BREAKING: Waterford to host World Rally Championships
It has been confirmed this morning that along with Waterford two other counties will host the event
The World Rally Championship will be coming to Waterford as one of the three host cities for the championship in 2025.
The Quays in Waterford City made the final three along with Limerick Racecourse and the Institute of Technology Tralee in Co. Kerry.
President of Motorsport Ireland, Aiden Harper confirmed judges could not separate the three bids from each other following inspections at the back end of last week.
So all three venues will stage one year of the internationally renowned event.
It's a major boost for all three counties, with conservative estimates suggesting the tournament could bring €100m into the local economy.
Speaking at Motorsport Ireland's headquarters in Dublin, Mr Harper said expressions of interest on specific years the venues wished to host in would now be invited.
If more than one expression of interest is received for each year, a lottery system will take place.
Mr Harper described all three presentations as "exceptional", "mindblowing" and "all different in approach."
"We believe all WRC events would be delighted to have any of them as a service park," he added, "We tried many different scoring systems. But no two came out head and shoulders above one location. Each location has so much to give and showcases our country in a slightly different way."
Waterford TD David Cullinane made the announcement on X posting: "Delighted to be at the Motorsport Ireland launch of the service location for the World Rally Championship beginning in 2025 to 2028. Fantastic news that the Southeast bid with Waterford as the host base was successful for one of the years. Brilliant for Waterford and the region."