The excitement is already building for the 2026 Modern Tyres Ulster Rally, with organisers bringing a taste of rallying action to Castle Tower School in Ballymena as the Northern Ireland Motor Club showpiece event officially announces Castle Tower School as the Regroup location for this year’s rally. Representatives from the organising team, alongside the newly elected Mayor of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, Alderman Thomas Gordon, visited the school to help fuel anticipation ahead of the 7–8 August event, giving pupils and staff an early glimpse of the excitement that will soon arrive in their community.
The Regroup on both Friday and Saturday will provide rally fans with a unique opportunity to get up close to the competing cars and drivers as they take a break from the intense closed-road competition. It will be one of the key spectator locations away from the stages, alongside the already announced Rally HQ and Service Park at Ballymena Showgrounds. The Modern Tyres Ulster Rally continues to bring world-class motorsport directly into local communities, and the addition of Castle Tower School as the Regroup venue further strengthens the event’s connection with the community of Ballymena and the wider Mid and East Antrim area.
Interest in the 2026 event is already gathering pace, with entries now open and organisers expecting a bumper field for August. This year’s rally will once again enjoy international significance as a counting round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship and, in its 50th anniversary year, will also host a round of the FIA European Historic Rally Championship for the first time.
Wayne Turkington, Clerk of the Course, said: “We greatly appreciate the warm welcome we have received from the people of Mid and East Antrim and the support provided by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, and we were delighted that Councillor Gordon was able to join us and share in this exciting occasion. The superb facilities at the Showgrounds will provide an excellent centre for the event, and we greatly appreciate the funding being provided through the International Event element of the Community Grant Scheme. Together, these will help us deliver an international event of the highest quality that enhances the area and brings people together. Bringing the rally cars to the school was a real buzz for us, seeing the next generation start to fall in love with the sport. When the rally comes here in August, the children will be on summer holidays, so it was nice to fuel that excitement now in the hope that some will come along and experience the event for themselves in a few months’ time.” The 2026 Modern Tyres Ulster Rally takes place on 7–8 August, bringing some of the best competitors from across Ireland, the UK and Europe to Northern Ireland’s roads for two days of thrilling motorsport action. With the Rally HQ and Service Park at Ballymena Showgrounds, and the Regroup at Castle Tower School, fans will have more opportunities than ever to experience the atmosphere of one of Ireland’s premier rally events.