The 2016 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship is set to hit the ground running after the overwhelming success of the previous year.

On the 14th of February, the 2016 Willie Loughman Memorial Carrick on Suir Forest Rally will once again be the first round of the series and based in the Piltown GAA Complex this time with a centralised service area in the Mill River Business Park. Clerk of the Course Barry Duggan and his team have once again put together an excellent event comprising of 8 stages (4 run twice)all in the scenic Suir Valley, offering up 75 stage kilometres in total.

Valvoline are celebrating their 150th anniversary this year and will continue their sponsorship of the championship for 2016.

Once again the Valvoline Irish National Forest Rally Championship will have dedicated TV Coverage with On The Limit Sports. In 2015 the TV coverage was broadcast over 6 different television networks in over 20 countries and watched by approximately 150,000 viewers per event.

New to the series for 2016 will be the inclusion of the Tour of the Sperrins Rally organised by the Magherafelt & District Motor Club. Once one of the top Forest Rallies in Northern Ireland and a regular counting round of the Northern Ireland Rally Championship, the Sperrins event changed its preferred surface to tarmac in 2006 and has run as a closed road event for the last 10 years. 2016 will hopefully see a return to such classic forest stages as Moydamlaght, Glenshane, Davagh, Goles, Albrittan and the famous Banagher Stage, which will no doubt be the most sought after stage of them all.

Another great bonus for competitors in this year’s championship, is that we will once again be guaranteed a Billy Coleman Award Nomination for the winner of the Junior Championship Category. Not only is this award held in such high esteem across Ireland and right across Europe but also comes with the added bonus of €50,000 towards the winners future aspirations in the sport.

The 2016 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship Calendar:

Round 1: 14th February - Willie Loughman Memorial Carrick on Suir Forest Rally
Round 2: 16th April – Moonraker Forest Rally
Round 3: 7th May - Tour of the Sperrins Forest Rally
Round 4: 14th August - Jim Walsh Memorial Cork Forest Rally
Round 5: 3rd September - Lakeland Forest Stages Rally
Round 6: 16th October - Mayo Forest Stages Rally
Round 7: 5th November - Glens of Antrim Forest Rally