The final international rally on the Irish motorsport calendar could yet go ahead, after organisers of the Cork 20 confirmed that plans for the September 27/28 event remain alive.
The development follows the cancellation of the 2020 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship on Tuesday, of which the Cork 20 International should have been the deciding round.
Munster Car Club can still run with its showpiece event, however members have been informed that it will not carry championship status.
All high-profile rallies in Ireland have fallen foul to the coronavirus outbreak, with the West Cork Rally in March the first to be called off.
Since then, the Circuit of Ireland and Rally of the Lakes, Donegal International and Ulster Rally have suffered the same fate. However, those behind the Cork 20 remain quietly confident about their closed-road competition.
“Obviously these are challenging times [but] we are monitoring the situation closely and so, currently, we have not postponed or canceled the event,” said Kevin O’Riordan, Clerk of the Course for the Cork 20 International Rally.
“Internal organization plans are progressing on the basis there will be an event.”
Holding the rally depends on the current lockdown measures around COVID-19 being relaxed, said O’Riordan, who stressed that people’s health and safety would be at the heart of any final decision.
“We will be guided on any decision to run in accordance with the government and guidance from the Health Service Executive as to whether it will be viable to run the event or not,” he explained.
“No one knows how long the current crisis will continue, or what, if any, sporting events will take place.
“There’s a lot of things to consider by the club, not least the logistics, pre-planning and then the actual running of the event itself, but the safety and health of everyone will come first – it is paramount.”
