High octane action assured at Mayo Stages Rally
At the launch of the Mayo Stages Rally were, from left: Oisin Coffey (Deputy COC), Ronan and Martina Murphy (West Tyre), Ruthann O'Connor, event secretary, Deputy Keira Keogh, Stephen McGing. event COC, Darren O'Connor (Westport Woods Hotel) and Brendan Fergus, Mayo Sports Partnership.
Motorsport: The last nuts and bolts are being tightened on rally cars and race suits and helmets are being dusted down, as the days count down to next weekend’s West Tyre/Westport Woods Hotel and Spa Mayo Stages Rally.
With competitors arriving from Friday afternoon, the first task for the drivers and co-drivers after signing-on to the event is on Saturday morning, February 28, when they drive the rally stages in their road cars at normal road speed, making pacenotes to use the following day. Later in the day, the rally cars will be presented for mechanical scrutineering, which will take place at Westport House (access entrance beside United Park), where they will have to pass stringent road and rally safety requirements before being allowed to take part in the rally. After that the cars are locked away securely in Parc Ferme (Westport House) ahead of the start of the rally.
For the public, the rally gets underway in earnest on Saturday when the leading competitors as well as all the local drivers gather on South Mall in Westport for the ceremonial start. This family friendly free event is a great opportunity to see the rally cars and stars up close, and is especially suitable for families with small children. South Mall will be closed to traffic from Saturday morning with diversions in place. The rally cars will start arriving from 8pm with the cars passing over the rally ramp where the drivers and co-drivers will be interviewed.
The serious competition starts next Sunday morning, with the leading cars leaving Parc Ferme at 8am to tackle the nine challenging special stages. Details of the location of these nine stages along with safe viewing locations and other event information will be available in the official Mayo Stages Rally Programme which will be available for sale this week and prior to the event.
Mayo and District Motorsport Club is looking for additional marshals to ensure a successful running of the 2026 Mayo Stages Rally. If you would like to help out, contact chief marshal John Duffy on 087-9583240 – your assistance will be greatly appreciated.
