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Lurgan Park Rally - (Sat) 11 Aug 07Posted: August 15, 2007 2:51 PM - 12731 Hits
Posted: August 15, 2007 2:51 PM
Gritty drive from Lynch in Lurgan Park Dungiven’s Kevin Lynch took his Ford Focus WRC to a hard fought victory on last weekend’s Turkington Lurgan Park Rally, with British Rally Champion Mark Higgins 2nd in his Subaru and Kenny McKinstry, also in an Impreza, 3rd. Garry Jennings was the group N winner for the 3rd time in his Lancer while Darren Gass scored victory in class 2 in his Citroen. Unfortunately a last stage accident when Dickie Curran’s Lancer slid across the wet grass into some spectators marred proceedings at Lurgan Park. Emergency services were however on the scene immediately and although four people were taken to the nearby Craigavon Area Hospital, their injuries were described as “non life threatening”. Just two of the casualties were subsequently detained, one in Craigavon with an injured shoulder and one in the Royal Victoria with a broken leg. Both were expected to be released fairly quickly. Officials of the organising North Armagh Motorcycle and Car Club Ltd had already decided to cut one stage from the card because of the difficult weather conditions Mark Higgins led the event initially and at the halfway mark, after 4 stages, was almost 7s ahead of Kevin Lynch. Conditions were wet and treacherous and traction was at a premium. For stage 5 Lynch changed the mapping on his Focus to gravel specification and clawed 2s back from Higgins. Mark had also made a little change to the differential settings on his Subaru but was complaining of an inside wheel lifting. He seemed to lose his dominant edge at this point and this gave Lynch a chink of victory hope. British Rally Champion Higgins tried very hard in stage 6, mindful of losing the 2s in stage 5, but his Subaru slid off the track briefly and he lost 10s to his previous time, allowing Lynch into a lead he wasn’t to lose. Lynch had maintained even as he slipped further behind Higgins in the early stages that the rally wasn’t over until the last stage. It seemed unfounded optimism at the time but in the end it was a remarkable fourth Lurgan Park victory for Lynch and just reward for a very gritty drive in the difficult conditions. Kenny McKinstry, for so many years the King of the Park, had to be content with 3rd place, the Banbridge man just simply not able to match the pace of the two in front. Castlederg’s James Gillen, despite not having rallied for almost a year, was 4th overall, this time driving an Impreza WRC for the first time. Enniskillen’s Garry Jennings led Group N virtually from the start and resisted pressure from Niall McShea who had made a last minute switch from a world rally car to a group N Lancer. Michael Curran gave Jennings a run for his money over the early stages but slipped back towards the end and had to be content with 3rd in GpN. Charlie Donnelly had worked his way up to 3rd overall following a fastest time in stage 6 but then put his Corolla off the road in stage 7. Neale Dougan retired his ex Lynch Impreza WRC with transmission trouble and Denis Biggerstaff also went out with gearbox trouble. Richard Hogg was having a battle throughout the day with James Gillen but Hogg spun his Octavia on the last stage and dropped to 9th. Nigel Worswick also lost a few places on the leaderboard when he had an off road excursion in his Escort WRC. Kris Meeke was driving a Mk2 Escort but he retired after 3 stages when the engine gave trouble, Wesley Patterson finishing best of the Escorts. Turkington Lurgan Park Top 10: 1 Kevin Lynch/Francis Regan (Ford Focus WRC) 13.32.2 2 Mark Higgins/Michael Gibson (Subaru Impreza WRC) 13.40.6 3 Kenny McKinstry/Noel Orr (Subaru Impreza WRC) 13.46.5 4 James Gillen/PJ Gillespie (Subaru Impreza) 14.12.2 5 Garry Jennings/Darragh Mullan (Mit. Lancer Evo 9) GpN 14.15.5 6 Niall McShea/Steven McAloon (Mit. Lancer Evo) GpN 14.19.9 7 Mike Curran/Brid Deary (Mit. Lancer Evo 9) GpN 14.21.3 8 John & Amanda McKeown (Escort RS Cosworth) 14.25.2 9 Richard Hogg/Mark Hanna (Skoda Octavia WRC) 14.27.0 10 Nigel Worswick/Clive Molyneaux (Ford Escort WRC) 14.33.0 Official Statements issued by Barry Taggart, Clerk of the Course of Lurgan Park Rally/North Armagh Motorcycle & Car Club Limited, following the stage 7 incident:- Saturday evening @ 19.00 hrs: It is with regret that North Armagh Motorcycle & Car Club Limited announced that an accident occurred on special stage 7 of the Lurgan Park Rally at 16.34 hours on 11th August 2007. As a result of the incident, 4 spectators were taken to Craigavon Area Hospital from where none are reported to have life threatening injuries. A full investigation has been instigated by representatives of both North Armagh Motorcycle & Car Club Limited and the RACMSA. Sunday @ 15.00 hrs: North Armagh Motorcycle & Car Club Limited is able to provide an updated medical report following the incident at the Lurgan Park Rally on Saturday. Two female spectators were released directly from Craigavon Area Hospital Accident & Emergency Department on Saturday evening. A male spectator has been detained at Craigavon Area Hospital awaiting further investigations, but his condition is comfortable and stable. A second male spectator was transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast for treatment of a leg fracture. His condition is also comfortable and stable. PRE EVENT NEWS
08/08/07 “LURGAN PARK NO DOODLE” SAYS LYNCH This Saturday’s Turkington Lurgan Park Rally once again has all the ingredients for a great event, with a top class invited entry prepared to battle it out over eight special stages through the twists and turns of Craigavon Borough Council’s beautiful Park. There is £5,500 prize money at stake but more than that is the prestige of one of Northern Ireland’s most famous sporting events with its 27 year history. British Rally Champion Mark Higgins, driving the same Pirelli Subaru in which he won the Circuit of Ireland, will lead the cars away from the ceremonial start in the Park at 10.45 for the first of the eight special stages in the park, starting at 11.00. Behind Mark is the man who has dominated the Park for the last three years, Kevin Lynch, and running at No.3 is ten times Lurgan Park winner Kenny McKinstry. The leading GpN entries are Garry Jennings and Michael Curran who start at 11 and 12 in their respective Mitsubishi Lancers. Killarney Rally of the Lakes winner and former British Junior Rally Champion, Kris Meeke, heads the exciting Escort Challenge part of the event and starts at 36 closely followed by Wesley Patterson and current NI Championship leader Glenn Allen, all in Mk2 Escorts. Meeke’s example is supplied by Den Motorsport. Top Ten: 1 Mark Higgins/Michael Gibson (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2 Kevin Lynch/Francis Regan (Ford Focus WRC) 3 Kenny McKinstry/Noel Orr (Subaru Impreza WRC) 4 Niall McShea/Steven McAloon (Subaru Impreza WRC) 5 Neale Dougan/Rory Doyle (Subaru Impreza WRC) 6 Charlie Donnelly/Andrew Mullen (Toyota Corolla WRC) 7 Denis Biggerstaff/Robin McCandless (Subaru Impreza WRC) 8 James Gillen/PJ Gillespie (Subaru Impreza) 9 Richard Hogg/Mark Hanna (Skoda Octavia WRC) 10 Nigel Worswick/Clive Molyneaux (Ford Escort WRC) Speaking at a pre-event Press Conference in the Lough Neagh Discovery Centre last year’s winner Kevin Lynch commented. “Whoever wins will be going hard. You’ll not doodle round and win, that’s for sure. It’s down to a second here and a second there that counts, and a couple of seconds will decide it. Whoever gets it will deserve it and I’ll certainly be trying for my 4th win”. Kevin’s three previous victories have all been in Subaru’s and this time he is in his Focus. He has been having difficulty at times with the set up of the car, but a storming run to victory on last Saturday’s Dogleap Stages reinforced his feeling that he has it about right now. From his current base in Wales, Manxman Mark Higgins said, “It’s been a last minute deal but I’m very much looking forward to coming back to Lurgan Park. I’ll be more familiar with the car this time and I’d really like to win. Kevin beat me last time although we had no launch control on the Hyundai then, and you just can’t afford to lose half a second off the start line on every stage. We’ll probably run a slightly softer suspension set up on the Subaru for Lurgan, and we’ll see how it goes”. For Kenny McKinstry, whose daughter Emma is also competing on the rally this year, it’s a short trip over from his Banbridge rally preparation and lawnmower business to Lurgan Park, and Kenny freely admits. “Certainly over the years Lurgan Park has been very special for me. It’s always a great occasion. Certainly I’d love to win again but it’s getting harder and harder every year, the pace is fantastic and you can’t afford the slightest slip. Every corner counts!” Behind the top three is a fabulous array of cars and drivers. Former Production World Rally Champion Niall McShea is at 4, Scotsman Neale Dougan is at 5 and Dunlop National Champion Charlie Donnely at 6. Just some of the interesting names further down the list include Limerick’s Colm Murphy, the current Tarmac GpN Champion at 17 in his Impreza and Neil McCance (Lancer), the former NI GpN Champion is at 21. Young Darren Gass from Armagh, who is making such a strong impression on the British Rally Chanmpionship this year, is seeded at 29 in his brilliant little Citroen C2. Speaking at the reception, The Worshipful the Mayor of Craigavon, Councillor Robert Smith, assured the organisers, the North Armagh Motorcycle & Car Club, plus all the guests, of another warm welcome in Craigavon. Gary Tukington of Turkington Holdings emphasised to Clerk of the Course Barry Taggart and Event Director William Fullerton how delighted their company is to continue their association with the rally Cool FM’s Sonya Mac set to Rally Ka in the Park Sonya Mac and Safron Thomas are the only all female team to compete in the prestigious Turkington Lurgan Park Rally this Saturday 11th August in their Philip White Tyres Ka. At last year’s event, the team were given the honour of running as a double-0 car at the beginning of the field, but have gained bona fide competitor status this year. Sonya, who is competing in the Pacenotes Northern Ireland Rally Championship has been looking forward to this event since the finish ramp of last years Lurgan Park Rally. ‘The Turkington Lurgan Park Rally is a fantastic event and we really enjoyed it last year even though we weren’t technically competing. The park is a first class venue for both competitors and spectators and I cant wait to bring the Philip White Tyres Ka to the rally. ‘It can be very slippery if its wet and the big trees are a constant threat to the wellbeing of the Ka’s bodywork, but we’ll hope for a dry day and try to keep Tango’d on the tarmac as best we can on Saturday.’ This year’s rally will again have the tried and tested format of 8 short sharp snappy stages over the asphalt and gravel lanes of Craigavon Borough Council’s beautiful Lurgan Park. The theme of a central paddock service area, easy access and convenient location makes the event ideal as a family day out, as well as an opportunity for the drivers to invite along family, friends and sponsors, which all adds to the atmosphere. Sonya and Safron’s next event is the team sponsor’s signature event, the Philip White Tyres Ulster International Rally on the 31st August and 1st September 2007 in Armagh. Sonya Mac’s Ford Ka is prepared by Harper Rally Preparation and sponsored by Philip White Tyres, Pirelli and 974 Cool FM
neillpics.co.uk 07/08/07 Willie Singleton back in action at the Lurgan Park Rally County Armagh's Willie Singleton is set to make a comeback to rallying this weekend behind the wheel of his Setanta Sports Ford Escort Cosworth at the popular Turkington Lurgan Park Rally! More than 10,000 spectators are expected to arrive in Lurgan for the prestigious event, which sees Singleton take on some of Ireland's leading drivers in his PVC Windowman backed car. The Markethill man, who was forced out of action last year after breaking his leg, is raring to go in his potent rally car. "Hopefully, it'll be a dry weekend!" Singleton enthused. "The car is going really well and I'm really looking forward to a proper rally. I've finally got the all clear from my doctor to go rallying again, and I can't wait!" Since breaking his leg, Singleton has had very limited outings behind the wheel. He competed at February's Kirkistown Rally, and despite still feeling pain from the injury, he finished in a very respectable 17th overall. After the event, his doctor advised him to rest for a few more months, so Singleton is relieved to be able to compete once again. His bright yellow car was formerly owned by Belgian Patrick Snijers, who is a former Lurgan Park Rally winner. Snijers has not entered this year's event but there will be plenty of opposition for Singleton to contend with. He will tackle eight stages within the confines of the beautiful park venue, in what is a short and sharp, highly specialised rally, and is regarded as one of the most prestigious events in the Irish rally calendar. The rally starts shortly after 10am on Saturday. 31/07/07 LURGAN PARK ACTION LOOMING The Turkington Lurgan Park Rally, (Sat 11th Aug) is shaping up once again to have a superbly high profile, with 45 invited drivers in a variety of cars set to battle for honours over the tight twists and turns of the Park. Kevin Lynch in his Focus World Rally Car has won twice in the last two years and he will be bidding for another win to make it a hat-trick. A bonus for the Dungiven services contractor, if he wins, will be taking home the lion’s share of the £5500.00 prize money. Doing his utmost to deprive Kevin will be Kenny McKinstry plus a host of other top drivers. For over ten years Kenny was dubbed ‘King of the Park’, as he was virtually unbeateable except for the occasional special visitor such as Gwyndaf Evans in superior machinery. Banbridge man Kenny always maintained the difficulty associated with the high pressure environment of the Park, “You have to get every corner of every stage just right, there is no chance to make up time if you make a mistake." That still stands, but Lynch has been getting the corners even more right than anyone else over the past couple of years. Banbridge man Kenny, along with a selection of other top drivers such as Irish National Champion Charlie Donnelly in his Corolla WRC, Co Down’s Denis Biggerstaff in his Subaru and Limavady’s Richard Hogg in his ex World Championship Skoda Octavia will be just some bidding for top glory in the beautiful Lurgan Park. Still in the formative stage, there is also the possibility of an entry from British Rally Champion Mark Higgins driving the Pirelli Subaru Impreza WRC with which he won this year’s Circuit of Ireland. Manxman Mark, an outstandingly competitive driver, was beaten by Lynch to runner spot by a short head in the Park two years ago, and he dearly wants to come back to extract revenge! The battle for honours in the Production category will be no less intense than the race for overall honours, and Tarmac GpN Champion Colm Murphy plans to make the trip up from Limerick to race his Impreza against the Lancers of Garry Jennings, Michael Curran and Neil McCance, to name just a few. Big action is also expected from the Mk2 Escort Challenge contenders, with drivers such as Seamus O’Connell, Frank Kelly, Wesley Patterson and Fintan McGrady sure to provide lots of sideways thrills. Class contender Darren Gass in his brilliant little Citroen C2 will also be bidding for glory and wild cards on the rally will include former Production World Rally Champion Niall McShea. Enniskillen man Niall has yet to nominate a car, but whatever he ends up with, he will be quick! Always a big attraction in Lurgan Park is that the action is all there right inside the Park. A central paddock adds to the family motorsport day ambience of this special day. The Craigavon Borough Council has as usual spruced the Park into beautiful condition for this year’s rally, and is lending it’s full support along with Turkingtons. There will be all sorts of attractions for the children, as well the grown-ups, to make it another memorable day on the Turkington Lurgan Park Rally. 15/05/07 Lynch for Lurgan. The Craigavon based Turkington Holdings Ltd., concern has committed to backing the Lurgan Park Rally for a further 2 years, ensuring the continued prominence of one of Northern Ireland’s highest profile motoring events. The rally, now known as the Turkington Lurgan Park Rally will take place in Lurgan Park on Saturday 11th August. This year’s rally will again have the tried and tested format of 8 short sharp snappy stages over the asphalt and gravel lanes of Craigavon Borough Council’s beautiful Lurgan Park. The theme of a central paddock service area, easy access and convenient location makes the event ideal as a family day out, as well as an opprtunity for the drivers to invite along family, friends and sponsors, which all adds to the atmosphere. The entry is just opening, and will be restricted to invited drivers, so that the organisers, the North Armagh Motor Cycle and Car Club (NAMCC), can ensure top class exciting competition. Turkington Holdings stepped in last year to back the rally, and have promised even greater support this and next year. The Turkington family are of course great motorsport supporters and Colin Turkington is currently competing in the British Touring Car Championship. Gary Turkington spoke about the company’s renewed backing for the Turkington Lurgan Park Rally: “We are really pleased to give our support to such a worthwhile and unique event in the local area, and we are delighted to be again working closely with the NAMCC and Craigavon Council to ensure the event is a roaring success. Last year we were glad to secure the immediate future of the rally, now we are looking forward to continuing the association for the next couple of years. We are looking forward to a great days racing and a fantastic day for all the spectators." Last year’s winner Kevin Lynch is keen to defend his Lurgan Park victory crown and commented from his Dungiven base, “I’d be keen to fit it in to my schedule. The rally is like a mini International, very important , a prestige event. I’d be very keen to give it another whirl. It’s a big thing to win in Lurgan Park. The adrenalin really gets going, it’s a short sharp rally, the first stage is vital, to get a good time. If you get it wrong its very hard to get the seconds back. It takes a lot of bravery for those tight stages through the trees. There are always new drivers coming on the scene, as well as lot of big names, so no doubt it won’t be easy to win again.” Kevin’s victory last year was achieved in a Subaru WRC. This season he has switched to a Ford Focus WRC. He already has several victories under his belt and is keen to maintain the winning form. Clerk of the Course of the rally is again Barry Taggart, with William Fullerton acting as Event Director.
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