World Rally Championship will 'inject vitality' as 'exciting times ahead' for Limerick

THE WORLD Rally Championship (WRC) will "inject vitality" into Limerick as "exciting times" lie ahead as it's also set to welcome the 2027 Ryder Cup.

That's the view of the chief executive of Limerick City and County Council Dr Pat Daly who was among many locally to welcome the news that the global tournament is to motor into the region.

The WRC is expected to draw more than 250,000 motoring fans to Shannonside for its staging of the event, which will see Limerick Racecourse at Patrickswell transformed into a 10,000 square metre service park and media centre, as well as a fan zone.

At a press conference this week, the president of governing body Motorsport Ireland Aiden Harper revealed inspectors charged with picking the venues for the WRC's return to Ireland next year could not separate the three bids from Limerick, Tralee and Waterford.

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Instead of one area enjoying the championship for the three years of its stay in Ireland, each location will host for one year.

Expressions of interest are being invited for specific years. If more than one expression of interest is received for each year, a lottery system will take place.

Dr Daly said: "This decision by Motorsport Ireland delivers the prospect of another global sporting event coming to Limerick, showcasing our county on an international stage. It’s expected that the WRC would draw 250,000 visitors, injecting vitality into our community and generating millions of euros in revenue for our local economy. With the Ryder Cup coming to Adare in 2027 there are exciting times ahead."

Praise was given to the Limerick Motoring Club, who can count local Independent TD Richard O'Donoghue in their number.

He said: "For a €5m investment, there is a €100m return, which to me is absolutely huge. My only disappointment is the venue that we have, we only have there for one year. It would be brilliant if we had it there for the three years. But in the one year, we will be able to showcase what we can do and if it comes back around again in year four, they might look at us favourably."

Credit was also given to the Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau whose boss Karen Ronan played a big part in preparing the bid.

This office was co-founded by Limerick Chamber and the business group's chief executive Dee Ryan congratulated both the Motor Club and Ms Ronan for securing "this prestigious sporting event" for Limerick.

Minister of State and local TD Niall Collins added: "It’s fantastic news that Limerick and the Mid-West have secured the WRC for one of Ireland's three years of hosting the event. We in Limerick put forward a very comprehensive and compelling bid to host the event. The economic impact of staging this event centred at Patrickswell will be enormous."

"We have a proven track record in delivery of major events. In particular, I want to praise Karen Ronan for fronting our bid with the Limerick Rally Club so professionally and I can assure people that government will play it’s part in making this event a true success," he added.

At the press conference which announced Limerick will host the three-day event in one of the years, Mr Harper praised the presentation from the Limerick Motor Club, Limerick Racecourse and Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau.

Speaking of the Racecourse, he said: "We walked the proposed area and viewed the huge area and facilities available with the grandstand. It's a building with so much to offer and there is amazing potential on the outside as well given its use as a racecouse."

"The allied support of all elected representatives present, speaking as one voice was something very special," he added.

Mr Harper described all three presentations as "exceptional", "mind-blowing" and "all different in approach."

"We believe all WRC events would be delighted to have any of them as a service park," he added, "We tried many different scoring systems. But no two came out head and shoulders above one location. Each location has so much to give and showcases our country in a slightly different way."

The World Rally Championship returns to Ireland for the first time since 2009.

Limerick is expected to host more than 1,500 volunteers and hundreds of officials, marshals and service crew members from the world’s largest rallying teams, including M-sport Ford, Toyota Gazoo racing and Hyundai shell mobis.

Inaugurated in 1973, it is the second oldest of the FIA's world championships after Formula One. Each season, which lasts one calendar year, separate championship titles are awarded to drivers, co-drivers and manufacturers.