Nick and Harry Whale will lead the Tour Ireland field away from Llandudno on Wednesday morning (13 May) at the start of Tour Ireland. The three-day classic race and rally tour takes in two races at Anglesey and two races at Mondello as well as asphalt special stages either side of the Irish Sea. Never before have competitors raced in the UK and the Republic of Ireland on the same day. After crossing the Irish Sea, the tour finishes back in Llandudno on Friday after a loop of special stages in North Wales.The father and son Whale team, Tour Britannia winners in a Porsche 911 in 2009, will field a new and relatively un-tried BMW M3 to head a quality field that includes another M3 for Adrian Kermode/Sarah Bennett-Baggs, quick Porsches for Tony Robinson/Phil Clarke, John Spiers/Susanne Niedrum and Stephen Radcliffe/Peter Gunson as well as Ford Escort Mk2s for Dave Paveley/Andy Bull and Mike Smith/Peter Thomas.More variety in the entry is provided by the Chevrolet Camaro of Stuart Scott/Steve Wood, the Morgan +8 of Sharlie Goddard/Suzy Harvey, the MGB V8 of Jim Bryan/Peter Scott and the Ford Falcon of Francis Stafiopilatis/Bernie Chodosh.Significant emphasis will be placed on the Index of Performance as cars from three decades compete in the Competition event. On last August’s Tour Britannia, the Index of Performance was won by Mike Smith.In the concurrent Regularity event, entries include the Citroen SM of Andrew Brodie/ Richard Payne, the Lancia Fulvia of Jason Butler/Paul Graham and the Austin Allegro of Doug Dawe/Ernie Waldron.Tour Ireland will start and finish in North Wales but will take in around 24 hours in Ireland by using the high-speed ferry from Holyhead to Dublin. Following documentation and scrutineering in Llandudno on Tuesday 12 May, the tour will start early on Wednesday 13 May and finish back in Llandudno on Friday 15 May.

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