This week’s video upload is the 1990 Rally of the Lakes, the final and deciding round of that year’s Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. That year it saw the resolution of the intense, season long, two-way battle between Austin McHale and Bertie Fisher in their BMW M3s while the visiting Russian Bolshikh brothers also played a starring role in their M3.

The video, produced by Tyndall PR Production with commentary from Alan ‘Plum’ Tyndall and Gary Gillespie, is available to stream below from 7pm this evening, Thursday 28th May…

Remember to subscribe to the our YouTube Channel to watch all of our classic videos in one place and be notified when we release new videos. 

We look forward to releasing new Classic Motorsport videos very soon!

The RIAC Member Newsletter for May 2020 is now available online, and can be viewed by clicking on the button below...

This week’s RIAC Classic Video is the The MG Car Club's Race Meeting on the 27th September 1992 at Mondello Park which turned out to be the finale of the Dunlop Saloons Championship that year.

The video, with commentary provided by Alan ‘Plum’ Tyndall and Brian Tuite of RPM Motorsport, will stream below from 7pm on Thursday, 21st May.

Remember to tune in from 7pm next Thursday, 28th May when we will be streaming the Killarney International Rally of the Lakes programme from 1990.

Don't forget to subscribe to the Motorsport Ireland–RIAC YouTube Channel to watch all of our classic video uploads in one place.

Dear Members, 
​
I am delighted to announce that we are preparing to re-open our club again and the first step in that will be the re-opening of our Car Park. We are preparing to do this in accordance with the Government Road Map for Reopening Society and business.

It therefore gives me great pleasure to announce that the Club will re-open on Monday 8th of June 2020 on a phased basis (subject to Government moving to Phase 2 on this date). We will initially open Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6.30pm each evening. In keeping with Government guidelines on Social Distancing and the protection of you, our members and staff, all members will park their own cars initially. We are excited and determined to extend our hours quickly and get back to our famed valet service just as soon as it is safe to do so. We thank you for your support over the past few weeks which has been most appreciated.

We look forward to welcoming you all back in June.

Kind Regards,
​
Arthur Collier,
Chairman, RIAC

Dear RIAC Members and Fellow Motoring Enthusiasts,

We have been carefully monitoring the situation regarding Covid-19 and the current "lockdown".

Unfortunately, due to the latest government restrictions and roadmap for the easing of the lockdown, the possibility of holding our annual "Picnic" in Marlay Park now joins the ever growing list of cancelled events.

We know this will be a disappointment to many - not least of which being the Laura Lynn Children's Hospice organisation whose work you have supported over the last 14 years. We will continue to examine the possibility of creating some alternative fund raiser over the next number of weeks.

​Hopefully, given a fair wind, we will all be back in place on the 21st July 2021 when once again we can enjoy the magical atmosphere created by the best motoring picnic of the year. In the meantime, thank you so much for your continued support.  

Kind Regards, 
Alex Sinclair
On behalf of the Organising Committee

The world governing body for motorsport, the FIA, has generously donated Safety Goggles PPE (personal protective equipment) to St. Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin. 

This follows a new initiative of the FIA which aims to support the health systems of its national governing bodies, specifically addressing the shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) due to the current global pandemic. 

As the governing body's ASN (national sporting authorty) in Ireland, the RIAC is extremely proud and grateful to the FIA for this generous donation of Safety Googles, manufactured by Essilor. 

The RIAC-Motorsport Ireland second video upload is the full 1984 Donegal International Rally report from Videoactive, produced by Derek Simpson with original commentary from Alan ‘Plum’ Tyndall of RPM Motorsport. 

Opel Mantas proved their particular suitability for Irish tarmac here on the 1984 Donegal International Rally after the short-lived appearance of Malcolm Wilson in an Audi quattro. A dual between Bertie Fisher and Billy Coleman ensued with the Millstreet man winning out after Fisher hit trouble on the Fanad stage. Austin McHale caught up after early problems to claim second place in another Manta 400. 

Click below to enjoy the full video, which is available to stream from 7pm on Thursday 14th May…

Don’t forget to tune in next Thursday when we will be uploading the Dunlop Saloon Championship Finale at Mondello Park from September 1992.

Click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to be notified of all the latest video uploads in real time.

The RIAC, together with Motorsport Ireland are delighted to announce that we recently acquired the RPM programmes and rights for the popular TV series which ran for 23 years between 1991 and 2014, from Tyndall Productions Ltd.

The back catalogue also includes some events that pre-date the start of the RPM series and represents almost 400 programmes in total. They include the majority of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship rounds; selected National and Northern Ireland Rallies; Retro Rallies; Rallycross; Karting; Autotesting; Hillclimbing, Trials Driving events as well as racing from Mondello, Kirkistown and the Phoenix Park.

We have begun the task of digitising each programme and will be uploading at least one programme a week to our new dedicated RIAC–Motorsport Ireland YouTube channel and the RIAC website news section premiering at 7pm on Thursday evenings. Click here to subscribe to the YouTube channel to be notified of all the latest uploads.

Our first upload, available from at 7pm, Thursday 7th May, is the 2007 Phoenix Park Formula Libre / Formula 5 Race which saw the remarkable chase of Simon McKinley in the Connaught engined Lant all the way from the back of the field to the front. Click below to view: