Home Countries of ALMC Rally Winners

Held in the Republic of Ireland, the National Rally Championship is a rallying event that is organized annually. It is a huge event, which includes a series of events organized by different motor clubs of different regions. In total, the championship features eight events held in 16 different locations. Furthermore, Motorsport Ireland regulates the event while governing Motorsports in the Republic of Ireland. In the past, due to sponsorship reasons, the series was renamed Dunlop National Rally Championship in 2011 and the Triton National Rally Championship between 2015 and 2020.

History

2018

The ALMC Stages Rally event scheduled to be held in July was canceled due to the management assuming that the rally drivers were not serious about the race. It was canceled prior to season start and the management also believe that there were too many races in the June-July period alone. It should be noted that the ALMC Stages Rally event was being held since 1984.

The Sligo Rally was added to the calendar but had to be rescheduled due to the fact that the weather conditions were exceptional and the fear that the heat will melt the surface of the road. Eventually, the event was canceled since the heat prolonged its stay. As a result, the event took place on 2 September.

2019

The 2019 event was sponsored by Tifton for the fifth consecutive time. It was scheduled to take place on 26 January in Mondello Park. At the same time, the calendar consisting of the same biennial events was also launched. The final two rounds will offer bonus points while the best seven scores will be counted.

2020

The 2019 awards ceremony was held on 16 November, where it was announced that the 2020 championship will feature seven rounds, six of which will be counting rounds. The change was due to the Sligo Rally being dropped while marking the return of the Carlow Rally in May. Furthermore, for this year as well, the Triton Showers was offered to remain as the sponsors, considering they had been for the last five events. Triton Showers had agreed to become the sponsors.

Then on 12 March, all Motorsports events were canceled in light of the COVID pandemic. On 20 March, Motorsport Ireland had accounted that all the motorsport events were suspended till 1 June 2020. Although the government released its plan, easing the restrictions but Motorsport Ireland released a statement the same day mentioning that all motorsports events are suspended until 20 July 2020. Ultimately, Motorsport Ireland canceled the 2020 championship on 19 May.

Final Word

Since 2018, the ALMC rally series have been experiencing cancellations and delays. With major sponsors experiencing financial constraints, only time will tell when the management and stakeholders decide to give a go-ahead. Considering the pandemic situation, motorsport analysts find it hard to believe that the event is going to take place anytime soon.