Rallye Catalunya - 29-31 Oct 04

Posted: November 8, 2004 10:40 PM - 5036 Hits

Photos of Donie O'Sullivan and Paul Nagle from Spain
by J Harringtion

All 3 Irish privateer crews finish event
Donie O'Sullivan / Paul Nagle 18th
Eamonn Boland / Francis Regan 22nd
Paddy White 35th

Kris Meeke 26th on his first drive in the C2

Posted: November 8, 2004 10:40 PM




















Killarney duo for Spanish round of World Rally Championship! by Sean Moriarty
The Killarney pairing of Donie O Sullivan and Paul Nagle are preparing themselves for one of the biggest challenges of their motorsport careers. This weekend the 40th Rally Catalonia takes place over the tarmac stages of the Pyrenees in the South of Spain. The rally is the penultimate round of the world rally Championship and the Killarney team has secured an entry in one of the most demanding rallies in the world.

They will be competing against household names like reigning world champion Petter Solberg and champion elect Sebastian Loeb. The Kerry duo will use the same Ford Focus WRC that brought them to victory on two, albeit more local rallies, already this year. The Ford Focus is being prepared for the event by U.K firm ADR Motorsport and will begin its long journey to the South of Spain on Saturday of this weekend

The local team flew out to Barcelona on Sunday evening in preparation for the three days of official practice on Monday Tuesday and Wednesday. The rally itself gets underway early Friday morning from the holiday resort of Loret da Mer and the two Kerry competitors face three days of demanding tarmac roads in the Pyrenees.
This is by far the biggest undertaking by any Kerry based rally team and it is the first time ever that an all Kerry crew has taken part in a round of the world championships. O Sullivan and Nagle are seeded 62, and they are the first privateer crew on the entry list. They are joined on the event by several other Irish competitors and would hope to uphold local honour by being best of the Irish contingent at the finish line.

Paul Nagle, codriver told us- “We would say Wexford driver Eamon Boland would be our greatest yard stick, we regularly compete against Boland at home, often beating him on Irish Internationals but Eamon has competed at world level before and would have more experience of World Rally championship events. If we finish in front of Boland and near the top of the privateer entries we will be more than pleased”

A large group of spectators are also heading to the South of Spain to cheer on the local challenge with over 30 representatives of The Killarney and District motor club supporting their fellow club members. A further 14 rally enthusiasts representing the Tralee based Kerry Motor Club will also be in attendance

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