Cash shortfall ends 2013 Circuit of Ireland

Next year’s Circuit of Ireland Rally has been dropped from the new-look European Rally Championship (ERC) due to a lack of funding.

The decision was taken by rally director Bobby Willis after the Ulsterman came agonisingly close to securing the funding that would have guaranteed its inclusion as the third round of the ERC.

However, the deal fell through only hours before the IRC awards presentation in Paris on Thursday evening.

The Circuit is the second oldest rally in the world and the loss of the ERC is a blow to Willis.

Last year, the Circuit was part of the International Rally Challenge (IRC — now incorporated into the ERC) series which delivered a global audience of nearly nine million via Eurosport.

The rally also tied in with Belfast’s Titanic commemorations with a super special stage run off on Good Friday evening.

Willis said: “This is an extremely painful judgement for me to make and one that I do not enter into lightly.

“I had publicly expressed concern in October over funding for the 2013 rally.

“This is not the end for the Circuit of Ireland Rally and I, along with 700 volunteers which it takes to run the rally, will regroup and begin planning now for 2014.”

Whilst there is disappointment, the Ulster Automobile Club have made a clarifying announcement stating that next year’s Circuit will go ahead as a national rally and will count as the second round of the 2013 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship.

Meanwhile, a revised ERC calendar is likely to include the Rally Islas Canarias-El Corte Inglés (Canaries) as a replacement for the Circuit of Ireland.