ERC – Circuit of Ireland canceled in 2017

The 2017 European Rally Championship calendar is set to be significantly disrupted. After the recent announcement of the desire of Rally of the Acropolis to return to the stage of WRC, it is on the side of North Ireland that events have accelerated in recent hours.

The news is, however, much less encouraging than for the rally contested on the Hellenic peninsula, since the organizers of the Circuit of Ireland, an asphalt event on the calendar ERC since 2014, and also included in the British Rally Championship, announced that the island round would not be held in 2017.

“Last year we had over 40 million viewers worldwide, with similar numbers expected this year, explains rally director Bobby Willis. Year on year, the event has brought increased dividends for Northern Ireland and, in particular, the tourism and accommodation sector. But the growing success and size of the event requires precise and long-term planning of the project, additional resources and, inevitably, more financial investment.

 To date we have received fantastic support from Councils across Northern Ireland, Tourism NI and Tourism Ireland, private sponsors and the Executive in Northern Ireland. I believe we have delivered an excellent return on investment for all our partners, with substantial growth achieved over the past seven years.

We have worked hard with all of our funders to plan ahead for 2017 but unfortunately at this time the financial resources needed to host the event are not yet in place. To hold the rally next year, in the current format, without the right resources and planning period, would be doing the rally a disservice. I believe we cannot risk playing the 2017 event at this stage without financial certainty. »

Bobby Willis and his teams are already thinking about post-2017, with a return mentioned for 2018 in better financial circumstances. “ While other options for a small local rally may be considered for next year, my plan is to take the time to work closely with our partners to secure the necessary resources and plan for the Circuit of Ireland returns in 2018 even stronger »

Ireland also hosted a round of the WRC in 2007 and 2009, both editions won by a certain Sébastien Loeb.