Fifteen motorists have been arrested for dangerous driving and six others held for drink-driving during the Donegal International Rally weekend so far, gardaí said today.

The number of arrests before Sunday's race has reached 66, ten more than for the entire weekend last year.

However the head of the Traffic Corps in the county Insp Michael Harrison told independent.ie that genuine fans of the rally were not involved in the incidents gardaí are investigating.

“The rally stages are being held in the Milford District and almost all of the arrests have taken place in the Letterkenny District,” said Insp Harrison.

“Most of those held haven’t even been to see the rally. At the rally itself we have found the fans respectful. They are here to see the race and we’ve had no real issues there.

"The crowds at the rally are enormous this year; the largest I've ever seen."

Letterkenny District Inspector Goretti Sheridan said 36 arrests took place overnight, adding to the 30 arrests on Friday.

“Overnight we have made 15 arrests for dangerous driving and six for suspected drink-driving,” said Insp Sheridan.

“Another 39 people were detained for public order offences. Four people were detained for drugs offences.

“Most of those arrested are young adults. They come from all over Ireland and for most of them this morning they are starting to see the consequences of their actions in the cold light of day, some of them life-changing in terms of losing driving licenses and jobs.”

Insp Sheridan said three gardaí injured when their patrol car was hit by another vehicle early yesterday morning (Sat) have been released from hospital. A juvenile – a boy aged 17 - has been released from custody pending further enquiries.

The rally is due to end this evening.

Online Editors