Killarney Forestry Stages Rally - 4 Sep 05

Posted: September 6, 2005 5:49 PM

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Shinnors/O'Donovan round off forestry Season in Stlye
Limerick driver Matt Shinnors and his West Cork co-driver Denis O'Donovan enjoyed one of their best results finishing 1st in Class and 12th place overall on last Sunday's Killarney Forestry Rally. This makes 3 wins from 3 starts on rounds of the year Irish Forestry Championship for Shinnors.


Photo: John Bayly

Although suffering the effect of the Flu, Shinnors set off in determined fashion taking 20 seconds out of his nearest class rival James Flynn on the opening stage. This was followed up with another 20 seconds on the 2nd stage, as Matt and Denis found the long fast stages suited them. However by the end of the 2nd stage Matt found the brake balance on his Toyota Engined Escort Mk 11 was not to his liking - "I had changed and bedded in a new set of back brake pads the day before the rally, however I was having to adjust the brake balance on the stages as the brakes heated."

Sure enough on the third stage car locked up braking for 5R and slipped of the road. "We must have been doing not more than 15 mph when we slipped off the road, luckily there were a group of Spectators at the turn and they were able to get car back on the road. There was not a mark on the car but we dropped a lot of time."

At service Denis checked out the times with the other crews, and despite the problems the Escort crew still had a 12 second lead.

The 3 morning stages were repeated after service where the crew set about regaining their confidence and preserving their lead. While the msmotorsport car dropped a second the chasing pack on SS4, 2 quick times on the final 2 stages saw the crew take their 2nd class win in a row by 23 seconds.

Having now satisfied the criteria for the Billy Coleman award, Matt hopes to compete on a tarmac event or 2 before the end of the year.

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Champions Conquer Kerry
Newly crowned Forest Champions Gareth MacHale/ Paul Nagle (Corolla WRC) took an emphatic victory on the Killarney Forest Rally – the final round of the “McCauley Trailers” National Forest Rally Championship”. The Castleisland based event consisted of six stages in the Mullaghareirk, Forehane and Mount Eagle forests North East of Castleisland. Sponsored by local company “Waste Water Solutions” the event attracted an impressive line up as many championship awards had to be settled on this concluding round.

MacHale partnered by Killarney native Paul Nagle (who returned from a sun holiday late Saturday night) set the pace from the opening stage accumulating a 1 min 31 sec winning margin ahead of Omagh pairing Kevin O’Kane/ Martin Hanna (Impreza WRC). Frank Kelly/ Liam Brennan completed the top three with their Escort Mk2, a fantastic result as they surpassed many of the modern 4WD machines.

Good weather prevailed as the competitors set out to tackle the challenging forests that offered a contrast of fast flowing and tight twisty stages with lots of junctions offering good vantage points for spectators. MacHale led from ss1 and relished the position as he set FTD through stages 2 and 3, arriving to service after the first loop holding a 45 sec advantage over Dominic McNeill/ Francis Kenny. McNeill in the ex Boland Lancer WRC made a slow start but was well up to speed by ss3 where he was only 2 secs off pace setter MacHale.

Rounding off the top three; last years winner Kevin O’Kane was enjoying the rally after the disappointment of missing Birr, as his new engine did not arrive in time. Trevor Harding/ Adrian Deasy (Impreza) held fourth. Harding with his usual flamboyant style actually made it through 3 stages without losing the back bumper! Paul Staunton/ Bruce Burgess hired the “Den Motorsport” high-powered Escort mk2 and were leading the 2WD brigade holding 5th overall.

Frank Kelly held 6th – 5 secs adrift of Staunton. Pete McCullagh/ Alan Dolan (Evo 6) tied with Stephen Moore / Tony McHugh (Impreza N10) for 7th spot and Gp N supremacy, the latter reporting brief excursion on ss3, Mount Eagle. Holding 9th Brian Lawlor/ Peter Kavanagh in the “Silverstone” shod mk2 seemed a little off form as the pressure mounted. Lawlor was locked in a down to the wire battle with Frank Kelly for the “Best 2WD” award in the McCauley Trailers series as only a point separated them going into this final round. Pete Willoughby/ Greg McCarthy (Evo 6) were another crew that seemed off form. Willoughby in 10th could not account for his slow time on ss1 where he was 30 secs off the Gp N front-runners.

Stage 4, a repeat run of “Mullaghreirk” saw the top ten alter greatly. Staunton’s gallant drive came to a close as his engine expired. Harding’s Impreza stopped with electrical gremlins. Also sidelined was Stephen Moore’s Impreza due to a broken gear linkage. Moore secured the Gp N category by starting the rally as he bagged the illusive bonus points, crowning him Gp N forest champion. Lawlor was off the road losing over 30 secs not helping his 2WD crusade. Local retirements included Alan Ring brake failure, Ian Roche (Saxo) gearbox and John Hickey (Impreza) damaged radiator.

MacHale consolidated his position setting FTD through ss4 and ss5. Apart from of a puncture on the final stage there was no drama for the “Tom Hogan Motors” Toyota. Gareth and Paul showed great sportsmanship by supporting the final round when they already had the Championship sown up in Birr. Starting their campaign with a hat trick of wins the Killarney victory made a perfect finish to their season.

Dominic McNeill disappeared on the last stage as he put the Lancer well off the road about 3 miles in. Michael Tynan and Justin Dunne were starting to feature inside the top ten but Tynan rolled his Evo 6 and Dunne retired his similar machine. Kevin O’Kane/ Martin Hanna (Impreza WRC) were fastest on the last stage netting second overall with the demise of McNeill.

Frank Kelly/ Liam Brennan stormed to third overall with their “Dunnell” powered mk2, their best ever result and more than enough to seal the esteemed “Best 2WD” award after a titanic battle all season with previous winner Brian Lawlor. Kelly was jubilant at the finish and christened himself “King of the Jungle!” Pete McCullagh/ Alan Dolan took fourth overall and their maiden Gp N victory. McCullagh moved up to a Gp N Evo 6 this season and has really come on the pace on recent events. Pete Willoughby/ Greg McCarthy completed the top five with a hired Evo 6 but were a little subdued at the finish, the Subaru Salesman at a loss as to his slow start. Another subdued crew were Brian Lawlor/ Peter Kavangh who had to be content with 6th and second in the 2WD championship awards. Lawlor couldn’t match Kelly on the day and in the spirit of competition congratulated his victor.

Andy Mackeral/ Richard Casidy had a competitive drive in the ageing Evo 4 taking 7th with a host of newer Evo’s trailing them. Locals Kevin O’Donoghue/ Con Duggan (Evo 8) on their annual forest venture were well up to speed on the second run over the stages setting top ten times taking 8th overall. John Reid/ Enda Shields (mk2) took 9th and Patrick Keenan/ Bob Kelly (Evo 7) completed the top ten. Keenan is one of the strongest supporters of the championship as he flies in from the USA for every round and was delighted to end the season with a top ten result.

Keith/ Robert Power (Ka) took class 1 spoils. Michael Doyle/ Tom Snell (205) clinched class 2. Matt Shinnors/ Denis O’Donovan (Escort) secured class 3 despite early brake failure. Danny McEvoy/ Michael Walsh (G3) took class 4 and Richard/ Robert Nugent (mk2) took class 9 honours. The event ran well, good testing stages, there were no blockages and all on time. Well done to COC; Brendan Counihan and all at Killarney District Motor Club.

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MacHALE AND NAGLE'S PERFECT FINISH
Having led the event from start to finish, Gareth MacHale took victory on Sunday's Wastewater Solutions Killarney Forestry Rally in their Toyota Corolla WRC. MacHale, from Dublin, and his Killarney-based co-driver, Paul Nagle, had already clinched the McCauley Trailers 2005 National Forest Rally Championship title in advance of this, the final round of the series, and their victory on the Castleisland-based event capped a near-perfect year.

Last year's Killarney Forestry Rally winners, Kevin O'Kane and Martin Hanna, occupied second place after the opening stage, Mullaghareirk, with traversed the Cork-Limerick border north of Meelin village. Frank Kelly and Liam Brennan made a strong start and were third fastest in their Ford Escort RS, upstaging a number of crews in modern four wheel drive cars.

Dominic McNeill and Francis Kenny in their Mitsubishi Lancer WRC2 took over third place on stage two, Forehane, and moved into second on the next test, Mount Eagle, ahead of O'Kane and Hanna. Trevor Harding and Adrian Deasy occupied fourth in their Group A Subaru Impreza WRX, but then retired at the end of stage three with an electrical problem.

Stephen Moore and Tony McHugh wrapped up the Group N award in the Championship by crossing the start line of the Killarney Forestry Rally, as by doing so they scored five bonus points having started all eight rounds of the series, and that five points was enough to put the title out of reach of their nearest rivals. They held fifth overall and led Group N after the first two stages, but later retired on stage four with a broken gear linkage. Paul Stanton and Bruce Burgess also retired on the same stage, with a blown engine - they had been holding fifth position.

Peter McCullagh and Alan Dolan took the lead of Group N on the third stage, and they remained in command of the category thereafter, finishing fourth overall, 42 seconds ahead of fellow Group N runners, Peter Willoughby and Greg McCarthy, who took fifth.

At the head of the field, the order saw no changes between stages two and five, with MacHale leading from McNeill, with O'Kane in third. However, on the sixth and final stage, McNeill slid off the road and beached his Lancer, going no further. McNeill's mishap was all the more unfortunate in that he was over a minute behind MacHale going into the stage, and nearly half a minute ahead of O'Kane, so there was little prospect of the positions changing otherwise.

Frank Kelly and Liam Brennan were thus promoted back into the top three, and were the top two-wheel drive finishers. The result sees them edge ahead of Brian Lawlor and Peter Kavanagh for Two Wheel Drive category honours in the final Championship standings. Lawlor and Kavanagh finished sixth overall on the event.

Kevin O'Donoghue and Con Duggan were the highest-placed local crew, taking eighth place in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9. Jimmy Devane and Mike Buckley were the next highest placed Killarney & District Motor Club members, finishing fifteenth overall and third in their class in their Nissan Sunny.

The Wastewater Solutions 2005 Killarney Forestry Rally was based at the River Island Hotel, Castleisland. The rally attracted 68 starters, of which 46 were classified as finishers.

1 Gareth McHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC) 48m 10s
2 Kevin O’Kane/Martin Hanna (Subaru Impreza WRC) 49m 41s
3 Frank Kelly/Liam Brennan (Escort Mk II) 51m 30s
4 Peter McCullagh Jnr/Alan Dolan (Mit. Lancer Evo 8) GpN 51m 34s
5 Pete Willoughby/Greg McCarthy (Mit. Lancer Evo 6) Gp N 52m 16s
6 Brian Lawlor/Peter Kavanagh (Escort Mk II) 52m 26s
7 Andy Mackarel/Richard Cassidy (Mit. Lancer Evo 4) 52m 51s
8 Kevin O’Donoghue/Con Duggan (Mit. Lancer Evo 8) GpN 52m 59s
9 John Reid/Enda Shields (Escort Mk II) 53m 27s
10 Patsy Keenan/Bob Kelly (Mit. Lancer Evo 7) GpN 53m 49s

Leaders:
SS1-6 Gareth McHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC)

Stat Winners:
SS1 Gareth McHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC)
SS2 Gareth McHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC)
SS3 Gareth McHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC)
SS4 Gareth McHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC)
SS5 Gareth McHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC)
SS6 Kevin O’Kane/Martin Hanna (Subaru Impreza WRC)

Results:
rally.connect.ie (Angus Sealy)

Photos:
GER LEAHY PHOTOGRAPHY & PR

• 2005 National Forestry Championship
• 2005 Ford Ka Championship

PRE EVENT NEWS

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• Time and Distance Schedule
• Revised Entry List on line
• Event Preview
• WASTEWATER SOLUTIONS TO SPONSOR KILLARNEY FORESTRY
• Regulations and Entry form available to download.
• Event Details

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• Download Time and Distance Schedule

Rally Programmes are available at the Rally HQ, The River Island Hotel in Castleisland and Petrol Stations around the Castleisland.

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31/08/05
Entry List

1 GARETH MACHALE/PAUL NAGLE (TOYOTA COROLLA WRC) [6]
2 KEVIN OKANE/MARTIN HANNA (SUBARU IMPREZA WRC) [6]
3 DOMNIC McNEILL/FRANCIS KENNY (MITSUBISHI LANCER WRC) [6]
4 TREVOR J HARDING/AIDRIAN DEASY (SUBARU IMPREZA WRX) [6]
5 STEPHEN MOORE/TONY MCHUGH (SUBARU IMPREZA N10) [8]
6 BRIAN LAWLOR/PETER KAVANAGH (ESCORT MARK2) [5]
7 PAUL STANTON/BRUCE BURGESS (ESCORT MARK2) [5]
8 FRANK KELLY/LIAM BRENNAN (ESCORT MARK2) [5]
9 PETER McCULLAGH/ALAN DOLAN (MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO 6) [8]
10 JOHN HICKEY/NICKY BURKE (SUBARU IMPREZA N8) [8]
11 ANDREW MACKAREL/RICHARD CASSIDY (MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO 4) [6]
12 MICHAEL TYNAN/CIARAN TYNAN (MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO 6) [8]
14 JUSTIN DUNNE/EOIN O FLAHERTY (MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO 6) [8]
15 ALAN RING/DEREK BRANNIGAN (MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO 7) [8]
16 KEVIN O DONOUGHE/CON DUGGAN (MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO 8) [8]
17 PATRICK KEENAN/BOB KELLY (MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO 7) [8]
18 NOEL DRIVER/JOE SHINNORS SNR. (ESCORT MARK2) [5]
19 JOHN REID/ENDA SHIELDS (ESCORT MARK2) [5]
20 EDDIE GARRY/ANN OTHER (SUBARU WRC) [6]
21 JIMMY DEVANE/MIKE BUCKLEY (NISSAN SUNNY) [5]
22 MATT SHINNORS/DENIS ODONOVAN (ESCORT MARK2) [3]
23 GORDAN COLEMAN/PAUL KELLY (NISSAN ALMERA) [5]
24 DAN MULCAHY/PATRICK NAUGHTON (FORD ESCORT COS) [6]
25 JOHN O LEARY/MICHAEL COLEMAN (MITSUBISHI EVO 6) [8]
26 PAT PRICE/SEAMUS O CONNOR (MITSUBISHI EVO 6) [8]
27 OLLIE WILLIAMS/SAC O SPUDS (ESCORT MARK2) [5]
28 RAY BENSKIN/PEADAR WALSH (ESCORT MARK2) [4]
29 DANNY MCEVOY/MICHAEL WALSH (FORD ESCORT G3) [4]
30 PAT O CONNELL/PAUL MANTON (PEUGEOT 206) [7]
31 JAMES FLYNN/JONATHON MCGRATH (HONDA CIVIC) [3]
32 SEAN W.BENSKIN/MAUL APRATI (FORD ESCORT G3) [4]
33 MICHAEL O CONNOR JNR/ SINEAD O KEEFFE (OPEL MANTA) [5]
34 CLEMENT LONERGAN/MARTIN LUDDY (HONDA CIVIC) [3]
35 PATRICK CURRAN/KEVIN BARRY (ESCORT MARK2) [3]
36 MICHAEL NEVIN/MICHAEL GARAHY (ESCORT MARK2) [2]
37 JOSEPH McDONALD/BARRY HAMILTON (ESCORT MARK2) [4]
38 IVAN BRYAN/ALISTAIR WYLLIE (TOYOTA COROLLA) [3]
39 JAMES LEHANE/ANDREW LEHANE (HONDA CIVIC) [3]
40
41 KEITH CRONIN/ANTHONY O CONNAILL (PEUGEOT 106) [7]
42 SEAN SHEEHY/LIAM WALSH (TOYOTA STARLET) [3]
43 DAVID WARREN/MICK O CONNOR (FORD ESCORT G3) [2]
44 DIARMUID LYNCH/BRIAN DOHERTY (ESCORT MARK2) [2]
45 ASHLEY MCADOO/ADAM MURRAY (OPEL CORSA) [9]
46 CONOR KELLY/JOHN S QUILL (OPEL CORSA) [9]
47 RICHARD NUGENT/ROBERT NUGENT (ESCORT MARK2) [9]
48 MICHAEL DOYLE/SOME ONELSE (PEUGEOT205) [2]
49 MICHAEL CUDDIHY/ALAN MULCAHY (SUNBEAM) [2]
50 IAN ROCHE/LIAM OCONNOR (CITREON) [2]
51 ANDREW FANNING/ALAN McCORMACK (FORD KA) [1]
52 KEITH POWER/TOBE NAMED (FORD KA) [1]
53 COLMAN KIRBY/JEMINA OTTMAN (NISSAN SUNNY) [1]
54 MARTIN KIRWAN/OLIVE COSTELLO (OPEL CORSA) [1]
55
56 KEVIN CORCORAN/SAC O SPUD (OPEL CORSA) [1]
57 KEVIN KEARNEY/MICHAEL KEARNEY (FORD KA) [1]
58 GERARD LUCEY/PETER SOMERS (TOYOTA CELICA) [5]
59 JAMES CUNNINGHAM/JOE FITZGIBBON (TOYOTA COROLLA) [3]
60 DAVID FLEMING/KIERAN DOHERTY (TOYOTA STARLET) [9]
61 SARAH MOYNIHAN/AMY MOYNIHAN (NISSAN MICRA) [9]
62 MARTIN MULCAHY/GERARD CLANCY ( VW GOLF) [2]
63 DEREK FLYNN/KIERAN HAYES (FORD ESCORT) [4]
64 MICHAEL PIGGOTT/BREEDA PIGGOTT (HONDA CIVIC) [1]
65 SHARON POWER/AMANDA GYLES (FORD KA) [1]
66
67 RAYMOND BENSKIN JNR /OLLIE KIERCE (FORD ESCORT MK 4) [2]
68 DENIS NAGLE/EIREN O DONOVAN (AVENGER) [2]
69 JOHN CURRAN/JASON O CALLAGHAN (FORD ESCORT MK 1) [2]
70 GER CULLEN/BRENDAN TYNDALL (PEUGEOT) [2]
71 DECLAN O REILLY/PAUL McMAHON (FORD ESCORT) [2]

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30/08/05
Preview
Newly crowned Forest Champions Gareth MacHale and Killarney’s Paul Nagle are hot favourites with their proven Corolla WRC. MacHale wrapped up the championship on the penultimate round in Birr and comes to the kingdom not having to think about points and can simply enjoy the fast flowing stages. Last year’s winners Kevin O’Kane/ Martin Hanna are back with their Harper run Impreza. Dominic McNeill/ Francis Kenny return to the woods with the ex-Boland Lancer WRC. James Murphy/ Anthony Nestor (Escort WRC) may spring a surprise. Philip Johnson of Wastewater Solutions plans to compete in the event driving a “Promax Ireland” Evo. Alan Ring makes his annual gravel appearance with Derek Brannigan alongside in the DJ Rallyhire Evo 8. Killarney’s Kevin O’Donoughue will use his latest spec Evo 8MR.

While the Gp N crown looks almost certain for Tyrone’s Stephen Moore (Impreza N10) most of the class honours have to be settled in Killarney. Brian Lawlor and Frank Kelly are locked in a two way tussle for the “Best 2WD” award with only 1 point between them going to Killarney. Seamus O’Connell, Paul Staunton, Adrian Hetherington, Noel Driver, and John Reid, are the other big 2WD contenders who could upset the Lawlor/ Kelly battle.

The Dineen Brothers have wrapped up class one and are saving up for next season so they will miss the final round. Mick Nevin has taken the class 2 title again this season with his trusty mk2. Clement Lonergan leads class 3 – 7 points ahead of James Flynn both using Civics’ but drop scores have to come into play. Interestingly James Flynn could be elevated out of the class awards as he on course for 3rd in the “Best 2WD” overall standings. Benskin Brothers Ray and Sean go down to the wire for the class four spoils. John Reid, James Coleman and Killarney’s Jimmy Devane come into the class five fray as Lawlor and Kelly will most likely feature in the “Best 2WD” awards eliminating them out of the class standings. Pat O’Connell has class 7 in the bag after Birr. Monaghan’s Ashley McAdoo has taken the inaugural Junior class award and comes to the Kingdom like many others for bonus points.

The first car starts at 10:00 Sunday morning, the event heads towards Rockchapel to the Mullaghareirk complex for the opening stage, followed by Forehane and Mount Eagle before service in Castleisland Mart at Lunchtime. After a repeat run through the loop of three stages the front-runners are due back at Rally HQ, River Island Hotel for a champagne reception at 17:00 followed by prizegiving later that evening.

Entries still welcome.
Contact: Brendan Counihan (COC) 087 2669714 (+353 87 2669714)

Scrutiny: from 16:00 Saturday 3rd Aherns Garage/ Castleisland Mart.

Documentation: from 16:30 Saturday 3rd Rally HQ, River Island Hotel.
(Main st. Castleisland)

Drivers Briefing: Sunday 4th Parc Ferme/ Castleisland Mart.

Service: Centralised Service Castleisland Mart after ss3.

Map Number: Discovery Series 72.

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Entry List is expected on Thursday.

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10/08/05
WASTEWATER SOLUTIONS TO SPONSOR KILLARNEY FORESTRY
It’s with great pleasure we would like to announce the WASTEWATER SOLUTIONS KILLARNEY FORESTRY RALLY 2005. Wastewater Solutions was opened in April this year by Ex Bio-Clear General Manager Philip Johnston, and is already one of the driving forces of the Effluent Treatment Industry in Ireland. Based in Cullen where there is a huge Motorsport following it only makes sense to support KDMC, and give back something to Motorsport.

Philip is making a return to competition with Promax Ireland partner Phil Morgan in the passenger Seat, and will drive a Promax Ireland prepared GpN Evo on the event as a lead into competing in the Cork 20 and Rally Ireland. The event will be based in Castleisland Again this year, with Brendan Counihan as COC. The event will cover 50 stage miles of good quality roads, with Scrutiny, Service, and Parc Ferme based at the mart. The Riverisland Hotel will be Rally Headquarters. We are hoping for a good quality entry, and to see the climax of the Championship, with local boy Paul Nagle hoping to lift the title with Gareth McHale. It should be a fantastic weekend, and we’re really happy to be involved.

The Press Launch will be confirmed shortly.

• Download Regulations and Entry Form

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05/08/05
Event Details
COC Brendan Counihan and his team have put the finishing touch to new variation of stages for the 2005 Killarney forestry Rally.

The event will have over 75 Kms of Stages in a 3 x 2 format

Scrunity, Parc Ferme, start, service and finish will be at the Mart, Castleisland

HQ: River Island Hotel, Castleisland

Regulations and more details to follow.

• 2005 National Forestry Championship
• 2005 Ford Ka Championship