Tipperary motor rally postponed due to heat-damaged roads rescheduled for October bank holiday
A popular Tipperary rally, which was postponed earlier this summer due to concerns over damage to roads during the hot weather, has been rescheduled.
The Stonethrowers Rally will now take place on October 25 after the event was postponed in July, over fears the high temperatures could crack or melt road surfaces.
The rally was due to take place on Sunday, July 19 around Clonmel, with Tipperary County Council previously posting about a host of local roads that were to be closed to facilitate the event.
However, at the time, the organising committee of the rally, Tipperary Light Car and Motorcycle Club (LC&MCC) said that the rally had to be postponed and will take place at a later date.
“Following discussions with Tipperary County Council, it was outlined that the current period of hot weather, together with the forecast for continued high temperatures have increased the vulnerability of road surfaces to damage.
“Any damage that could be caused to the roads by running the event on Sunday, would be borne by us, the organising committee,” they explained in their statement.
“As such, the club have taken the decision to postpone to protect the public road infrastructure and continue our good working relationship with Tipperary County Council,” they added.
Now, the Tipperary Light Car and Motorcycle Club have rescheduled the popular motorsport event to take place in October.
“Following a meeting of the Motorsport Ireland Rallies Commission, the organising committee of the 2026 STS Group Stonethrowers Rally are delighted to confirm that the event will now take place on October 25, 2026,” they said.
“We would like to thank all stakeholders and relevant parties for their support in ensuring our event can go ahead.
“The club will now turn our attention to preparing for the October bank holiday weekend,” they added.
The organisers have said that anyone who had originally paid to enter the rally on its original date and hadn’t claimed a refund will be entered into the rescheduled event.
“Entries will reopen upon the re-publishing of the regulations at a later date,” they said.
The club’s new statement added that they “look forward to welcoming everyone to Clonmel this October”.
When the club took the decision to postone the original rally, many motorsport fans on social media praised the club for the “difficult but understandable” decision, and hoped that the event could be reorganised for later in the year.
One fan said: “I really hope that the club will get a new date soon as they already have the stages picked out, and it’s a great rally.”
Another said: “Probably the best thing to do at the moment until it cools down,” while another added that their club had similar issues a number of years ago.
Some 151 drivers had entered to take part in this year’s Stonethrowers Rally, which sees drivers battle it out over 101 kilometres of south Tipperary’s roads.
The rally event was not held in 2025, but the 2024 event was won by Josh Moffett and co-driver Keith Moriarty.