World Rally Championship star Kris Meeke has placed an entry for The Killarney Towers Hotel Killarney Historic Rally. The Tyrone man will make a one-off appearance at the November 29 event, driving a BMW M3 E30 from the respected MATS stable in the Netherlands.
A five-time World Rally winner, Meeke recently completed a full season in the Portuguese rally championship in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 in which he won five rallies.
The Killarney Historic Rally will be a real homecoming for Meeke. His entry is a tribute to the late Maurice Nagle, founder of the rally in 1996 and father of his former WRC co-driver Paul Nagle.
During their time together, which brought them five World Rally Championship victories, Meeke became close friends with Maurice whose dream was to see the best drivers in the world competing in the best historic cars on Kerry’s famous stages. Meeke’s return brings that dream to life once again.
It is 16 years since Meeke last competed in Ireland, on the 2009 Midland Stages Rally, where he and Paul Nagle drove a Renault Clio S1600. The last time he drove in Killarney was the 2007 Historic Rally the same year he won the Rally of the Lakes.
This year’s rally, while still based in Killarney, will feature some new and long-absent roads in the Kenmare region, with a special highlight being a full-length night run down Moll’s Gap to close out the event.
It is also the 35th anniversary of Bertie Fisher and Rory Kennedy’s famous victory in the 1990 Rally of the Lakes.
