Irish Tarmac Rally Championship


The NAPA Auto Parts Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, or Irish Tarmac Rally Championship is the premier rallying series in Ireland. It is held annually and is promoted by the Tarmac Rally Organisers’ Association. The Championship takes place over seven events, based in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland, using special stages, which are run against the clock, on closed public tarmac roads.
The overall Championship title is contested by drivers and co-drivers using cars homologated in FIA classes RC2, RC3, RC4, RC5 and RG-T. Right Hand Drive Group R5 derivative cars, conforming to Group R5 specification as per Group R5 homologation papers can also be used.
Since 2016, WRC cars have not been eligible to score Championship points. However, competitors using WRC cars are able to win events outright.
Three other championships, the ITRC Junior Championship, the ITRC Historic Championship and the ITRC Modified Tarmac Championship, run in parallel with the ITRC, but with different regulations.

History

The ITRC was created following the establishment of TROA in late 1977, when the organisers of the five Irish International rallies and the Manx International Rally came together with the idea of forming a championship. The inaugural Championship began in 1978 and consisted of six events: the Galway International Rally; Circuit of Ireland Rally; Donegal International Rally; Ulster Rally; Cork 20 International Rally; and the Manx International Rally.
The first major change to the series came in 1983, when the Rally of the Lakes attained International status and was installed as the final event in that year's championship. The addition of the Killarney-based round made up for the loss of the Galway International Rally, which did not run. The following year, the Galway International Rally returned and the Rally of the Lakes was retained, expanding the Championship to seven rounds from 1984 on.
The next significant change took place in 2002, when the Jim Clark Rally was added to the series, taking the Championship to eight rounds overall. The Jim Clark Rally was the first Scottish event to form part of the Championship, until it was dropped in 2010, along with the Manx International Rally, mainly due to a decline in the number of ITRC competitors entering both events.
The Championship reverted to seven rounds in 2015, when the Cork Rally joined the ITRC as a full round, having previously been part the Modified Tarmac Championship calendar in 2014.

Current Format and Event Calendar

The Irish Tarmac Championship consists of seven rounds:

Previous Events

The following events have also been included in the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship in the past:
  • Circuit of Ireland Rally
  • Jim Clark Rally
  • Manx International Rally
  • Summit 2000 Rally - a one off event, organised by Enniskillen Motor Club, that took place in May 2000, following the cancelation of three key rounds from that year's calendar. The Ulster Rally was undergoing organisational restructuring and was not part of the Championship; the Galway International Rally had suffered from adverse public relations after a series of incidents relating to anti-social behaviour and decided to sit the year out; while the Circuit of Ireland organisers faced a lack of entries and a date clash with the Rally of the Lakes and as a result cancelled the event.

Points System

Competitors best scores in 6 out of 7 rounds are used to calculate the final Championship standings. Every driver and co-driver finishing each round in the top 10 are awarded championship points, with the winner receiving 21 points. Each finisher outside of the top 10 receives 1.5 points.
1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10th
21161210876543

Each crew who enters and starts a respective event will be eligible for scoring 1 bonus point per event for starting an event.
For the 2026 season the final round of the championship will award points and a half

2026 Season

RoundDriverCo-driverCar
1Callum DevineNoel O'SullivanSkoda Fabia RS Rally2
2
3
4
5
6
7

2025 Season

The first round of the 2025 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship set to take place at the Galway International Rally was cancelled due to Storm Éowyn causing infrastructural damage along the rally route
Callum Devine won the 2025 championship, his 2nd in 3 seasons, after winning all 4 rounds in which he participated
RoundDatesEventRally HQOrganizer
1–2 February Galway International RallyGalwayGalway Motor Club
114–16 MarchWest Cork International RallyClonakiltyCork Motor Club
218–19 AprilEaster Stages / Circuit of Ireland RallyDungannonUlster Automobile Club
33–4 MayKillarney International Rally of the LakesKillarneyKillarney Motor Club
420–22 JuneDonegal International RallyLetterkennyDonegal Motor Club
515–16 AugustUlster RallyNewryNorthern Ireland Motor Club
64–5 OctoberCork 20 International RallyCorkMunster Motor Club

RoundDriverCo-driverCar
1Keith CroninMikie GalvinCitroën C3 Rally2
2Callum DevineNoel O'SullivanSkoda Fabia RS Rally2
3Callum DevineNoel O'SullivanSkoda Fabia RS Rally2
4Callum DevineNoel O'SullivanSkoda Fabia RS Rally2
5Callum DevineNoel O'SullivanSkoda Fabia RS Rally2
6Michael BoyleDermot McCaffertySkoda Fabia RS Rally2

PositionDriverCarOverall Points Final Points
1Callum DevineSkoda Fabia RS Rally28888
2Declan BoyleŠkoda Fabia RS Rally27466
3Michael BoyleVolkswagen Polo GTI R5
Škoda Fabia RS Rally2		6060
4David KellyVolkswagen Polo GTI R54646
5Kevin EvesFord Fiesta Rally23636

2024 Season

RoundDatesEventRally HQOrganizer
13–4 FebruaryGalway International RallyGalwayGalway Motor Club
215–17 MarchWest Cork International RallyClonakiltyCork Motor Club
330 AprilEaster Stages / Circuit of Ireland RallyDungannonUlster Automobile Club
44–5 MayKillarney International Rally of the LakesKillarneyKillarney Motor Club
521–23 JuneDonegal International RallyLetterkennyDonegal Motor Club
617 AugustUlster RallyNewryNorthern Ireland Motor Club
729 SeptemberCork 20 International RallyCorkMunster Motor Club

RoundDriverCo-driverCar
1Keith CroninMikie GalvinFord Fiesta Rally2
2Keith CroninMikie GalvinFord Fiesta Rally2
3Matt EdwardsDavid MoynihanFord Fiesta Rally2
4Callum DevineNoel O'SullivanVolkswagen Polo GTI R5
5Callum DevineNoel O'SullivanŠkoda Fabia RS Rally2
6Keith CroninMikie GalvinFord Fiesta Rally2
7Callum DevineNoel O'SullivanŠkoda Fabia RS Rally2

PositionDriverCarOverall Points Final Points
1Keith CroninFord Fiesta Rally2112100
2Callum DevineVolkswagen Polo GTI R5
Škoda Fabia RS Rally2		102100
3Matt EdwardsFord Fiesta Rally285.582
4Josh MoffettCitroën C3 Rally26363
5David KellyVolkswagen Polo GTI R54444

2023 Season

RoundDatesEventRally HQOrganizer
14–5 FebruaryGalway International RallyGalwayGalway Motor Club
218–19 MarchWest Cork International RallyClonakiltyCork Motor Club
38 AprilEaster Stages / Circuit of Ireland RallyCookstownUlster Automobile Club
429–30 AprilKillarney International Rally of the LakesKillarneyKillarney Motor Club
516–18 JuneDonegal International RallyLetterkennyDonegal Motor Club
65–6 AugustCork 20 International RallyCorkMunster Motor Club
718–19 AugustUlster RallyNewryNorthern Ireland Motor Club

RoundDriverCo-driverCar
1Meirion EvansJohnathan JacksonVolkswagen Polo GTI R5
2Josh MoffettAndy HayesHyundai i20 R5
3Callum DevineNoel O'SullivanVolkswagen Polo GTI R5
4Callum DevineNoel O'SullivanVolkswagen Polo GTI R5
5Callum DevineNoel O'SullivanVolkswagen Polo GTI R5
6Callum DevineNoel O'SullivanVolkswagen Polo GTI R5
7Callum DevineNoel O'SullivanVolkswagen Polo GTI R5

PositionDriverCar Points
1Callum DevineVolkswagen Polo GTI R5117
2Josh MoffettHyundai i20 N Rally286
3Meirion EvansVolkswagen Polo GTI R583
4Robert BarrableCitroën C3 Rally276
5Jonny GreerVolkswagen Polo GTI R569

2022 Season

In July 2021, TROA released a statement regarding their intention to run a full championship in 2022.
Killarney & District Motor Club announced that the Killarney Historic Rally will take place on 27 November 2021. This rally will count as the opening round of the ITRC Historic Championship.
With COVID-19 restrictions effectively coming to an end, a full 2022 calendar was announced by Motorsport Ireland and TROA.
RoundDatesEventRally HQOrganizer
15–6 FebruaryGalway International RallyGalwayGalway Motor Club
219–20 MarchWest Cork International RallyClonakiltyCork Motor Club
315–16 AprilEaster Stages / Circuit of Ireland RallyDundrodUlster Automobile Club
430 April–1 MayKillarney International Rally of the LakesKillarneyKillarney Motor Club
517–19 JuneDonegal International RallyLetterkennyDonegal Motor Club
630–31 JulyCork 20 International RallyCorkMunster Motor Club
719–20 AugustUlster International RallyNewryNorthern Ireland Motor Club
826 NovemberKillarney Historic RallyKillarneyKillarney & District Motor Club

RoundDriverCo-driverCar
1Josh MoffettAndy HayesHyundai i20 R5
2Josh MoffettAndy HayesHyundai i20 R5
3Alastair FisherGordon NobleVolkswagen Polo GTI R5
4Callum DevineNoel O'SullivanVolkswagen Polo GTI R5
5Josh MoffettAndy HayesHyundai i20 R5

2021 Season

In February 2021, the TROA decided to cancel the 2021 Championship. Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were still subject to restrictions designed to curb the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the TROA announcement cited the uncertainty surrounding the running of championship events during 2021. At the point the decision was taken to cancel the Championship, the opening three rounds of the Championship had already been called off.

2020 Season

The 2020 season commenced with the opening round in Galway in February 2020. The West Cork Rally was cancelled on 12 March 2020, due to the global COVID-19 outbreak. On 20 March, Motorsport Ireland issued a statement that all motorsport events were suspended until 1 June 2020, which led to the postponement of the following rounds. Amidst on-going restrictions aimed at curbing the effects of the pandemic, the board of directors and executive of TROA made the unanimous decision to cancel the 2020 Championship on 28 April 2020.
RoundDatesEventRally HQOrganizerStatus
12 FebruaryGalway International RallyGalwayGalway Motor ClubOk
214–15 MarchWest Cork International RallyClonakiltyCork Motor ClubCancelled
310–11 AprilEaster Stages / Circuit of Ireland RallyDundrodUlster Automobile ClubCancelled
42–3 MayInternational Rally of the LakesKillarneyKillarney Motor ClubCancelled
519–21 JuneDonegal International RallyLetterkennyDonegal Motor ClubCancelled
621–22 AugustUlster International RallyNewryNorthern Ireland Motor ClubCancelled
726–27 SeptemberCork 20 International RallyCorkMunster Motor ClubCancelled

2019 Season

Galway International Rally returned to the calendar in 2019, following the cancellation of the 2018 event. The Easter Stages Rally replaced the Circuit of Ireland Rally event for the third year in a row.
The overall champion was Craig Breen, co-driven by Paul Nagle, after winning five rounds.
RoundDatesEventRally HQOrganizer
110 FebruaryGalway International RallyGalwayGalway Motor Club
216–17 MarchWest Cork RallyClonakiltyCork Motor Club
32 JuneEaster Stages RallyDundrodUlster Automobile Club
44–5 MayRally of the LakesKillarneyKillarney Motor Club
521–23 JuneDonegal International RallyLetterkennyDonegal Motor Club
616–17 AugustUlster RallyNewryNorthern Ireland Motor Club
728–29 SeptemberCork 20 RallyCorkMunster Motor Club

Top 10 ITRC drivers overall:

Broadcasting

Coverage of championship is provided by Onthepacenote who are live from every round of the championship, and edited highlights are available on the RallyTV YouTube channel filmed by Flyin Finn Motorsport Videos & Mad4Tar Motorsport Videos and edited by Special Stage TV
TG4 coverage is by "On the Limit Sport" produced by Mick Bracken with presentation by John Kenny