Galway Summer Rally sponsored by Bluebird Care returns on 1 September, 2024 and will take on some classic Galway International Rally stages and provides a good challenge for all the crews involved, covering 120km of stages and 170km of road mileage with more than 150 entries taking part.
The rally has been running since 1972, and it began as a mixed stage/navigation event before transitioning to tarmac stages in 1974 and being a member of the National Rally Championship for several years.
No surprise this championship has been competitive so far as we go to Galway, a four-way National title fight headlines the event.
Josh and Sam Moffett lead a fine line-up with penultimate round of the National Rally Championship with the Moffetts joined by Eddie Doherty and Daniel Cronin.
Carlow Stages Rally winner, Cronin, holds a two-point lead over Doherty but it is third-placed Josh Moffett who could benefit from two dropped scores at the end of the season. Moffett’s victory in Tipperary last time came at a crucial time, his third win of the season boosting his championship credentials.
James Ford and Neil Shanks brought the Citroen C3 fight to Moffett on the Ulster Rally. Seeded fifth, they could spring a surprise in Galway.
Just behind, Declan Boyle could turn heads if he pops up in Skoda’s latest Rally2 Fabia. Gary Kiernan, Michael Boyle, and Paul Barrett continue the high-performance field of Rally2 examples.
Kiernan will renew an old rivalry on Sunday as his old two-wheel-drive counterpart Kevin Eves makes the switch to a Ford Fiesta Rally2 for the first time.
This year’s event promises excitement with Escorts entered by Daniel McKenna, Jonathan Pringle, Johno Doogan and Michael Carbin to name a few who will be battling at the sharp end of things. On September 1st will see the King of the Mk2 return for the 12th time.
Kevin Gallagher and James Stafford make it a pair of pristine Darrians at the head of Galway’s two-wheel-drive field.
