Joe.ie is ‘The Irish men’s website’.  As the Irish men’s website it concerns itself only with ‘Man Stuff’- man entertainment, man sport, man news and man style. Man stuff includes Georgia Salpa’s eviction from Celebrity Big Brother, Profanity on Countdown and without a doubt; it includes cars, driving and rallying. Mr Oisín Collins, Joe’s chief petro head, recently took a trip to the well known Mondello Race Park- he couldn’t stop talking about it. Then he took a trip to Rally Connection- it left him speechless.

Rally Connection is a specially constructed rally stage in the hills outside Dungarvan in west Waterford. It’s a rally school where all instructors are current rally drivers with a truckload of competitive experience between them. It is, Oisín decided, the perfect place “if you’re looking for the excitement of tearing around a field without the hassle of having to evade a p***ed off farmer.”

Oisín arrived at Rally Connection early one cold and frosty morning.  He, it turns out, is not one to believe that it’s the taking part that counts. Having just set eyes on the four lads sharing the track with him he classed them not as fellow enthusiasts, like minded souls or brother petrol heads but as the competition. That being as it was he set out to do all in his power to beat them.

There was plenty to do as it turned out; if the devil makes work for idle hands then hours spent at Rally Connection could be among the most virtuous of your life because this track keeps you BUSY!  Never mind rounding hairpin bends and flooring it on the straight all while trying to keep yourself in one piece; you’ll also have to try to keep your head in reality as professional helmets, intercom, bucket seats and windscreen decal all conspire to make you feel like a pro- at least until you start driving!

Oisín left the current track record of 55 seconds intact- the weather was against him…or so he says. If you fancy having a crack at it click on Rally Connection to check out the different courses available or you can contact Tom and the gang on 058-47000 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it