Motorsport Ireland and Dacia launch Dacia Sandero Challenge Cup

Motorsport Ireland are delighted to announce the launch of the 2025 Dacia Sandero Challenge Cup. This new rally championship, which will receive direct support from Dacia via Cedar Motors Ltd , is designed to offer affordable and fun entry route into stage rallying in Ireland.

The championship, which will come into effect in 2025, will be strictly production in nature, with few mechanical changes permitted to the humble 1.2 litre, petrol engined Dacia Sandero. All cars built to take part in the Championship must be done so using the Dacia Sandero Rally Kit which is exclusively available through Murray Motorsport. The first car built using the kit was unveiled at the Motorsport Ireland Champions of Irish Motorsport Awards last week.

The championship will follow the Motorsport Ireland National Rally Championship, which will kick off in Longford in March with the Midland Stages Rally. Dacia Sandero Challenge Cup crews will start each event after first service, pay a reduced entry fee and will run in Class 23 . All Dacia Sandero Challenge Cup crews will run in a group, at the back of the field and will run on Yokohama tyres.

Open to all ages, the championship will be backed by Dacia through it’s Irish distributor, Cedar Motors Ltd. Through their support, those who purchase a Dacia Sandero Rally Kit and register for the Championship will receive: branded race suits (x2), branded jackets (x2), branded hats (x2), branded awning, branded banners and branded groundsheets.

Updated Technical Regulations and Sporting Regulations will be published on motorsportireland.com in the coming days and interest is strong already, with half a dozen kits already ordered from prospective competitors for the season ahead.

Art McCarrick, Motorsport Ireland Sporting Manager said; “This is a real positive news story for Irish motorsport and to have Dacia on board as a partner through Cedar Motors will make this feel like a proper one make championship. Over two years of work has gone in behind the scenes by the Motorsport Ireland Rallies Commission to get to this point and they have to be commended for their work on this. There was never anything preventing someone from a building a rally car to this specification before, there just wasn’t the incentive. We now have that and I look forward to seeing the championship grow over the coming seasons.”

Trevor Toner, COO, Cedar Motors said; “simplicity and reliability are values at the heart of Dacia and we are committed to providing the right products at the right price. This is why we are delighted to support Motorsport Ireland and their ambition to provide affordable motorsport with the Dacia Sandero Cup. With a nationwide network of Dacia dealers offering vehicles that are both cool and robust and we look forward to participating at each of the rounds in 2025”

ABOUT DACIA

Born in 1968 then relaunched by Renault Group in 2004 all across Europe and Mediterranean countries, Dacia has always offered the best value for money cars by constantly redefining the essentials. As a game-changer, Dacia proposes simple, multi-purpose, reliable cars in tune with customers’ lifestyles. Dacia models became a reference on the market: Sandero, the most sold car to European private customers every year since 2017; Duster, the most sold SUV to European private customers since 2018; Spring, the champion of accessible electric mobility;

and Jogger, the multi-purpose C-segment family car. Present in 44 countries, Dacia has sold more than 9 million vehicles since 2004.

ABOUT CEDAR GROUP

Cedar Ireland Automotive is owned by the Kuwaiti based Al Babtain family who have extensive interests in the Irish automotive sector. These interests include 100% ownership of Nissan Ireland which has been the exclusive distributor of Nissan cars, LCVs and parts in Ireland for the past 45 years and ownership of Windsor Motors Limited, one of Ireland’s largest automotive retail groups with 16 retail outlets representing 8 franchises, which was acquired in 1999. Their interests also include a 50% stake in Autolease Fleet Management Limited (NIFTI) a joint venture with Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. which provides business and personal leasing services to the Irish market. The Cedar Group, encompassing Nissan Ireland, Cedar Ireland Automotive (Renault and Dacia), Windsor Motors Limited and Autolease Fleet Management (NIFTI) is headquartered in Dublin, employing 600 people with a turnover close to €1 billion per annum.