Donegal International Rally gears up for Thursday's ceremonial opening

Excitement is building as one of the most highly anticipated Wilton Recycling Donegal International Rallies in years gets set to start this weekend.

The entry list is extremely competitive predicting the overall winner, as well as the winners in each class, is no easy task. The starters list includes multiple Donegal, Irish Tarmac, and British Rally champions.

On Thursday, the cars will arrive for scrutiny at McGinley Motors in Letterkenny, starting at noon. Following this, there will be a ceremonial start on Port Road, a lively event for the whole family.

The event will feature live music, a display of past and present rally cars, and a wide range of rally-related merchandise. Drivers and co-drivers will also be present. An opportunity for fans to get autographs and take selfies!

The ceremonial start will kick off at 6pm, after which the crews will proceed over the ramp and park their cars for the evening. Additionally, there will be a safety briefing for all crews at the An Grianan Theatre.

Last year's winners, Callum Devine and Noel O’Sullivan will lead the 160+ starters on Friday as they head to tackle six challenging stages in the Inishowen Peninsula. There will be two service stops during the day in Carndonagh.

On Saturday morning, an additional 32 crews will start the historic section of the event and take on all the tests on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday will feature eight demanding stages for the crews. It will start with the challenging Knockalla stage, followed by Garrygort, which will be repeated.

After lunch, Glen and Lough Keel will be on the agenda, providing another tough test of pace, the two stages will be repeated.

Crews will visit the service area four times on Saturday, located in Kiltoy on the outskirts of Letterkenny, which will also serve as the service area for the Sunday stages.

Get ready for an exciting Sunday drive! The upcoming rally in Donegal will feature three challenging stages: Gartan, Atlantic Drive, and Fanad, each to be traversed twice.

These stages are considered classics, making this Sunday a super day for Irish Rallying. The Junior Rally will join for the six Sunday stages and will see an additional 14 crews start the event.

It's anyone's guess which crews will claim the prizes, but one thing is for sure: the winners will have taken on one of the greatest challenges in the rallying world.

The winning crew will be awarded the Jim Kennedy Cup, and the winning driver will receive the Manus Kelly trophy. Additionally, a new trophy this year will be presented to the co-driver in the leading 2WD car in remembrance of Austin Frazer, who played a significant role in the rally's history.