Noble takes the wheel at Rally Ireland
Rally Ireland has announced the appointment of Gordon Noble to the position of Clerk of the Course for the 2009 event.

Noble, who was last year's Assistant Clerk of the Course, takes over from Tom Walsh. Westport-based Walsh undertook the role in 2007 thanks to a six-month sabbatical from his job, but is stepping down due to renewed work commitments. Fred Gallagher remains on as Deputy Clerk of the Course of this cross-border event which attracted almost 250,000 spectators over four days when it ran last November.

From the outset, Noble has played an integral part of the team which firstly bid for a round of the Championship and then ran one of the best rounds of the WRC in 2007. Noble, who still actively competes as a co-driver across the world, is looking forward to taking on the role: “This is a great honour in particular as Ireland have been selected to launch the ‘09 World Championship, it is a big challenge. I learned a lot last year and I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in.“

Motorsport Ireland president, John Naylor, was full of praise for the Omagh man: "In the short time that this event has been running, Gordon has given great service to it and we have no doubts in his ability to take the reins and run another successful event."

The team to assist Noble in his quest is currently being put in place. With less than 11 months to go, planning for next January's WRC opening round is already well under way. Rally Ireland generated more than EUR48 million in economic benefits and was broadcast in more than 125 countries. The rally was voted the second best round in their debut in the prestigious world series. Rally Ireland, which started in Belfast and finished in Sligo, ran through eight counties.