Rally Ireland 2009 will not start with a Super Special Stage at Stormont but at another location somewhere in Northern Ireland

Rally Ireland 2009 will not start with a Super Special Stage at Stormont, according to the Belfast Telegraph. Instead, Stormont will be used, as previously thought, for a Race of Champions style shoot-out between the manufacturer teams to launch the 2009 WRC, the Saturday before the rally. Agreement has almost been reached between all the parties involved for this to happen but the SSS will not be at Stormont. The Ceremonial start will be in Sligo next year, probably on the Thursday night before the rally.

The reason for Rally Ireland 2009 not starting at Stormont is a logistical one. Basically the organisers don't want to take the risk of something going wrong with the transportation of the cars between Sligo and Belfast. What Ronan Morgan did say was that the rally will start in Northern Ireland and details will be released soon. It isn't clear if this means a new Super Special Stage location, or that the rally will start with a conventional Special Stage.

 Stormont will launch the 2009 WRC, but will not be a SSS for Rally Ireland

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