Millions Tune In As Rally Championships Speed To Stormont

Northern Ireland is to have a global TV audience tonight as some 800 million rally fans in 180 countries are expected to tune in on television for the first stage of Rally Ireland which starts in Belfast.

This is in addition to the 10,000 spectators who are due to pack the grounds of Parliament Buildings aty Stormont.

The Stormont Spectacular will see some of the biggest names from the World Rally Championship circuit go head to head around the 2km Super Special Stage.

This is the first time the WRC has come to Ireland and the inclusion of Belfast is a major coup for the city.

So the stage is set and Stormont has been completely transformed for the likes of World Champion Sebastian Loeb to take on Ford's Marcus Gronholm and Luis Perez against the backdrop of Parliament Buildings.

Proceedings kick off with a special opening ceremony starting at 5.45pm. Spectators have been advised to arrive early and to adhere to parking restrictions in and around the estate.

A park and ride service will be in operation from the new Ikea car park at Holywood Exchange to ferry people to and from the grounds.

A free Translink bus service will also operate to and from Stormont throughout the evening with services running from 4.45 until 10pm.

The Stormont event is in advance of the main rally that officially starts tomorrow.

Today however, drivers will be flown from rally headquarters at the Clarion Hotel in Sligo, arriving into George Best City Airport this afternnon after pracice session were held in around Sligo this morning.

The cars are being driver across the border to Stormont, and then back again to Sligo afterwards.

On Friday the rally will see a full itinerary of events covering almost 170km of stages in the demanding hills to the south east of Sligo and around Lough Allen in County Leitrim.

The first leg starts from the service park in Sligo at 7.15am and will incorporate three morning stages and two in the afternoon. During the day, re-fuelling stops will be located at places like Geevagh, Arigna and Lough Gill in the morning and, during the afternoon, Glenboy and Drumshanbo. Friday's final stage is timed to arrive back in Sligo at 6.27pm.

Saturday sees another early start with leg two leaving Sligo at 6.30am. Drivers will head for Northern Ireland for the challenge of Co Tyrone and Fermanagh's farming lanes.

The morning will see three stages with re-fuelling stops in Sloughan Wood, Ballinamallard and Glenboy.

After lunch in Sligo the same stages will be repeated with this leg finishing at 6.20pm.

But that will not end the day for spectators and visitors to Sligo. A rally street carnival, including a spectacular fireworks display has been planned.

And finally, from 7am on Sunday the rally moves through two stages in the Clogher Valley in Co Tyrone and then on to a spectacular stage in Donegal Bay.

The final stage is a live televised lap on the coastal road at Mullaghmore, Co Sligo. This final lap on a most scenic route will be RTE Sport's biggest outside broadcast this year.

A prize presentation ceremony will be staged in Mullaghmore at the conclusion of the stage and a huge crowd is expected to salute the greatest rally drivers in the world.

The ceremonial finish of Rally Ireland will happen at the Clarion Hotel, Sligo just after 2pm.

(BMcC)