'Difficult and dark' day for motorsport after two rally participants killed in Sligo

Vivienne Clarke

Members of the public are being asked not to circulate footage of a fatal incident at Sunday's Sligo Stages Rally online, and are instead being urged to pass the recordings to Gardaí.

Motorsport Ireland's sporting manager Art McCarrick told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that Sunday was a very difficult and dark day for motorsport.

Two of the rally's participants were killed on Sunday afternoon, with the event halted as a result.

Asked if weather conditions had played a part in the collision, Mr McCarrick said he did not think so.

"We have a safety plan that's pre-approved prior to the event, which takes into account every eventuality," he said, adding motorsport can run in almost every condition in Ireland, apart from snow.

Appropriate tyres for wet conditions would have been used, and participants drive according to the road conditions, Mr McCarrick said.

"We don't know yet if road conditions played a factor in the accident. There had been a full running of that stage previously without any incident.

"Matters like that will form part of the investigation which we ourselves have launched and also ongoing with the Gardaí. We are actively assisting them in their investigation.

"A huge level of planning goes into an event like this, and tragically, you can still do all that planning, and the most vulnerable part of any car are the occupants."

Mr McCarrrick extended his condolences to the families and friends of the two men killed in the incident and those who had assisted at the scene.

The crash occurred at the sixth stage of the event when the car left the road and collided with a wall.

"We have, you know, a very strong safety record, driver safety and competitor safety here are front and centre of what we do, but unfortunately, accidents and fatal accidents can happen in any sport.

"Tragically, it was our sport yesterday," Mr McCarrick said.