I thought I would create a thread for all UK and Irish Rallying events.

The Irish Tarmac Rally Championship got underway at the weekend with Gareth Machale winning the Safety Direct Galway International Rally. The surprise of the event was however the pace of relative newcomer Craig Breen in the M-Sport built Fiesta S2000, taking 2nd place overall, an excellent result for the young 20 year old, even taking a fastest stage time along the way.

It will be an interesting year for British and Irish Rallying with the shift now away from full WRC cars, with many drivers trying to sell their machines which are ineligible for many UK events. Yet again we find ourselves in a slight transition period with the British Rally Championship (BRC) focused once again on Group N4 and S2000 as the primary championship category.

One of the primary UK events to kick start the UK rally season is fast approaching, 'Rallye Sunseeker' http://www.rallyesunseeker.co.uk/ The event is well run and well supported locally and probably one of the best events for anyone living in the South Of England to attend to see some great machinery in action.

The rest of the season's main championships look as follows:

MSA British Rally Championship 2010 Calendar
Mar 27 International Rally North Wales, Welshpool
Apr 23-24 Pirelli International Rally, Carlisle, Cumbria
May 28-29 Jim Clark International Rally, Kelso, Scottish Borders
Jul 09-10 Isle of Man International Rally, Douglas
Aug 20-21 International Rally Northern Ireland, Antrim
Sep 25 International Rally of Yorkshire, Pickering, North Yorkshire

Irish Tarmac Rally Championship Calendar 2010
Feb 05-07 Galway International Rally » Show Pictures
Apr 02-04 Circuit of Ireland Rally
May 01-02 Killarney Rally of the Lakes
Jun 18-20 Donegal International Rally
Aug 20-21 Ulster International Rally
Oct 02-03 Cork 20 International Rally

MSA Gravel Rally Championship Calendar 2010
Feb 26-27 Rallye Sunseeker
Apr 23-24 Pirelli Tour of Cumbria
Jun 05 Severn Valley Stages
Jul 17 Pro Art Signs Swansea Bay Rally
Sep 04 60 & Worcestershire Rally
Sep 25 Trackrod National Rally

MSA Asphalt Rally Championship Calendar 2010
Tour Of Epynt (March 14th 2010)
Manx Trophy Rally (May 7/8 2010)
Jim Clark National Rally (May 28/29th 2010)
Rally Of The Midlands (June 18/19th 2010)
ALMC Stages (July 18th 2010)
Tyneside Stages (August 1st 2010)
Mewla National Rally (August 29th 2010)
Patriot Stages (September 26th 2010)
Cheviot National Rally (October 24th 2010)

I am sure there will be much to discuss and some interesting new talents coming through the ranks, along with some great competition desite these tough economic times. But whatever happens... the boys and girls will always be... Flat Over Crest! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpx9c3zT6EY

OT I know (from the off), but any idea if the Malcolm Wilson rally will be running this year?

As it starts from Cockermouth Main Street I could understand if it's cancelled, given the upheaval since the floods in November.

I would think they might try to do all they can to make sure it does run, as it provides a good revenue boost to the area, so I would be pretty sure that it will run, fingers crossed!

and no.... perfectly ON TOPIC! This thread is about ANY UK and Irish Rally event!

made the trip to galway at the weekend
That s2000 fiesta alone made it worth the trip
Cronins commitment on the ''sunday run'' was unbelievable - 2 fastest overall times + fastest on ss1 before his ss2 exit
Daniel McKenna was fantastic to watch in his 2.5 escort - 6th overall & surely a man to watch for overall (i kid you not!!!) honours when the series gets to the likes of donegal where he'll be able to put all that power on the road!!!!!
The citroen c2r2's were also impressive. 14 or 15 of them and by sunday they all looked to be on the limit - multiple punctures robbed Marty McCormack of a top 10 finish!
Highly enjoyable and i'd reccomend a trip over to anyone

I don't know much about Craig Breen but for certain reasons I had to study 2009 Rally Finland stage results recently. I noticed Craig's name as he won some stages in his class (N3) and took class win eventually. Man, beat a bunch of young Finnish hopefuls on their own soil - it's a tremendous achievement, isn't it? That's where he caught my attention and I started wonder who the guy is.

He certainly seems to have the skillsets, it will be interesting to see him on a few IRC rounds to see how he compares, but so far, he looks to have a great deal of potential.

craig is quick but he also has serious money behind him = lots and lots of testing & is a full time rally driver (no school or work for him!)

They spend nearly 750,000 doing the irish, british & irternational fiesta championships (all of which he won) last year

Unfortunately he's so arrogant he makes guy wilks look humble.....

Searching Google produced this page with a calendar of British rallies.

Hope this helps some of you.

http://www.ianhardy.net/british_rally_calendar.php