The build-up to the return of hill climb racing to the Kingdom is beginning to gather pace as planning is now at an advanced stage for the commemorative event which will take place on July 16, 120 years after the first closed road motorsport event took place in the same village outside Tralee.

The various pieces of the jigsaw are now coming together for the event, which is being run by Kerry Motor Club in Association with the Ballyfinnane Community Hall Association.

A large field of racing cars, single-seaters and rally cars is expected once entries open in the coming days.

The Shanty Bar in Ballyfinnane has been the centre point to the planning process, with a large number of local residents in attendance at planning meetings for the event. The sense of community around the event is clear, as the locals are rolling up their sleeves to help the club and event organisers with every aspect of organisation.

The 2023 Ballyfinnane Hillclimb will be officially launched on Monday, June 12 at the Shanty Bar in Ballyfinnane, at 7pm and everyone is welcome to attend.

For some, a hill climb event is totally new and on the night, various members of the organising committee will be on hand to explain the logistics and how a hill climb event works. There will be some unique photo opportunities to be had as some single-seater racing cars will be parked outside the bar on the night.

Speaking on the launch, the 2023 Ballyfinnane Hillclimb Clerk of the Course Sean Moriarty said “I would like to invite everyone to come out to The Shanty Bar in Ballyfinnane on Monday June 12 to get a sense of what this project is all about. The local community in Ballyfinnane have bought into the project and their help has proven invaluable to the organising of the event. It will be great to see some familiar and some new faces at the launch. It is a great opportunity to see first-hand the work that has been done and also a chance go see some single seater cars up close. I really can’t wait.”

Entries are due to open for the event in the coming days with a full list of regulations being posted on the ‘Sportity’ App using the password ‘Kerryhill23’