Lurgan Park Rally


The Lurgan Park Rally was an annual rally event held in Lurgan Park in Lurgan, Northern Ireland from 1980 to 2016. In 2010, the rally was given a new logo and another new logo was released for the 2012 rally. The Rally also held the Escort Mk2 Challenge. It was the largest single rally venue on the island of Ireland.

History

The Lurgan Park Rally began in 1980 in a rally won by the late Bertie Fisher. The rally almost folded before the 2009 rally because of no main sponsor when Turkington backed out but was saved by Orchard Motorsport. Unlike Rallies in the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship and other rallies in Northern Ireland, it wasn't cancelled during the 2001 Foot and Mouth disease crisis. Mark Higgins finished second in 2004, 2007 and 2008, behind Kevin Lynch. Lynch holds the record for most consecutive victories with 5 from 2004 to 2008, whilst Kenny McKinstry holds the record for most wins with 11. The last rally was held in 2016, it was announced in March 2017 that the 2017 rally would not go ahead. It also was the birthplace of the word sterectopian in the 1990s.

Sponsors

Main Sponsor

TV

RPM held the television rights for the Lurgan Park Rally, which aired on UTV in Northern Ireland.

Winners

Owing to his number of wins, Kenny McKinstry has earned the title King of the Park.