WHEN Rally Isle of Man returns to the domestic motorsport calendar this September, it’ll do so as a three-day event.
Organisers have confirmed that they will run stages from Thursday, September 20 through to Saturday, Sep 22 taking the event, that will incorporate Druidale Motor Club’s Duke Stages Rally, back to its traditional format and revered place as one of the biggest challenges in the sport.
Confirming the news, Rally Isle of Man chairman John Gill said: ‘The organising team is fully aware of this event’s standing at the heart of British and Irish rallying.
‘Since the return of the rally was announced many competitors have told us they would like to see it come back as three days.
‘We are proud of the fact that it has a heritage to live up to and excited that we have been able to ensure that the first step towards that is to deliver a traditional style event.
‘Scrutineering has always taken place during Thursday and, since the cars and competitors are here, let’s use the opportunity to re-launch Rally Isle of Man in style.’
The opening evening is set to feature four stages, before daytime and evening legs on Friday and daytime stages throughout Saturday.
Mindful of the current financial environment, both within the sport and generally, organisers are also working to offer the best possible value for money to competitors.
Rally Isle of Man was most recently a three-day event in 2008, when recently-announced event patron Mark Higgins and co-driver Rory Kennedy scored the closest victory in the event’s history by 11.6 seconds over Irish champions Eamonn Boland and Damien Morrissey.
The route for the 2012 edition is currently being confirmed with local authorities and is likely to be announced shortly.