Confirmation that Tralee has been given the green light to host a stage of the World Rally Championship, pending government funding and approval of a calendar slot by the promoter, has been described as a fantastic boost for the county by Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce.
Munster Technological University in Tralee will play a central role if, as expected, Motorsport Ireland’s bid to stage the WRC proceeds, with Kerry confirmed as one of three chosen locations, along with Limerick and Waterford.
The proposal is that they would alternate as host locations for Rally Ireland between 2025 and 2027 under the terms of the proposed combined three-year deal.
The funding decision is currently under consideration by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
Killarney Chamber noted that the event, said to be worth €1 million per year over the three-year period, is watched by a global television audience of close on 250 million people and the promotional opportunities for the entire county of Kerry would be immense.
In addition, it would attract thousands of people to Kerry, including crews, their back-up teams, families and rally supporters from all over the world.
The MTU North Campus, which incorporates the Kerry Sports Academy, has been identified as one of the preferred locations that meets the very strict WRC criteria.
Hugely impressed Motorsport Ireland officials described the state-of-the-art Tralee venue as “world class”.
The announcement was expected to be the selection of one location to host the WRC and the decision to rotate three venues came as a big surprise.
Killarney Chamber congratulated everybody involved in the successful Tralee bid and said their determination and powers of persuasion are a great advantage to the county.
“This is possibly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to promote Kerry to a very loyal audience who love motorsport and relish the spectacular terrain over which the drivers compete”.
“The event will showcase Kerry in the best light and, now that this crucial hurdle has been cleared, all our fingers are crossed that it will be ratified and funded,” said a statement issued by Chamber joint presidents Pádraig Treacy and Johnny McGuire.
It is anticipated that some of the stages incorporated in the rally would include iconic Kerry rally locations such as Moll’s Gap, Caragh Lake and Ballaghbeama and that would really help put the beauty of the county on the world map, the Chamber added.
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