Large crowd expected in Longford on Saturday evening for rally ceremonial start

This weekend sees the first round of the National, Border, Midlands East  championships, the Dacia Sandero Challenge & the MI Junior Rally Series kick  off in Longford.  

M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Puma Rally 1 driver Josh McErlean and co-driver Eoin Treacy will be at Rally HQ, the Longford Arms Hotel, for an  autograph signing of posters & rally programmes between 5 & 6pm on Saturday, March 1.  

McErlean and Treacy, who are members of the Motorsport Ireland Academy,  are taking time out of their busy FIA World Rally Championship schedule, having completed two rounds of the WRC to date in Monte Carlo and Sweden. 

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They will compete in the Midland rally this weekend, in an M-Sport Fiesta Rally2 courtesy of Admore Air Conditioning, Inc., before heading off to WRC  Safari Rally Kenya next week.  

The Motorsport Ireland Academy was established in 2019 to provide promising  young drivers with a pathway from the junior rallying ranks through to  competing at World Rally Championship (WRC) level. Those eligible to enter  the high-performance academy were chosen from the Billy Coleman Award  nominees.

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Drivers and navigators who are part of the Academy undergo a  rigorous training programme to develop their skills and discipline and move them  up through the various competitive classes in Irish rallying through to the  highest levels of the sport internationally.  

Following on from the autograph signing there will be a ceremonial start where  the top 10 drivers & navigators together with their cars will parade in front of  the Longford Arms Hotel at 6.30pm. 

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