Twin sponsor turbo boost for TROA organisers

Organisers of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, the TROA (Tarmac Rally Organisers’ Association) have secured two additional secondary sponsors for the series that begins in four weeks time with the Corrib Oil Galway International Rally.

Acesigns, the former title sponsors of the Cork “20” International Rally and Swedish company System Edstrom are to join tyre manufacturers Michelin and Pirelli as secondary sponsors for the seven event series, including the Ulster Automobile Club’s event that following a lapse of several years will have the title of Circuit of Ireland instead of the Easter Rally.

Cork based Acesigns, who also underpin events like the Munster Moonraker Rally and the Heartlands Rally in Portlaoise are well known within the sport and are responsible for securing the support of System Edstrom, manufacturers of flexible van racking for transport vehicles.

Neil Phelan of Acesigns said: “The reason we have got involved is to promote the System Edstrom brand as they are not that well known in Ireland, as of yet.”

This season’s automatic nomination for the interview process in the Billy Coleman Young Driver of the Year award is set to span all three principal Irish rally championships for the first time since the inception of the award in 2000.

Previously, the automatic selection was confined to the winners of the Junior categories of the National Rally Championship and the Irish Forest Rally Championship. However, the top R2 driver within Class 2 of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, (once the age criteria is met - under 26 on January 1 in the year of the award) is to receive an automatic selection for the interview process.

The TROA are happy the anomaly is to be rectified. Ironically, Billy Coleman (1984) is a former Tarmac champion as is John Coyne (1982), who is one of the principal backers of the Motorsport Ireland Academy.

Due to changes in the Motorsport Ireland regulations Class 2 cars (Fiesta R2 and such like) are no longer eligible to compete in Junior rallying and that is the principal reason why the TROA has decided to choose the automatic nomination from Class 2.

The overall winner of the R2 category will get a drive in an R5 car in a round of the 2021 ITRC, as of yet, no decision has been made as to the make of car that is likely to be either a Ford Fiesta R5, Hyundai i20 R5 or a Proton Iriz R5.

In addition, the TROA have teamed up with M-Sport Poland for the 2020 season and will have a prizefund for each round of the series for competitors in Fiesta R2’s.

The top three in each round will receive vouchers for spare part packages to the respective value of €2,000, €750 and €250. However, the support is subject to strict conditions.

There has to be a minimum of six Fiesta R2’s entered in each the rally for the vouchers to be awarded.

The first, second and third place in the class must be in variants of the Fiesta R2 and the vouchers can only to be redeemed for the purchase of R2 parts this year.

If, during the season, a driver switches to another make of car the vouchers will become void with the recipient liable to pay the value of vouchers already used.

The TROA are hoping the likes of Derek Mackarel and David Kelly, who are aiming to contest the Junior British Rally Championship will also contest the R2 Tarmac series.