Press Release 2 – Achill Gears Up For Mayo Stages 2017

With just 3 weeks to go, Mayo & District Motorsport Club are busy finalizing plans for the Óstán Oileán Acla/Connacht Print & Signs Mayo Stages Rally for 2017.  As the opening round of the ever popular Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship, it promises to be an action packed motorsport weekend with spectacular stages winding along the picturesque Wild Atlantic Way. This is one event you won’t want to miss.

For the competitor and spectator alike, this event is like no other. Competitors will enjoy an equal mix of stages, from tight and twisty to open, flat straights. Flanked with the backdrop from the Atlantic Ocean these stages really have it all and promise to challenge both crew and machine.

Says Trevor O’Connell, Clerk of the Course, “This event is a little different from what we have run in previous years. The roads are in superb shape, with a lot of clean tarmac, excellent road surface and great grip. Traditionally, due to the time of year we run at, our stages tended to be a bit tricky and slippery in places, this will not be the case this year as the Islands roads are well capable of handling the Irish weather”. He continues “It will be breath taking for the spectators too as most locations will provide excellent viewing, among some of the best you will find anywhere”.

As Mayo & District Motorsport Club predominantly has members who compete in rallying, we are conscious of the fact that our sport has been dealt another hard blow this year with the rising insurance costs. Therefore we are running a 6 stage event to keep the entry fee as low as possible.  The event will comprise of 96+ stage kilometres and 100 road kilometres, offering the best value for money per stage kilometre you will find this year. Rally HQ, Scrutiny, Trailer Park, Service Park, Parc Fermé and of course the stages themselves are all on Achill Island. We have kept the route as compact as possible, focusing on keeping the road distance to a minimum. This in turn keeps the costs down for the competitors as it makes for an easy recce on the Saturday and also means less fuel consumed by competing cars on the Sunday. Competitors will also benefit from a compact day on Sunday with the first cars returning to Parc Fermé before 16:45. This gives everyone the opportunity to avail of the fine hospitality that Óstán Oileán Acla has to offer.

We would like to invite you all to visit our Rally HQ, Óstán Oileán Acla, this coming Friday the 24th of February for our Rally Launch Night. The night will kick off at 8pm and everyone is more than welcome to join us.