The Safety Direct Galway International Rally takes place from Saturday, February 4th to Sunday, February 5th 2012. 2012 marks the 41st anniversary of the Galway rally which began in 1971, and this event will also incorporate a city centre spectator stage for the first time in 14 years. The Safety Direct Galway International Motor Rally is the first major motorsport event annually in Ireland. Over the years the event has attracted entrants from England, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, the former Czechoslovakia, France, America, Gambia, Belgium, Arabia, Norway and Finland.

The event is one of the most popular in the Global Group Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, and has been it’s first round since the series was founded in 1978. It is based in Galway’s Clayton Hotel.