunlop National Rally Championship between 2011 and 2014, and Triton National Rally Championship between 2015 and 2020.

Seasons

2022

Calendar

Results

2021

The season was cancelled due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

2020

At the 2019 awards ceremony on 16 November it was announced that 2020 championship will consist of seven rounds, six of which will be counting rounds. The change in biennial calendar is the drop of Sligo Rally in September and return of Carlow Rally in May. The important championship sponsorship was offered to Triton Showers to extended for another year. Initially committed for five years term, Triton Showers agreed to remain as title sponsors for another year. On 12 March all motorsports events were postponed in the light of the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. On 20 March,

issued a statement that all motorsport events are suspended until 1 June 2020. After the government released a road map on easing the COVID-19 restrictions on 6 May, Motorsport Ireland released a statement same day that in line with Phase 4 of this road map the suspension of all motor sports events is extended until the 20 July 2020. Rally events fall under Phase 5 of the guidelines and will not be considered until after the 10 August 2020. On 19 May Motorsport Ireland cancelled the 2020 championship. Clubs might still be able to run events if they wish but it won't hold championship status. Only the round 1 took place before rounds 2-5 were postponed, and eventually all remaining rounds were cancelled.

Calendar

2019

The 2019 season was launched on 26 January in

Mondello Park Mondello Park is Ireland's only international motorsport venue and is located in Caragh, County Kildare off the R409 regional road, approximately from Dublin city centre. History The Mondello Park short circuit was designed on farmland ne ...

, sponsored by Triton for the fifth year in a row. The calendar, consisting of the same eight biennial events was announced. The best seven scores will count, in addition, the final two rounds will offer bonus points.

Awards

There will be overall awards and awards for each of the 20 classes. Other awards include the Motorsport Safety Team Group N award, the rally.ie award (highest two-wheel drive in overall classification) and the Mk. 2 Champions Trophy. The Juniors will compete for Junior Trophy (Class 16A) and the National Junior Award (Class 16), with the winner qualifying for selection process for the Billy Coleman Young Rally Driver of the Year award. Navigators will participate in separate scoring and will be also awarded.

Broadcasting

The TV coverage is captured by On the Limit Sports. The viewers can view the series on TG4 and RTE Player in Ireland, as well as on satellite channel, YouTube and Motorsport.tv.

Calendar

Results

A total of 113 competitors have participated in at least one championship event. Top 10 drivers overall: *Note: # - did not start

2018

ALMC Stages Rally event originally scheduled on 15 July was cancelled prior to season start as the ALMC felt that there is lack of commitment to the event from the rally drivers, because there are too many rallies in June - July period. ALMC Stages Rally event was taking place since 1984. Sligo Rally was admitted to the calendar instead, but rescheduled from 15 to 8 of July due to 'exceptional weather conditions' and fears that the heat will melt the road surface. However the heatwave persisted and this date was also cancelled. Eventually the rally took place on 2 September. Carlow Mini Stages Rally organized by

Carlow Motor Club Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2022 census, it had a population of 27,351, the twelfth-largest urban center in Ireland. The River Barrow flows through the town and for ...

and held on 20 May was not a championship counting round. Best five rounds out of seven counted towards championship title.

Calendar

Results

Top 10 drivers overall: *Note: # - did not start

References

External links

Irish National Rally Championship Website

Old Irish National Rally Championship Website
{{Motorsport in Ireland Rally competitions in Ireland National championships in Ireland