This week’s RIAC - Motorsport Ireland classic video upload is an RTÉ production of the 1970 Circuit of Ireland with commentary by Mike Murphy.

The 1970 Circuit of Ireland saw Roger Clark complete a hat-trick of wins on the gruelling Easter marathon in his works Ford Escort RS1600. As well as having to fend off local competition, Clark also had to contend with a number of talented Swedish drivers who were lured to the event by virtue of its European Rally Championship status. 

This programme will be available to stream below from 7pm on Thursday, July 9th: 

​Next week’s upload will feature the 1992 Manx National Rally where Bertie Fisher took the laurels as he continued to get used to Subaru Legacy power while in the same programme RPM also treated us to some rare hillclimb footage from the Cruagh and Laragh Hillclimbs whilst catching up with the championship campaign of Jenny Kennedy.

​Remember to subscribe to the Motorsport Ireland–RIAC YouTube Channel to be notified of our latest video uploads. 

Dear Members, 

Dare we say it, we appear to be slowly emerging from the worst effects of COVID-19. But for those who have suffered loss and pain, this may never go away. And yet we must continue to provide help and support to all those who are still struggling to cope with many other difficulties that existed before the advent of this pandemic and continue to exist today.

Over the years, you have helped us raise thousands of euro for LauraLynn, Ireland’s Children’s Hospice, through our annual “ RIAC Picnic in the Park”. This year, we are delighted to be supported by our colleagues in Motorsport Ireland. 

Once again, we seek your help and support for those in LauraLynn who provide outstanding service to ensure Ireland’s only hospice for children with life-limiting conditions can continue to operate at the highest level possible for those most vulnerable in our lives. Click here to learn more about LauraLynn

Unfortunately, we cannot host a group physical “Picnic in the Park” opportunity this year as our planned event on 22nd July in Marlay Park, Dublin, like so many other events, has been cancelled. Instead, we are hosting a virtual Picnic on the planned date of 22nd July.  
So how can you join in? You have three opportunities:

1. Host a real picnic with your family on or before Wednesday, 22nd July and email your photos to info@riac.ie. Include your cherished car or motorcycle in the image provided and we will post this on our website. Then please donate at www.lauralynn.ie/donate using the reference 'Picnic'.  We will award a small prize to the photo that best captures the spirit of the occasion.

2. Post a photo of your family picnic on Wednesday, 22nd July to your Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram profile with the hashtag #VirtualPicnicInthePark. Then please submit your donation at www.lauralynn.ie/donate using the reference 'Picnic'.

3. Without hosting a picnic, but you would still like to help, then please submit your donation at www.lauralynn.ie/donate using the reference 'Picnic'. 

Sarah Meagher, Head of Fundraising at LauraLynn said: ''We are so grateful to the RIAC and Motorsport Ireland for supporting our work here in LauraLynn. As we navigate through this global pandemic it is so heart-warming to see supporters and fundraisers adapting their events to fit our new virtual world. Now, more than ever, every donation counts, and we want to thank all those involved in this special event for helping us to help the 220 families across Ireland who rely on our services.”

Peter Cosgrave, RIAC organiser for Picnic in the Park said: “LauraLynn is a wonderful organisation that provides compassionate care and support to children and their families. We at the RIAC have been delighted to support its efforts over the past 14 years thanks to the generosity of our members. This year is different for us all but LauraLynn needs our support more than ever. Please find in it your hearts to donate.”

John Naylor, President of Motorsport Ireland said: “We are delighted to support our close colleagues in the RIAC in promoting this fantastic and innovative virtual event. LauraLynn is an incredibly important charity and I would urge those within the Motorsport community and further afield to donate what they can to this worthwhile cause.”

We do not know when this pandemic will end – no one does. But, in the meantime, can we continue to make a difference to those children who need it most?

Yes, we can!

Sincerely yours,

Arthur Collier, 
Chairman, RIAC

During these extraordinary times we invited members  to submit a photograph which represents their COVID-19 story. The winning photograph was agreed by the RIAC Committee and is featured below. We are delighted to announce that the winner was Conrad Jones for his entry “A long stroll: Killiney Hill — 'the witch's hat', April 23rd. Conrad also submitted 3 other excellent images, all of which can be viewed on our gallery here  

The first motorcar was imported into Ireland in March 1896. John Brown, a scientist who lived on the outskirts of Belfast,  had spent the previous summer travelling through France where he became acquainted with a steam-powered Serpollet motorcar. Having travelled over 200 miles on it during his trip, he became enamoured by the novelty and opportunity which this form of transport offered. He convinced the owner to sell him the vehicle, which was delivered to his Dunmurray home during the following Spring. 

Legislation of the 1896 Locomotive on Highways Act in November of 1896 removed the strict rules imposed by MP’s who had been reluctant for the transport monopoly enjoyed by British railways to be challenged by the popularity of motorised vehicles on roads in the UK and Ireland. These rules, including the obligation for an individual to walk in front of the vehicle waving a red flag as a warning for other road users, had been hotly contested by many would-be motorists. They accused MP’s of being self - interested in preserving their stocks and shares in the rail industry. By the 1890s with growing numbers of motorcars appearing on the roads across Europe, politicians in Westminster had been forced to capitulate. Now the opportunity presented itself for  many others to follow in Brown’s footsteps and officially become Irish motorists.

Unfortunately for Brown and his fellow motorists, he quickly discovered that steam powered motorcars were badly suited to both Ireland’s climate and roads. Belfast’s damp weather made it difficult for him to power the car’s steam engine. When he did manage to power the vehicle enough to take it for a drive, he then had to encounter the problem of driving along Irish roads which were often unsurfaced, full of potholes and crowded by horses, animals and pedestrians unfamiliar with motorcars. Greater success was enjoyed by John Malcolm Gillies, editor of the Irish daily newspaper the Freeman’s Journal. Gillies had purchased and imported a German Benz motorcar only a matter of weeks after the importation of Brown’s Serpollet. Better suited to the Irish climate and the somewhat more suitable road conditions which the capital city offered, Gillies’ Benz soon became a familiar sight to many as he motored through the streets of Dublin.

Reports of Irish people’s reactions when they encountered these early cars for the first time are fascinating and revealing. Some people mistook the heavy metal framework to be parts of trains which had broken off and somehow had ended up being found on the roads. Others who encountered the noisy and often smelly vehicles emerging out of the darkness of an evening along a quiet road being driven by faceless individuals  – early motorists frequently wore goggles and head coverings to keep the smoke from the car’s engine and road dust from irritating their eyes and noses – thought them to be the work of the Devil and would bless themselves before running off so as to escape. 

Those involved in the Irish cycling industry, which had taken off during the 1880’s ‘Bicycle Boom’ – following the reinvention of the rubber pneumatic wheel by John Boyd Dunlop, a Scottish vet who practised in Belfast – were much more positive of the motorcar. Men such as Richard ‘J’ Mecready, (‘Arjay’ to his friends), editor of the Irish cycling magazine The Irish Cyclist, recognised the opportunities such vehicles could offer to the Irish public. This included the ability to cover greater distances in less team than had previously been possible on bicycles or horse-powered transport. Indeed, Arjay, who was first introduced to the motorcar by the great Australian-born businessman and celebrated cyclist Selwyn Edge, became so convinced of the merits of the motorcar that he set to work raising enough capital to launch a motoring magazine. He succeeded, and in January 1900, the dawn of a new era for Ireland began with the launch of Ireland’s first motoring periodical the Motor News, which aimed to offer readers advices on motoring in a “comprehensible and pragmatic manner” Arjay set out to convince a suspicious and uncertain public that cars were central to Irish modernity.

Within three years, Ireland had secured its place in motoring history hosting its first International motor race. The 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup Race, named eponymously after the playboy American born newspaper magnate James Gordon Bennett Junior who sponsored it, was a pivotal moment not just for Ireland and Irish motoring but also for the future of motorsport. Only a few months earlier in May 1903,  the Paris-Madrid motor rally, which had seen over 200 cars compete, had been forced to be abandoned after a number of fatalities involving both competitors and members of the public. Outraged by the bloodshed, the international press began a campaign to have public motorsport events cancelled citing them to be a danger for public health. Arjay and his fellow motoring enthusiasts, especially within the Irish Automobile Club – founded in 1901 to further and promote the “interests of automobilism in Ireland” – were keen to avoid this. 

Selwyn Edge’s victory for Britain in the 1902 Gordon Bennett Cup race had presented Ireland and the Irish motoring fraternity with a rare stroke of good fortune. The rules of the race stipulated that the proceeding race was to be held in the country which was victorious in the preceding year’s competition. The British public however, were reluctant for the race to be staged in Britain as they were fearful of fatalities and widely considered those who participated in such competitions to be wealthy playboys with little care or concern for those less fortunate. In contrast, the Irish response had been quite favourable (notable exceptions had included James Joyce and Arthur Griffith however) as many considered it would ignite the Irish motor trade industry and boost Irish tourism.
 
With this in mind, those involved in organising the race continued with their plans amid the international outrage following the tragic events in France during May. Having devised a closed road circuit; consisting of two loops in a figure of eight which stretched through the counties of Kildare, Carlow and Laois, the Irish Automobile Club and Irish Tourism Association recruited 2,000 Royal Irish Constabulary officers from across Ireland and hundreds of volunteers who were extensively trained in crowd control. These officials moved into purpose built residential camps near the racing circuit ahead of the race, ensuring they were on hand to safely police and control the movements of the thousands of Irish and international spectators who flocked to the Irish midlands to watch the competition unfold.
 
Their efforts and strenuous planning was rewarded with a thrilling race that was full of drama and speed, but which was completed successfully – and most importantly safely. Camille Jenatzy, the son of an immigrant Hungarian family who founded Belgium’s first rubber factory, emerged victorious. Nicknamed the ‘Red Devil’, on account of his ginger hair and beard, Jenatzy secured a loyal fan base in Ireland as a result of this performance and subsequently became a familiar fixture in the motorsport section of Irish newspapers until his untimely death in December 1913. Having proved that it was possible to stage a large international motor race with minimal risk for spectators, the Irish organisers also proved that Ireland was an ideal location for staging motoring events. Moreover in the fortnight that followed the conclusion of the Gordon Bennett Cup race, numerous motorsport events; ranging from Hill Climbs to Motor Boat races were held throughout Ireland. All of these were well attended and firmly indicated that there existed a substantial appetite amongst the Irish public  for and appreciation of motorsports
 
In the following years  Ireland’s love affair with motorsport flourished. So much so that after the establishment of the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland, both governments sought to boost public morale by hosting national motorsport competitions. In Northern Ireland, the Ulster Tourist Trophy Races began in 1928 and were held annually until 1936; while in the Irish Free State the Irish International Grand Prix’s held in Phoenix Park occurred annually from 1929 until Fianna Fáil came to power in 1932. Although not financially profitable, the events fostered a strong community presence and garnered much needed positive press coverage after a decade of war and conflict. Even attracting motoring celebrities to compete, including British racing hero Malcolm Campbell and the celebrated Italian Baritone and Grand Prix winner Giuseppe Campari.
 
In the preceding decade, cars played a pivotal role acting as both medic and mercenary. Motorcars were utilised by nationalists and unionists during their gunrunning exploits in the pre-war years. Over 600 cars participated in the Ulster Volunteer Force’s infamous Larne Gunrunning in 1913, to collect and transport approximately 35,000 rifles and 5 million rounds of ammunition  throughout the province, while evading the authorities. A year later, a number of the same cars were driven to the battlefields of France. There they transported soldiers and supplies to and from the front line of World War I. For many young Irish soldiers, this war was the first time that they were able to familiarise themselves with motorcars. And a lucky few even seized the chance to learn how to drive and repair the vehicles, thereby gaining themselves a valuable trade that would be welcome when they returned home.
 
The car was also responsible for influencing what kind of ‘home’ these young men returned to once the war ended. Cars and charabancs (touring-cars) had transported hundreds of British soldiers stationed at Dublin Castle and the Royal Barracks to the annual Fairyhouse horse races on the morning of Easter Monday in 1916. Therefore leaving the city’s defences substantially reduced ahead of the Easter Rising which began later that morning. During the course of the week’s Rising cars were employed by all participants in a variety of roles. Countess Constance Markievicz for instance, commandeered Dr Kathleen Lynn’s car and drove around the various Volunteer strongholds checking progress. The O’Rahilly used his famous green De Dion (later immortalised as a burnt out shell in a photograph taken on Prince Street) to transport food and supplies among the rebels. Many rebels, unappreciative of the cost and technology encapsulated in the vehicles, simply used them to construct barricades. Arguably a barricade built on Hatch Street out of cars taken from a nearby car showroom, may well have been the most expensive barricade erected over the course of the Rising when you consider that a car didn’t sell for anything less than £500 at this time. The high levels of civilian casualties also meant it became a matter of urgency for many privately owned cars to quickly be converted into makeshift ambulances transporting those wounded and fatally killed to and from hospitals and mortuaries.
 
Hopes amongst Irish motorists that the end of World War I would lead to the resumption of normal motoring practices were quickly dashed by the outbreak of the War of Independence and the subsequent Civil War. The authorities, aware that cars could be used effectively by the rebels as part of their guerrilla tactics moved swiftly to impose tough regulations and eventually harsh restrictions on who owned, drove or had access to cars. In spite of this, commandeering of cars was frequently a key tactic employed by all sides. Tragically, travelling in cars during this period of unrest often meant motorists and their passengers were easy targets for snipers, as the assassination of Michael Collins, shot while travelling in the backseat of a car through his native Cork, proved.
 
While many facets of Irish life were challenged by Partition and the establishment of the two new Irish states, the car and the role of motoring was not one of them. In fact, though Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State’s politicians shared little common political ideology, private correspondence indicates all were enthusiastic to avail of ministerial cars.
 
Evidently, a new modern Ireland was set to emerge, one in which little was certain but the role of the car was assured. Within 25 years of its introduction to the isle, Irish life without the car seemed unimaginable and undesirable.

This week’s RIAC - Motorsport Ireland classic video upload is round 9 of the 1992 Dunlop Saloon Car Championship from Kirkistown featuring commentary from Alan Tyndall and Brian Tuite. 

Championship leader Michael Cullen had to sit out the race due to injury, so David Kidd needed a strong performance in his Peugeot 205 GTI to close the points gap. With the up to 2 litre and over 2 litre cars competing together however, the fast Co. Down track played into the hands of the turbocharged Sierra Cosworths and it was Gordon Kellett who showed everyone a clean pair of heels, leading from pole and seeing thing all the way through to the chequered flag.
​
This programme will be available to stream below from 7pm on Thursday, July 2nd:

Next week’s upload will feature rare footage from the 1970 Circuit of Ireland where Roger Clark completed his hat-trick on the gruelling Easter marathon in his works Ford Escort RS1600, fending off local competition as well as a number of talented Swedish drivers who were lured to the event by virtue of its European Rally Championship status.

Remember to subscribe to the Motorsport Ireland–RIAC YouTube Channel to be notified of our latest video uploads. 

We are delighted to confirm that the RIAC Club House and restaurant will re-open as planned on Monday, 29th June. This is in line with phase 3 of the Government Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business.

All our staff are incredibly pleased to welcome our members back, and while we want to keep things as normal as possible, we have taken a wide number of measures to ensure your safety, comfort, and enjoyment. 

Below I will walk you through some of the key changes you will experience as a member when re-entering the RIAC Club House and Restaurant from Monday. 

RIAC Member & Staff Safety Programme Experience: 

We would kindly ask our members not to visit the club if they are feeling unwell or have symptoms of COVID-19. 

On arrival at the club, all members and guests must enter via the Car Park entrance only where you will be greeted by a staff member. If you are you using the car park only, please click here to review the procedures outlined in my previous communication. 

If you are entering the club house, the following new procedures have been put in place for the safety and reassurance of our members and staff. 

Firstly, we will request that you are temperature tested at the entrance to the club house. A temperature below 38.4 degrees Celsius is required. If your temperature is at or above this, you will be asked to seek medical attention or else wait in an isolated area for 10-15 minutes to be re-tested. 

Secondly, if your temperatures are normal, you and your guests will be asked for your names and contact details (for COVID Tracing Purposes only).

Finally, you and your guests will be asked to sanitise your hands before entering the club house. This is for the comfort of all members and staff. 

On entering the club house, you are free to enjoy our facilities including the reading room and restaurant. If you choose to go to the restaurant, please do so from the ground floor by the main stairway in the lobby. 

On entering the restaurant, a queuing system for food will be in operation to observe current social distancing guidelines. Our kitchen and restaurant staff will be wearing Personal protective Equipment (PPE) and will be strictly adhering to all HACCP system and food safety requirements. 

After ordering food from the restaurant counter as normal, you will be asked to seat yourself while maintaining current social distancing guidelines between tables. Hand sanitiser will be available on your table for you to use. A restaurant staff member will serve your food order directly to your table when ready, wearing a face guard.

When settling your bill, a payment corridor will be laid out to allow you to move towards the till while avoiding contact with other members. A table will be available for you to place your form of payment on and stand back to facilitate social distancing. A staff member will then move forward, process your payment, and return your card to the table along with your receipt (if required). Contactless payment is preferred, and your RIAC membership card or credit/debit card will be sanitised by our staff before and after use. Our staff will use a clean set of disposable gloves for each transaction.

On leaving the restaurant, we would ask you to make your way to the ground floor through the boardroom down the back stairway via the boardroom, which will be clearly displayed with Exit signs. 

If using the ground floor toilets at any point, please take the back stairway via the boardroom and always keep two meters from staff and other members. We have covered the middle wash basins in both bathrooms and the middle urinal in the men’s bathroom to facilitate this social distancing. Anti-bacterial wipes and spray are available in the cubicles to allow you to wipe down any surfaces you have touched.

When leaving the club house, all members are asked to please exit via the Dawson Street door, even if collecting their cars from the Car Park. This is to maintain our one-way system for entrance and exit to the club and minimise unnecessary contact. If you are collecting a vehicle, please follow the car park procedure as outlined in my previous communication. 

I hope that these new protocols and procedures do not cause you too much inconvenience, but I would like to reiterate that they are in place for the safety of our members and staff, which is of paramount importance to us. 

As always, we will continue to follow HSE & government advice and keep you informed of any club developments. Finally, it gives me great pleasure in welcoming you back to the RIAC Club House and Restaurant.

Kind regards

Leo Hassett
CEO, RIAC

This week’s RIAC - Motorsport Ireland classic video upload is the 1988 Galway International Rally, with commentary from Alan Tyndall. 

As a traditional curtain raiser to the Irish rally calendar, the Galway International Rally always attracts great interest and 1988 provided a classic professional versus amateur tussle. 

The Ford factory team sent Mark Lovell and Roger Freeman to the event in a works Group A Ford Sierra RS Cosworth and while the English pair eventually won, they were pushed to their limits by Austin McHale in his now ageing Opel Manta, while James Cullen and John Lyons put in eye-catching performances in the treacherous conditions.

This programme will stream below from 7pm on Thursday, June 25th:

Next week’s upload will feature saloon racing from Kirkistown in 1992 where Gordon Kellett showed the opposition a clean pair of heels in a Sierra Cosworth while David Kidd closed in on championship leader Michael Cullen who had to sit out the race.

Remember to subscribe to the Motorsport Ireland–RIAC YouTube Channel to be notified of our latest video uploads. 

​I lost a good friend, and Irish motorsport lost one of its most distinguished competitors with the recent passing of Arthur Jolley, aged 95. Arthur was both a very accomplished motorcyclist and a top class rally navigator who made his mark in the most famous event of them all, the Monte Carlo Rally.
 
Arthur grew up at Airfield in Tallaght, so-named as it had once been the site of the first Royal Flying Corps base in Ireland. After attending the High School he studied Commerce at Trinity College, Dublin. While there he became an active member of the Dublin University Motor Cycle & Light Car Club (invariably known as DU and of which he became a president and life member), having a particular interest in motorcycle trials, at which dicipline he soon came to be regarded as a expert. In 1948 he won his first event – the Rathmichael Scramble – in the process beating the famous Reg Armstrong. Throughout his life, Artur continued to compete in motorcycle trials and was a regular and successful competitor in the Scottish Six Days Trial.

​The Cavey-built Jaguar Mk. V of Vard/Young/Jolly /Jackson at the finish of the 1951 Monte Carlo Rally. Note the tricolour on the radiator grille.​

​It was in 1951 that he was enlisted together with Frank Biggar and ‘Doc’ Jackson to be part of Dubliner Cecil Vard’s crew in the forthcoming Monte Carlo Rally. At the time easily the greatest rally in the world as well as the most keenly contested, Vard’s plan was to borrow his motor-in-law’s Jaguar Mk. V and use it for the event, choosing Glasgow as their starting point. The Jaguar was an Irish-assembled car, having been built by Cavey’s at Camden Street, Dublin. In the event, after 2,000 miles of terrible weather conditions, they took a superb third place, helped by Cecil Vard’s second place in the Speed-Regularity Trial on the streets of Monte Carlo. The result was sensational and was the first major international success by an Irish crew in a major event.
 
Two years later, Cecil and Arthur returned with the same car, together with Frank Biggar, to place fifth, directly ahead of the Sunbeam-Talbot driven by no less than Stirling Moss and John Cooper, and demonstrating that their earlier third place had been no fluke. 

​Alongside his motoring and motorcycling activities, Arthur found time to enjoy sailing and was a member of the National Yacht Club. He particularly enjoyed exploring the western Isles of Scotland.
 
In later life, Arthur enjoyed veteran car and motorcycle events and competed in many of the early Royal Irish Automobile Club Pioneer Run events on various motorcycles, together with his great friend, Jonathan Bewley. Arthur was for many years a committee member of the RIAC Archive and became its Chairman, holding that position for ten years right up to just before his death. He was particularly keen on the annual Reynolds Trophy, presented to the person who has made the greatest contribution to the preserving of motoring or motorsport history in the preceeding year. His store of knowledge and great good sense will be greatly missed by all those with a love of motorsporting history.

I am delighted to confirm that RIAC Car Parking has been operating successfully and is back to 24/7 opening hours from Monday 22nd June 2020. Our famed Valet Service will return from Tuesday, 23rd June.  

For now, our car park facilities and the toilet area are available for member use, while we intend to re-open the restaurant on the 29th June when we enter phase 3 of the Government Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business. We will communicate more on this later in the week.

While we would ideally like to keep things as normal as possible in the RIAC, we will have to make some changes to the way we operate for the safety of our members and staff. 

Over the last number of weeks, we have been developing the ‘RIAC Member & Staff Safety Programme’ which includes the introduction of a wide range of protocols and systems to ensure, as best as possible, that our members have an enjoyable and safe return to the Club. 

Among many other measures, we have introduced new cleaning procedures for all touch surface areas and toilets to ensure they are cleaned several times throughout the day. New hand sanitiser units have also been installed at all entrances and exits.

Our staff are fully trained and have been piloting this new programme within the club to ensure it will be a success. The protocols that apply to you will equally apply to all our employees both front and back of house. 

RIAC Member & Staff Safety Programme Experience:
The most immediate effect of the Safety Programme for you as a member will be car parking, so please let me walk you through this process.  

When you arrive at the club, you will have the option of parking your own car or availing of our valet parking service. You will be greeted by one of our attendants who will be wearing PPE equipment for safety. Whatever option you choose, our staff will always observe a minimum two-meter distance from you.  

If you wish to park your own car, simply advise our attendant of this and you will be led to a car park space and directed into a parking bay. You will be asked to exit your car and retain your own keys until you choose to collect your car. 

If you decide to avail of valet parking, please advise the attendant who will request that you to stay in your car and open both front windows completely. You will be asked to keep your keys in the car for social distance reasons. You will then be asked several COVID-19 related questions including whether you have had any flu-like symptoms within the last 14 days, a Doctor has advised you to cocoon or self-isolate, or you coughed/sneezed in your car within the last 60 minutes. 

If all your answers are NO, then you can proceed to exit your vehicle once you have turned off all air conditioning and heating. 

If you answer YES to coughing/sneezing in your car but NO to all other questions, you will be asked to return in an hour having ventilated your car with four open windows (medical guidelines state that droplets take one hour to dissipate in a ventilated environment). 

If you answer YES to any question other than coughing/sneezing in your car, our attendants will ask that you exit the car park with your vehicle to protect the health and safety of our members and staff. 

Once you have been granted entry to the car park, the attendant will put on new gloves to apply a disposable seat cover and use anti-Bacterial wipes for your steering wheel, gear stick, hand brake and keys before parking your car. When you decide to collect your car, the attendant on duty will apply new gloves and a new disposable seat cover before bringing your car back to you. Your keys will be wiped clean using an anti-bacterial wipe and left in the ignition for you to exit the garage. 

While we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, I hope these new protocols and procedures will give you confidence that the safety of our members and staff is of paramount importance to us. 

Finally, I would like to restate my pleasure in welcoming you back to the RIAC and remind you that we will provide further safety information prior to re-opening the restaurant and club house. 

Kind regards,

Leo Hassett
CEO, RIAC

This week’s RIAC - Motorsport Ireland classic video upload is the 1992 Lurgan Park Rally, with commentary from Alan Tyndall of RPM Motorsport. 

Throughout the 1980s, 90s and early 00s, the Lurgan Park Rally became one of the most high-profile rallies on the island of Ireland, with the Co. Armagh venue regularly attracting top names in top cars. 

The 1992 running of the event was to see Kenny McKinstry take his fifth win in the park, where in dry and dusty conditions, he fought off the identical Subaru Legacy of Bertie Fisher and the raucous Metro 6R4s of Ken Colbert and Andrew Nesbitt. 

McKinstry’s dominance was to become synonymous with the event in the coming years as he would rack up a further six wins in the park, his final one coming in 2009. 

This programme will be available to stream below from 7pm on Thursday, 18th June:

Next week’s upload will be the 1988 Galway International Rally where the Ford Sierra Cosworth of Mark Lovell and the Opel Manta of Austin McHale fought it out in some of the wettest conditions ever seen in the history of the event.

Remember to subscribe to the RIAC-Motorsport Ireland YouTube Channel to be notified of our latest video uploads.