The usuall donegal rally thread!!!!

homer simpson

Well with the rally on next week, its a usuall occourance for a thread to start about complaints ect regarding the rally. Last year after i joined (after lurking about for ages) i started a thread trying to guage peoples opinions on the rally, this year i decided to start a thread for people to ask any questions about areas to avoid ect and roughly what time the cars will be in what area if they what to take a look.

For starters its usuall enough to avoid letterkenny town at all from friday to monday in the evenings as its usually 1 big traffic jam, carndonagh will be jammed on friday during the day and buncranna is a big no go area (if your not into rallying) on the friday evening from 3pm untill 9 or 10 as they are expecting around 30,000 people to be there for the stage around buncranna town! Saturday avoid milford kerrykeel and fanad in general all day untill 7ish sunday avoid downings creslough area all day untill 5 ish.

Now for the good bits if you truely dont have a big interest in rally but are wondering what its all about i suggest heading along to buncranna on friday it could be the last time you will see something like this being held as regulations seem to be getting stricter and stricter each year, its also prob the last time you will get the see the proper fast World Rally Cars, but i personally will be looking forward to seeing the Ford Mk II escorts with 300+ HP (more than 3 times the power of the average road car), its supposed to be a way of bringing the rally to people who prob wouldn't otherwise look near it, it basiclly runs from the old fire station (across from the supermarket just as you leave buncranna on the carn road) and goes towards the start of swan park, turns up past the old tech, then down past fruit of the loom and finishes at the swimming pool, a lot of the drivers will prob put on a show and the atmosphere should be great with a good crowd, the noise of the cars bouncing off the buildings, plenty of good safe viewing along the shore road!

I'm writing this to help out the boardsies who might want to avoid the rally but also to encourage the curious to go out and watch it, if anyone wants any more info relpy here and i will be happy to help.

P.S. i know its prob terribally wrote spelling / grammer ect, but ive had a few so dont care and if anyone does go that wouldn't normally go let everyone know what you thought

muffler

Banned till the rally's over

Pique

God post man.
I normally avoid LK like the plague due to the IQ-challenged followers burning out their clutches but if you've info as to map routes etc, please post 'em up as I wouldn't mind spending a day watching professional lunatics doing what they do best.

Graces7

Is tomorrow, Tuesday, safe? Need to go to ASDA in Strabane, then .... Buncrana..

PS Homer; worry not re spelling etc.. Language is about communication and rather this than that dreadful text shorthand ..( will take my English teacher hat off now...)

homer simpson

Pique - i cant post map routes, i have seen sites have legal action taken against them when maps have been posted before as its the main way for the club to make money ie. selling programs, but i will give you an idea...... if your following the whole weekend i'd suggest going to buncranna on Fri evening FCD (first car due, on the stage) is 16.50 (first run) and 18.32 (second run) but i would strongly reccommend getting in there early, i myself will be heading to a stage in malin and clonmany before hand but i have but i am doing media work at the weekend.

Saturday head towards portsalon but turn off to go before it and head by knockalla (stokers strand) for the afternoon its usually very spectacular to watch comming up the corkscrew if your put off by the big crowds on friday, saturday will be a much calmer affair so dont worry! FCD times for knockalla are 14.38 and 17.02.

Sunday either head into glen village before 9 as its always a good show / atmospere there, or you could go the the GAA pitch in downings park up (in a secure car park) and get the bus around the atlantic drive stage he stops in 3 places along the stage either of them are great, when the stages are finished the bus goes around again and lifts everyone, i think the bus is €4, be there for around 10 too, and ohh bring a picnic as the weather is suppossed to be good!

@ Graces, you'll have no problems at all the rally doesnt start untill Friday, you might se the odd normall car with a number on the front windscreen but they are only out doing a "recce", which basiclly means each crew competing makes a writen discription of all the corners on the route (usually numbered, where 1 is very very sharp corner and up to 6 which is a very fast corner, the number usually indicates the gear the corner is taken in too) and are only allowed to do the speed limit, but you shouldn't meet any as its was mainly done over the weekend.


P.S. soory for going in depth into the discriptions of things , got a bit carried away, lol:p

Local-womanizer

I follow the Rally every year,love it so I do. But I hate the muppets that come with it. Half of them dont even follow the stages!

It should be grand till about Thursday,after that the town will be jammed.

I wont be going to Buncrana,if ya do it will be nearly impossible to make it to any other stages. The place will be packed so it will.

homer simpson

Local-womanizer wrote: »

I follow the Rally every year,love it so I do. But I hate the muppets that come with it. Half of them dont even follow the stages!

It should be grand till about Thursday,after that the town will be jammed.

I wont be going to Buncrana,if ya do it will be nearly impossible to make it to any other stages. The place will be packed so it will.

Couldn't have said it better myself, but i've got a great place to stand for the buncranna town stage (its private property) my "boss" for the weekends relatives live there, its just getting parked thats the bother , it helps when you have a media pass like me though :P

theboss80

Ya im living in Buncrana am im bracing myself haha, i dunno where the crowds (and cars) are gonna fit:eek:


hmmmm must make a sign RALLY SPECTATOR CAR PARK ADMISSION €20 haha, jeez id fit about 30 cars at my place

Graces7

Have a wonderful day all of you, and stay safe....

inode

Letterkenny is fairly buzzing like those vuvuzela's from the world cup

Local-womanizer

homer_simpson wrote: »

Couldn't have said it better myself, but i've got a great place to stand for the buncranna town stage (its private property) my "boss" for the weekends relatives live there, its just getting parked thats the bother , it helps when you have a media pass like me though :P

I love spots like that,had one last year at a friends house,great so it is

Was down town tonight,crazy amount of cars around for a Thursday,imagine what the next 2 days will be like! :eek:

homer simpson

i was nearly blowing one of the vuvozula (or however ya pronouce it) things when i seen the mexico - france result!

Looking forward to this now, should be a good buzz around, boy racers are at it already too :mad: i live fairly close to the N13 and there was a spell of about 20 minutes earlier of constant revving, dont see the attracion myself but each to their own and all that!

everyone who is going this weekend hope you all enjoy it! and above all stay safe!!!!! :cool:

lila44

not looking forward to this weeked...I live in the town, so the sound of all those tiny-peepeed boys will be keeping me up all night.....

can already hear them now......this could be the first time i've ever said...i can't wait untill monday!

Graces7

lila44 wrote: »

not looking forward to this weeked...I live in the town, so the sound of all those tiny-peepeed boys will be keeping me up all night.....

can already hear them now......this could be the first time i've ever said...i can't wait untill monday!

Commiserations; ear plugs help. or time for a weekend away!!

Fracture

Im actually looking forward to the rally in Buncrana, its not often we see anything exciting around the town, the weather is good and the pubs should be packed later. Im not big into rally events but since i live in Buncrana ill definately be going to this.

docmartin

just in the door from todays stages, got stages 1 and 3, didnt go in near buncrana for 5&6 because it would likely be a bottleneck afterwards,
stage 1 was a really fast start with Keith Cronin having a huge huge moment just in front of us, went up on the bank with the lhs of the car and kept it out of the wall with great car control, stage 1 was brought to an unfortunate end when Damien Gallagher had an off, i read a comment from Eugene ferry that it couuld have been something mechanical that gave up in the car, hopefully Damien is ok and the wee red escort will be back soon.
returned to the same spot again for stage 3 and it proved to be very very fast, bone dry roads now doubt a major factor in this, most impressive thru stage 3 was probbably Daniel Mc Kenna who was full out on this run holding nothing back.

Looking forward to another fast day tomorrow, hopefully a safe day too

MichaelF10

docmartin wrote: »

just in the door from todays stages, got stages 1 and 3, didnt go in near buncrana for 5&6 because it would likely be a bottleneck afterwards,
stage 1 was a really fast start with Keith Cronin having a huge huge moment just in front of us, went up on the bank with the lhs of the car and kept it out of the wall with great car control, stage 1 was brought to an unfortunate end when Damien Gallagher had an off, i read a comment from Eugene ferry that it couuld have been something mechanical that gave up in the car, hopefully Damien is ok and the wee red escort will be back soon.
returned to the same spot again for stage 3 and it proved to be very very fast, bone dry roads now doubt a major factor in this, most impressive thru stage 3 was probbably Daniel Mc Kenna who was full out on this run holding nothing back.

Looking forward to another fast day tomorrow, hopefully a safe day too

Hi, Any chance you could tell me where saturdays stages are based?

inode

you'll have to buy the rally programme to get that confidential info

tatabubbly

Can't avoid the rally, one of the service areas is in front of our house, so non stop shouting, discarded fast food and people trampling all over our garden and our poor dogs getting upset..

icescreamqueen

Does anyone know if the Carrigart stage on Sunday has been cancelled? Heard a rumour someone objected to the stage and it had to be called off. Not sure how much truth there is in it.

homer simpson

icescreamqueen wrote: »

Does anyone know if the Carrigart stage on Sunday has been cancelled? Heard a rumour someone objected to the stage and it had to be called off. Not sure how much truth there is in it.

I'd highly doubt it , that stage (i prosume you mean the atlantic drive stage) because that stage has ran for almost every donegal rally, and besides it take a lot more than 1 person objecting to halt a stage, usually once the road closure norices go to press the only thing that can stop the stage is a death....

Was a great day today, i wasn't expecting the town stage to be up to much but i thoyght it was great good atmosphere, no yahoos, at all surprisingly, hope it stays that way for the rest of the weekend....now to find the aftersun

iMuse

Heard that the rally was cancelled because of a death Really hope this isnt true.

salonfire

Heard that a driver or co driver was killed on Knockalla stage. That could be the rally over for another year

Local-womanizer

Heard that a co-driver was killed. Seen the coastguard chopper headed out that direction and the Garda chopper had landed beside the hospital.

Further statement to be issued later,so far the rally is finished today.

Mick Daly

http://www.highlandradio.com/2010/06/19/donegal-international-rally-suspended-following-serious-crash/

Mick Daly

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0619/breaking19.html




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donegal_International_Rally

Mick Daly

This thing should be cancelled altogether. Killing and injuring every year. It's only a bloodbath. How many more need to be killed or be injured? Hopefully they'll learn their lesson now.

lila44

if someone has died it is really tragic..

homer simpson

Mick Daly wrote: »

This thing should be cancelled altogether. Killing and injuring every year. It's only a bloodbath. How many more need to be killed or be injured? Hopefully they'll learn their lesson now.

First off all how is it a bloodbath? more people get killed playing GAA that there are people get killed rallying, i dont particurally like GAA at all nut when someone dies you wont see me (and others who dont like it) to be banned, wise yourself upthere is not someone killed every year during rallies, you really should think before you post!!!!

Its an extremly senseative subject so id advise that some caution is used when posting, there was a seriously tradgic accident on the knockalla stage of the rally which resulted in a lose of live! Just confirmed on the highland news there

R.I.P.

Domscard

Very sad Just heard it on RTE news.

muffler

Mick Daly wrote: »

This thing should be cancelled altogether. Killing and injuring every year. It's only a bloodbath. How many more need to be killed or be injured? Hopefully they'll learn their lesson now.

That's completely uncalled for under the circumstances.

1 week ban applied.