Aoife Raftery and William Creighton have been announced as the new Motorsport Ireland Road Safety Ambassadors.
Motorsport Ireland, made the announcement in Ballina, County Mayo on Saturday evening on the eve of the Mayo Rally, the opening round of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship.
Raftery (23) and Creighton (26) are both members of the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy and have amassed over 160 rally starts between them across Ireland, Europe, and the World, with the latter being the reigning Junior World Rally Champion.
Motorsport Ireland has a long-standing history of promoting road safety, with the “Keep the Race in its Place” campaign being one of the most recognisable road safety campaigns in Ireland over the last 15 years.
Now it is time to re-energize the campaign with two of Ireland's most recognisable young rally drivers.
When asked about taking on the role of Motorsport Ireland Road Safety Ambassador, Aoife Raftery said: “I am honoured to take on this Road Safety Ambassador role for Motorsport Ireland. The main objective of this initiative is to educate people about what it means to ‘Keep the Race in its Place.’ I want to use my passion for Motorsport and my own experience within Rallying and as a driver in the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy to get this safety message out to all drivers and encourage those who have an interest in our sport that there are rules we as rally drivers must obey strictly, and the same respect should be shown to the rules of the road.”
William Creighton had this to say: “I was delighted when the opportunity arose to become a Motorsport Ireland Road Safety Ambassador. Keeping the Race in its Place has never been as important as it is today. As a Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy Driver, it is important to remind people that we compete in a safe and controlled environment. We all have a responsibility to drive safely and look out for each other on the public roads.”
Motorsport Ireland President, Aiden Harper stated, “Road Safety and the education of road safety awareness is a priority for Motorsport Ireland. There is a place to race, and that is in a controlled, safe environment, whether that be a race circuit or closed road, where people can compete with proper safety systems in place. Our road safety Ambassadors Aoife and William are a testimony to young people who strive to foster road safety awareness. Today is a great day for Motorsport Ireland as we launch these two new Ambassadors and we hope working with local authorities and civic bodies, the message ‘Keep the Race in its Place’ is promoted as we travel around the country.”
Words by Larry O’Shea / Photos by Michael Chester & Motorsport Ireland
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