GT900 Rally gearing up for a weekend of driving and dining

Ireland’s premier prestige-car Grand Tour, the GT900, is gearing up for an exhilarating three-day, three-stage, 900km race through for the West Coast in aid of The Hope Foundation from 2-4 July.

Combining 150 cars and drivers, the non-competitive event brings together the finest performance/classic cars in Ireland as they zip along spectacular locales ranging from the Fota Island Resort in Cork to the Westport House in Mayo. If Alfa Romeo’s streaming past bewildered livestock takes your fancy (and if not, why not?) there’s still plenty of time to reserve a spot on the starting line and help a deserving charity before the epic journey begins.

Promising a weekend of “cars, castles, celebs, cuisine and entertainment”, the alliteration-heavy organisers are attracting the greatest motors in Ireland, the UK and beyond with the admirable goal of raising €100,000 for the Hope Foundation along the best driving roads in the country.

Good reason

The Hope Foundation itself is a Cork-based charity that runs over 60 projects for street and slum children in Calcutta, giving thousands of children the chance to break the cycle of poverty. It’s a fantastic charity that gives children back their right to a childhood and adequate shelter, to live a life free from exploitation.

One of the main appeals of the GT900 Grand Tour is not just the opportunity to see the world’s finest vehicles battling and burning rubber (non-competitively, *cough*), but that each stage of the route is a party in itself, with 2 nights B&B, 2 evening meals, 2 lunches  and nightly entertainment on offer.

 

If you look carefully under Rosanna Davison you’ll spot a car

Departing from the Fota Island Resort in Cork on Friday, 2 July, the route traverses through Killarney (including a lunch stop overlooking the sumptuous Kilarney National Park) before finishing up at the Strand Hotel Limerick, where a champagne reception, full dinner, Jamiroquai tribute band and overnight stay await.

The glamourous trail continues the following morning, where a lunch stop and guided tour of the majestic of Westport House, Co.Mayo reward the midday drivers. Day 2 concludes at Clarion Hotel Sligo, where another champagne reception, evening dinner and Fun Lovin’ Criminals tribute band will entertain the participants long into the wee hours of Saturday night.

For the final stage of the Grand Tour the motorcade then zips up to Co.Galway before the final return leg to the Fota Island Resort in Cork once more. Here presentations, a prize giving ceremony and an end of rally shindig help cap an unforgettable motoring weekend.

For the full route, registration fees and sponsorship details you can visit www.gt900.ie. Here you can register your entry, keep up on the latest event news or drape yourself in official GT900 merchandise.

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