At Newry, Mourne & Down District Council Offices today, (10th July), council chairperson, Charlie Casey announced the support of the Today’s Ulster Rally which this year is based in Newry.

The event will begin with a shakedown stage on Friday 16th August followed by a ceremonial start in the city’s Albert Basin at 8:45pm. Competitive stages will take place on Saturday 17th, with three visits to the service park at Newry High School during the day. The finish ramp will see the winner’s celebrations begin at 6pm on Saturday evening. The start, service and finish areas are open to the public and spectators and fans are encouraged to attend and get up close to their favourite cars.

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council’s First Citizen, Councillor Charlie Casey, said the Ulster Rally relocating to his home town meant a weekend of unmissable sporting action that would bring many benefits to the area’s economy.

“I’m so pleased that this high-profile event has chosen Newry as its base, and that the Council was able to offer its support,” said Councillor Casey.

“The Ulster Rally helps to expose the district to wider audiences and showcase Newry, Mourne and Down as an exciting tourist destination. One of Council’s objectives is to become one of Northern Ireland’s finest events destinations, and events like the Ulster Rally will help Council to achieve this objective,” he added.

Richard Swanston, Event Director, welcomed the support from Newry, Mourne & Down District Council and stated “The city of Newry offers excellent facilities to base the rally here with easy access to fantastic stages allowing us to give competitors a great challenge within a compact route.

Julie Burden, S&W wholesale, said “the company is excited to be joining forces with the rally, especially as it is based in our home city from where we supply our Today’s local convenience stores. We encourage spectators to come and meet us in the service park over the weekend.

For more information about the event, visit www.ulsterrally.com

(ENDS)

Captions
Photo shows (from left) Richard Swanston, Event Director Today’s Ulster Rally, Charlie Casey, Chairperson NM&DDC and David Gray, Newry Liaison, Today’s Ulster Rally.

 Notes to the Editor

  • This year’s Ulster Rally is sponsored by Today’s, your local convenience store;
  • Based in Newry, the event takes place on Friday 16th and Saturday 17th of August;
  • The rally comprises nine stages in County Down totalling 94 miles;
  • The Ulster Rally is now in its 43rd year and is run by The Northern Ireland Motor Club;
  • Competitor entry up-dates can be viewed at ulsterrally.com/competitors

In recent years the Ulster Rally has attracted 20,000 people, from spectators and visitors, to officials and competitors with this generating £1m for the local economy. The 2019 event is set to be broadcast on TV – both locally and nationally – and will be followed by millions throughout the world via the Ulster Rally website, FacebookTwitter and Instagram @ulsterrally