Fel’s Point Hotel Circuit of Kerry Rally Launched.

Kerry Motor Club officially launched this year’s Fel’s Point Hotel Circuit of Kerry Rally in association with Advanced Cleaning Services with the news that the rally will feature a town centre start for the first time in ten years.
This year’s rally is set for Sunday April 19 and will count as round two of the Top Part West Coast Rally Championship.
However action will get underway the previous day with a town centre start on Tralee’s Ashe Street. The estimated 100 crews will line up on the lower end of the town centre location from 1800hrs on the Saturday before the rally. This will allow fans and locals alike to see the state of the art rally cars at close range and speak to the drivers in a relaxed environment. It will also give the town of Tralee an early tourist season boost with 1000s of fans expected in the county capital for the first major motorsport event in Kerry this year.
Early entrants include Ballyduff man Kevin Barrett who will lead a four-car Triton Showers Team on the event and Welsh visitor Steve Wood. Both drivers will field Subaru Impreaz World Rally Cars. Local hero Mike Quinn is another to confirm his participation in the 41st running of Kerry Motor Club’s flagship event.
In his address to the large crowd who had turned up to officially launch this years event Mayor of Tralee Cllr. Jim Finnucane outlined how important economically events like the Circuit of Kerry Rally were to places like Tralee. ” Any event which increases the amount of bed nights spent in the Town is very welcome especially as it comes so early in the tourist season”.

Maurice McElligott Chairman of KMC said ”Without the financial support of our sponsors Fel’s Point Hotel, Advanced Cleaning Services, Lyons Ford of Limerick, Kellihers Toyota,Relihans Car Dismantlers and Breakers, Aherns BMW, West Coast Performance Services and Tralee Chamber Alliance and the many business’s who advertise in our Event Programme it would not be possible to run this years 41st Circuit of Kerry Stages Rally”.

The Triton Showers National Rally Championship resumes this weekend with the Midlands Rally, based in Roscommon. Alan Ring in his Impreza WRC is the top Kerry seed in this event. Kerry Motor Club photographer Padraig Foran is alson in action, co-driving for Welsh driver Ellis Belton in a Ford Fiesta R5.

Images from Padraig Foran