Organisers of next month’s Modern Tyres Ulster Rally have rubber stamped a much-improved competitive route that will comprise a mix of both new and revised closed-road special stages.
Overseen once again by Clerk of the Course Wayne Turkington, the changes promise to add to the challenge of an event which is promoted by members of Northern Ireland Motor Club.
Running over one day (Saturday, August 17th), it is hosting the penultimate round of this year’s Irish Tarmac Rally Championship and could have an all-important say in the final destination of a title that Callum Devine, Keith Cronin and Matt Edwards are in strong contention to win.
Standing between them and a maximum score are eight timed tests dotted in the countryside around the Ulster Rally’s Newry HQ. Totalling eighty-three competitive miles, Turkington says while the stage names may be known to people, crews will still have to do their homework.
“Keeping the stages challenging for competitors and entertaining for spectators is the number one priority, so from that perspective the Ulster Rally is not really changing,” says Turkington. “The main change this year is we will be a one-day rather than the traditional two-day event.
“Although all the stage names may be familiar, the stages themselves have all been changed. For SS1 and SS5 (Shinn Bridge), a lot of variations have been made to this stage and by running it in the opposite direction, we have picked a sequence that has never been used previously.
“Moving to SS2 and SS6 (Banbridge North), again, the name is the same but it is different. We have reversed – and lengthened – it compared to 2023 and that has allowed us to offer another new stage to competitors. SS3 and SS7 (Tyrone’s Ditches) has also been reworked.
“There are not as many changes for this one because the version we used in 2023 had a lot of character and we didn’t want to lose that – but we still wanted it to offer something different. We have achieved this with a 50/50 split – 50% classic and 50% new. It is now also longer than before, at 13.90-miles, and that makes it the longest special stage of this year’s Ulster Rally.
“Finally, SS4 and SS8 (Babylon Hill) has a familiar name but is a very different stage to the one we have seen before. It has many classic elements and is a lovely stage to finish any rally on.”
Further information on spectator viewing points, as well as a time and distance schedule and seeded entry list for the Modern Tyres Ulster Rally, will be available in the next few weeks from the official event website (www.ulsterrally.com).
