Rally enthusiasts will flock to Mallow this weekend to watch 90 high-powered cars being driven at high speed around some of the finest gravel stages in the country during the annual Jim Walsh Cork Forest Rally, sponsored by Crafted Fitted Furniture. The buzz around Mallow will be noticeable from early on Friday as crews begin to arrive, and the first cars will leave Mallow at 11.31am on Saturday for a challenging loop of six stages to the East of Mallow, with service after every two stages in Mitchelstown Business Park, giving crews much-needed time to catch their breath. There will be six stages on Sunday 6 over a course closer to the town, and service will take place within the Dairygold complex.
Scrutiny will take place on Saturday morning at EARS Motorsport on the Muddy Hill, giving spectators a great opportunity to get up close to the cars as they undergo safety checks, while documentation scrutiny will take place at the Cork County Council offices in Annabella, which is adjacent to Mallow Fire Station where the drivers’ briefing will be held.
Mallow has hosted the rally since 2010, and this year’s has the makings of being a special event with the return to a two-day format after a ten year spell as a single-day rally.
Cork Forest Rally races into Mallow this weekend
– July 26, 2018