The Toshiba Tarmac Rally Championship will be back to full strength next year, with the restoration of the Circuit of Ireland and the Galway International, plus the inclusion of both the Ulster and Manx rallies. The `one-off' Summit 2000 is dropped. The series will open at Easter with a totally newlook Circuit of Ireland.
The long-distance circuits of old are gone, and next year's event will be run to the modern format of concentrated stages over three days - Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Sunday. It will be based in Enniskillen with loops of stages north and south of the Border. The Galway International was moved from February to July this year, and was subsequently cancelled.
This traditional season opener will close the series in 2001, in November.
We have not yet received the official results of the Dunlop National Rally Championship and the dates for 2001, by contrast with previous years when Martin Walsh did a fantastic job in keeping the media fully up to date with pre-event details and results.
Cathy Brogan, the registrar of the KBB Doors National Forest Rally Championship, has sent an update on the series after three of the seven rounds. Kevin O'Kane, driving a Subaru Impreza, leads on 43 points from Niall Driver (Mitsubishi Evo.VI) 28 and Ford Escort Cosworth drivers John Donnelly 26 and Peter McCullagh 20. Reigning champion Dermot Kelly, also in a Ford Cosworth, is sixth on 17, behind Michael Nevin in an older Escort Mk.2 on 19 points. Round four is the Wexford Motor Club's first forestry event - the Courtown Hotel Wexford Forestry Rally 2000 - on December 10th.
Ferrari will begin testing next month for the 2001 season without world champion Michael Schumacher who is convalescing after a leg operation. The Italian team said Rubens Barrichello, Schumacher's team-mate last season, and test driver Luca Badoer would drive the new car in three sessions - at Jerez, Valencia and Barcelona.
"The building of the car which will defend the team's titles in 2001 is proceeding according to plan. For some time now, a half scale model has been tested in the wind tunnel at Marinello while the first chassis is already under construction," Ferrari said on its website.
Schumacher, who won Ferrari's first drivers' title since 1979 this year, had a pin removed this month from the right leg he broke at Silverstone last year.
