The Lurgan Park Rally is a Rally event that is held in Lurgan Park in Lurgan

Lurgan

Lurgan is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and in the north-eastern corner of the county. Part of the Craigavon Borough Council area, Lurgan is about 18 miles south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

. The rally has been sponsored by Orchard Motorsport for 3 years now. In 2010, the rally was given a new logo. The rally takes the year first, then the sponsor and then the venue. (So the last rally was the 2011 Orchard Motorsport Lurgan Park Rally). The Rally also holds the Escort Mk2 Challenge. It is the largest single rally venue in Ireland.

History

It began in 1980 (won by the late Bertie Fisher) and was about to end in 2009 because of no main sponsor when Turkington backed out but was saved by Orchard Motorsport. The late Colin McRae

Colin McRae

Colin Steele McRae, MBE was a Scottish rally driver born in Lanark.The son of five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae and brother of rally driver Alister McRae, Colin McRae was the 1991 and 1992 British Rally Champion and, in 1995, became the first British person and the youngest to win the...

's Dad and brother (Jimmy McRae

Jimmy McRae

Jimmy McRae is a Scottish rally driver. He is the father of World Rally Championship drivers Alister McRae, and the late 1995 World Rally Champion Colin McRae...

 and Alister McRae

Alister McRae

Alister McRae is a Scottish rally driver, who competed in the World Rally Championship. He is the son of the five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae and the younger brother of the late 1995 World Rally Champion, Colin McRae...

) take part in the competition sometimes. Unlike Rallies in the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship

Irish Tarmac Rally Championship

The Irish Tarmac Rally Championship is Ireland's premier rallying series. The championship, made up of events run on closed tarmac roads, was first run in 1978.-Current events:The following events are currently part of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship:...

 and other rallies in Northern Ireland, it wasn't cancelled during the Foot and Mouth disease crisis. Kenny McKinstry has been waiting for his 12th Victory over the last two years but has been beaten by Darren Gass. Mark Higgins

Mark Higgins

Mark Higgins is British rally driver competing in the British Rally Championship. His current co-driver is Rory Kennedy.-Career:Higgins was born on the Isle of Man...

 finished second in 2004, 2007 and 2008, behind Kevin Lynch.

Main Sponsor

• Burmah 1990-1995
• Seat 1996-2002
• Triton Showers 2003-2005
• Turkington 2006-2008
• Orchard Motorsport 2009-present

Other Sponsors

• Craigavon Borough Council
• Roadside Motors
• Citroen
• KDM Hire
• Rushmere Shopping Centre

Winners

• 1980 Bertie Fisher / David Johnston
• 1981 Bertie Fisher / Roy Cathcart
• 1982 John Lyons / William Singleton
• 1983 Kenny McKinstry / Kevin Doyle
• 1984 Bertie Law / Bobby Campbell
• 1985 Kenny McKinstry / Brian McNamee
• 1986 Mikael Sundstrom / Richard Young
• 1987 Kenny McKinstry / John McGaffin
• 1988 Kenny McKinstry / John McGaffin
• 1989 Gwyndaf Evans
  Gwyndaf Evans
  Gwyndaf Evans is a Welsh rally driver, ex-school bus driver, and car dealer. He won the British Rally Championship in 1996, and was also the runner-up in 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2010...
  
   / Howard Davies
• 1990 Kenny Colbert / Eric Patterson
• 1991 Tony Pond
  Tony Pond
  Tony Pond was a well-known British rally driver.-Career:His first outings in a rally car were on the then regular Saturday night road rallies in the home counties around London, driving a Mini Cooper S...
  
   / Don Wilmont
• 1992 Kenny McKinstry / Robbie Philpott
• 1993 Kenny McKinstry / Robbie Philpott
• 1994 Kenny McKinstry / Robbie Philpott
• 1995 David Greer / Michael Reid
• 1996 Kenny McKinstry / Pamela Ballantine
• 1997 Gwyndaf Evans
  Gwyndaf Evans
  Gwyndaf Evans is a Welsh rally driver, ex-school bus driver, and car dealer. He won the British Rally Championship in 1996, and was also the runner-up in 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2010...
  
   / John McIlroy
• 1998 Patrick Snijers / Willie McKee
• 1999 Gwyndaf Evans
  Gwyndaf Evans
  Gwyndaf Evans is a Welsh rally driver, ex-school bus driver, and car dealer. He won the British Rally Championship in 1996, and was also the runner-up in 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2010...
  
   / Howard Davies
• 2000 Kenny McKinstry / Noel Orr
• 2001 Gwyndaf Evans
  Gwyndaf Evans
  Gwyndaf Evans is a Welsh rally driver, ex-school bus driver, and car dealer. He won the British Rally Championship in 1996, and was also the runner-up in 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2010...
  
  / Gary Savage
• 2002 Dom Buckley / Dougie Redpath
• 2003 Kenny McKinstry / Noel Orr
• 2004 Kevin Lynch / Francis Regan
• 2005 Kevin Lynch / Gordon Noble
• 2006 Kevin Lynch / Francis Regan
• 2007 Kevin Lynch / Francis Regan
• 2008 Kevin Lynch / Francis Regan
• 2009 Kenny McKinstry / John Skinner
• 2010 Darren Gass / Nathan Gass
• 2011 Darren Gass / Kerrie Gass

Due to his amount of wins, Kenny McKinstry has earned the name King of the Park, in 2011 RPM stated the after a few more wins, Gass would earn the Title.