Tipperary Stonethrowers Stages Rally - 10 Aug 08

In Cars.....

Posted: August 24, 2008 9:14 PM

Terence O’Shaughnessy/Eugene McGrath (Toyota Corolla 2.5 RWD) SS4


Jason Ollerenshaw / Colin Fitzgerald (Honda Civic) SS7

Rally Hire Ireland get off to a dream start

Posted: August 15, 2008 12:52 PM

Last weekend team principle of rally hire Ireland Adrian Mc Elhinney and co-driver Shane Buckley got off to a dream start to there C2R2 cup with 2nd place in the Stonethrower rally, the crew had minor problems with intercom failure earlier in the day, and in the second half of the day the changeable weather made tyre choice a nightmare. At the end Adrian commented “we wanted to get points today and second place is incredible. Fair play to Marty (McCormack) he drove excellent all day”.

The crew have further testing planed ahead of the Ulster rally, and are really looking forward to it. Co-driver Shane Buckley said at the Clonmel finish “Excellent days rallying! Hopefully now with a bit of testing we will get those few little problems sorted out, and will be on course for another points finish in the Ulster”.

Both Adrian and Shane would like to thank their sponsors
www.carsdirect.ie
Ballybofey Autofactors
Donegal Cabs
www.rallyhireireland.com

Video Clips

Posted: August 13, 2008 1:58 PM

ELLIOTT MOVES CLOSER TO DUNLOP CROWN
(Report courtesy of Irish Dunlop – sponsors of the Irish National Rally Championship)

Posted: August 13, 2008 1:43 PM

CAVAN’s Patrick Elliott (Subaru WRC) took an important victory in the Sepam Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally, the seventh round of the Dunlop National Rally Championship. Co-driven by Paul Goodman, he finished 9.3 seconds ahead of the Subaru WRC of Monaghan’s, Niall Maguire and co-driver, Enda Sherry.

The event was in the balance all the way through, entering the final stage, Maguire was just 0.5 of a second ahead of his great rival. However, Maguire’s Subaru suffered a puncture a few miles before the finish of the final stage and Elliott took victory and a two-point lead in the Dunlop National Rally Championship. Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally (Subaru WRC) were third. Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy (Subaru) won the Group N category.

Maguire (Subaru WRC) posted the quickest time on the opening stage at Newcastle and opened up a 4.2 second lead over arch-rival Elliott (Subaru WRC) with Aaron MacHale (Ford Focus WRC) a further 1.3 seconds behind in third. Another Subaru duo, Kevin Barrett and PJ McGrath, were next with sixth placed Keith Cronin (Mitsubishi) leading the Group N category where Dunlop contender, Eamonn Daly (Mitsubishi) lost time with turbo trouble. In the two-wheel drive category, Trevor Mulligan (Escort) held a 1.9 second advantage over the Toyota Starlet of Maurice Moffett.

On the second stage, Maguire, who found the chicanes a trifle difficult to negotiate, extended his lead by a mere second with MacHale, who experienced a slight overshoot, dropping some 19.9 seconds behind second placed Elliott, who reckoned the suspension of his Subaru needed a little tweaking. Kevin Barrett held fourth while fifth placed PJ McGrath (Subaru) opined that wrong tyre choices were costing him valuable time.

Meanwhile, Keith Cronin continued to dominate Group N, adjustments to the suspension set-up yielded a much-improved performance from his Mitsubishi. Maurice Moffett moved into a 7.4 second advantage over Trevor Mulligan in the battle for the two-wheel drive supremacy, the latter stalled his Escort at one junction. The top ten also included Terence O’Shaughnessy (Toyota Corolla) and David James (Ford Focus WRC).

Maguire gained 4.4 seconds on S.S. 3 even though he damaged a rim of his Subaru, Elliott posted his first fastest time of the day on S.S. 4, albeit a half a second faster than Maguire, who arrived at the Powerstown Racecourse service halt with a lead of 9.1 seconds, “I’m really going hard, but so is Patrick (Elliott), there’s very little in it.” he said. Meanwhile, Aaron MacHale lost over a minute on each stage when his Ford Focus WRC lost all differential pressure, he also had to revert to manual gear change. That promoted Kevin Barrett into third, however, the Maynooth driver admitted that an incorrect tyre choice cost him time. Fourth placed PJ McGrath spun his Subaru on S.S. 4 and lost the opportunity to close on Barrett. Group N leader, Cronin, fifth in general classification, was trying various permutations in terms of suspension set-up and although his choice for S.S. 4 was completely wrong, his showroom lead was never in doubt.

A charging Mulligan regained control in the two-wheel drive category, he was 7.2 seconds ahead of the Toyota Corolla of Terence O’Shaughnessy, meanwhile, Moffett was a further 10.3 seconds in arrears. David James (Ford Focus WRC) held ninth and Alan Ring (Mitsubishi) was tenth. Ring, some 50 seconds behind Cronin, stated that his performance through the repeat of the stages was a vast improvement to his initial outing. Eamonn Daly (Mitsubishi) lost further time when he made an unscheduled visit to a lawn.

Elliott reduced the deficit to 0.9 of a second on S.S. 5 where Maguire admitted he was a little too cautious. Then, on Stage 6, Elliott threw all his hard work away when he stalled his Subaru at a hairpin and lost some ten seconds.

At the final service halt, Maguire led Elliott by 4.2 seconds with Barrett well secure in third. PJ McGrath spun yet again, this time on S.S. 6, he held fourth. Group N pacesetter, Keith Cronin slid his Mitsubishi out of the rally on S.S. 6 promoting top two-wheel drive exponent, Terence O’Shaughnessy (Toyota Corolla) into fifth followed by rivals, Trevor Mulligan and Maurice Moffett.

Alan Ring, the new Group N leader, held eighth in a top ten that also included Aaron MacHale and the Escort Cosworth of Jack Maguire.

Out on penultimate stage, Elliott cut Maguire’s advantage to a mere half a second and all hinged on the final stage. Maguire’s rear wheel punctured a few miles from the finish, a subsequent spin at a junction cost him more time and Elliott emerged victorious by a margin of 9.3 seconds. Barrett and McGrath were third and fourth respectively. Carlow’s, Terence O’Shaughnessy (Toyota Corolla) was the top two-wheel drive exponent, he finished an impressive fifth overall – 4.8 seconds ahead of Maurice Moffett, Mulligan was a late retirement.

MacHale’s recovery ended in seventh place; Alan Ring (Mitsubishi) won the showroom category and while Russell Woods (Ford Escort) and Jack Maguire (Escort Cosworth) completed the top ten.

McCORMACK MASTERS ROUND FOUR OF C2 R2 IRISH CUP

Posted: August 13, 2008 1:39 PM

Martin McCormack and Liam Moynihan emerged as the victorious on round four of the C2 R2 Irish Cup, on the Tipperary Stonethrowers rally, based in Clonmel. This superb eight stage event, provided the hottest C2 R2 competition of the year for these 1600cc hot hatches. With no less than 10 identical C2 R2’s starting it proved to be a hectic race. Winner of the last round, Tipperary’s Paul Manton was really warming up for his home round, and he didn’t disappoint, taking an early second place really pushing Martin McCormack, as the cars clocked into service after two stages. In third place, running late on the road, amongst the second group of C2’s was Donegal driver Adrian McElhinney despite intercom problems on the opening loop, the problem only cured when he swapped helmets with his co driver. In fourth at this stage was young Martin Tynan, who confessed to being happy with the handling of his little C2 R2, whilst Martin McCormack was fast from the outset, the Draperstown driver also desperate for a finish. Sadly there were a few drivers destined not to finish. Graham Kelly was the first casualty, sliding the little C2 into a ditch on a slippy braking area, on the first stage, and Cork’s John Quill retired with a small fire after a gearbox problem. But the most prominent retirement was championship leader Barry Evans, retiring in service after severe gearbox trouble on stage two, so suddenly at the front there was more to be gained in the points race. But one driver not to benefit from the points race was 19 year old Sam Moffett, who clipped a rock on stage one, punctured, damaged the suspension and dropped 13 minutes, continuing in the rally to try and collect points, but just missing out in seventh place.

Rounding off the top six at the finish was Comber driver David Johnston, in his first season of rallying, and his stage times are improving by the mile, as he came closer to the times of fifth place finisher, last years British C2 Champion Martin Laverty. These two drivers reported trouble free rallies. At the front of the field however the leader-board was about to be turned around dramatically, as second placed Paul Manton made a critical error on stage four sliding the C2 into a ditch and losing 40 seconds, a loss that relegate him to fourth at the finish. As the rally moved into the afternoon loop Martin McCormack maintained his lead, as conditions at times were tricky, with light showers making the roads slippery. Adrian McElhinney now moved into second place, in an excellent first showing in the C2 R2 Irish Cup, and Martin Tynan finished a fine third. But the day belonged to Martin McCormack and Liam Moynihan.

Martin was understandably relived and excited at the Clonmel Park Hotel finish
“We knew we had to get a finish today, so we were a little cautious on the first loop, but we picked up the pace after that, and I’m absolutely delighted to score a win. We were actually contemplating taking another type of car to the Ulster rally, as we have had such a trying run recently in the C2 Cups, and we knew before the start of the rally that the result today would make our decision. So now we are looking forward to the Ulster, particularly as it’s a double header round of the C2 R2 Irish Cup, and it’s a round of the British C2 Cup, so really it’s the ultimate round of the year.” The Ulster Rally is just two weeks away, and the C2 runners have the added bonus of comparing their stage times with the works Citroen C2 R2 Max which will be present on the Ulster.

CITROEN C2 R2 IRISH CUP- ROUND FOUR- RESULTS
1 Martin McComack/ Liam Moynihan C2R2
2 Adrian McElhinney/ Shane Buckley C2R2
3 Martin Tynan/ Ciaran Tynan C2R2
4 Paul Manton/ John Carroll C2 R2
5 Martin Laverty/ Trevor Payne C2 R2

Hundreds of Photos!

Posted: August 13, 2008 1:36 PM

James Burke Motorsport Photography
crspics.com - Counihan Rallysport Pictures
Totally Sideways
Hassett Motorsport Photography
LINK REMOVED - Sideway Shot Motor Sport Photography
Sport Limerick
Roy Dempster Photos
rallyprint.com - Trevor McGrath

Results

Posted: August 13, 2008 12:39 PM

1 Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC) 62m 53s,
2 Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry (Subaru Impreza WRC) 63m 02s,
3 Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally (Subaru Impreza WRC) 64m 45s,
4 P J McGrath/Billy Collins (Subaru Impreza WRC) 65m 35s,
5 Terence O’Shaughnessy/Eugene McGrath (Toyota Corolla 2.5 RWD) 66m 26s,
6 Maurice Moffett/Jason McKenna (Toyota Starlet RWD) 66m 31s,
7 Aaron MacHale/Killian Duffy (Ford Focus WRC) 66m 48s,
8 Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy (Mit. Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 67m 12s,
9 Russell Woods/Martin Byrne (Ford Escort Mk II) 67m 40s,
10 Jack Maguire/Paul Maguire (Ford Escort RS Cosworth) 68m 04s.

Group N Production class:
1 Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy,
2 Daniel Barry/Mark Bowens (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 68m 07s,
3 Sean Flanagan/Brian Duggan (Impreza) 68m 34s.

Leaders After
SS1-8 Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS9 Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC)

Stage Winners
SS1 Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS2 Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS3 Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS4 Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS5 Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS6 Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS7 Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS8 Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC)

• Download Main Field Results & Times

• Download Junior Results & Times

Rallynews (by Brian & Liz Patterson)

Tipperary Motor Club

Final Instructions available

Posted: August 8, 2008 3:20 PM

Tipperary Motor Club

ANOTHER TRIP TO TIPP FOR DUNLOP CONTENDERS
(Preview courtesy of Irish Dunlop – sponsors of the Irish National Rally Championship)

Posted: August 8, 2008 2:46 PM

THE intense battle at the top of the Dunlop National Rally Championship leaderboard enters another crucial phase with Sunday’s eight stage Clonmel based Sepam Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally. Former triple champion, Niall Maguire (Subaru WRC) and his nemesis, Patrick Elliott (Subaru WRC), who has finished runner-up on three occasions, are joint leaders of the ten round series.

The Clonmel event, organised by the Tipperary Light Car and Motor Cycle Club, returns to the national series after the “opt-out” rule that applied last season, no doubt, it will have a crucial bearing on the eventual destiny of the national title.

Throughout the previous six rounds, there has been precious little between the title-chasing duo. In fact in terms of overall time for the entire six rounds – involving almost seven hours of competition, Elliott has covered the distance just 12.5 seconds quicker than Maguire.

Consistency has been a hallmark of the current campaign and it is the first time in recent years that both drivers have finished all of the rounds to date. As the series moves towards its conclusion and with both competitors level on points, the accumulation of their 112-point’s tally is significant.

Elliott has three maximum scores of 20 points while Maguire has two, however, Maguire has garnered 18 points from the other four rounds. Elliott also has two-18 point packages and one of 16 points. Just to illustrate the intensity of their campaigns, they were separated by a tie-break on the Circuit of Kerry earlier in the season.

Elliott has no particular plan for Tipperary where he is the top seed, “It will be business as usual, I’m very happy with the new car. Mathematically, I can tie up the series if I win the next two rounds, but that’s a tall order, so we’ll have to wait and see.”

Meanwhile, Maguire knows that he has to get that all-important maximum score to tilt the balance in his favour; however, Tipperary hasn’t been a favourite stomping ground for the Monaghan driver. One, if not the most experienced Dunlop campaigners, he remarked, “I think it will go all the way, I really want this fourth title, it would be a nice achievement. The plan is to go as hard as possible.”

Defending national champion, Aaron MacHale (Ford Focus WRC), who won the opening round in Mayo, makes a return to the series and will try to win the event that was won by his younger brother, Gareth last year.

Maynooth’s, Kevin Barrett (Subaru WRC) can strengthen his third place position in the national series, he will line up just behind MacHale.

Elsewhere, the top ten also includes Wexford pair, PJ McGrath (Subaru WRC) and David James (Ford Focus WRC). The race for the Patterson's RallyNews Group N award is also finely poised with series leader, Eamonn Daly (Mitsubishi) some three points ahead of former champion, Alan Ring, also in a Mitsubishi, they are seeded at seven and eight respectively.

Billy Coleman Award winner, Keith Cronin, who has been selected to represent Ireland in the Pirelli Star Driver Scheme shoot-out in Austria next October, is using the event as a shakedown for the Ulster Rally later this month. The top ten is completed by Meath’s, Trevor Mulligan in his ultra quick Mk. 2 Ford Escort, he leads Class 14 in the Dunlop series. Indeed, the two-wheel drive category should prove interesting fare with others such as Maurice Moffett (Toyota Starlet), who is five points behind Mulligan, Terence O’Shaughnessy (Toyota Starlet), James Coleman, Shay Power, Liam Wall, Russell Woods and Mick McQuaid all in Ford Escorts, also on the entry list.

Other entries include another former Billy Coleman Award winner, Stuart Darcy (Subaru), Mitsubishi Evo contender, Daniel Barry, Anthony O’Halloran (Mitsubishi) and Sean Flanagan (Subaru).

In Class 6, Mark Sheehan (Renault Clio) could become the first driver to secure a class win - he is 36 points ahead of Ian Roche, also in a Renault Clio.

Local aces seeking a strong results are Cahir’s, Andrew fanning (Ford puma); Clonmel’s, Michael Ormond (Honda Civic); Cashel’s, paul manton (Citroen C2R2), Michael Cummins (Mitsubishi) and Raymond Heney (Toyota Corolla) along with Clonmel’s, Barry O’Keeffe (Toyota Starlet) and Barry Hayes (Peugeot 205).

Time and Distance Schedule

Posted: August 6, 2008 11:14 AM

Tipperary Motor Club

Cronin & Barry enter Stonethrowers for pre-Ulster Shakedown

Posted: July 28, 2008 1:05 PM

Evo Challenge UK front runners Keith Cronin and Daniel Barry have entered the Stonethrowers as a shakedown ahead of the next round of the Evo Challenge, the Ulster Rally.

Entry List Available

Posted: July 28, 2008 12:19 PM

Entry list is available on new club website:

Tipperary Motor Club

Rally Launch - Wed 9th July

Posted: June 25, 2008 4:02 PM

This years rally launch will take place on Wednesday the 9th of July. Some of Ireland's top drivers will be in attendance including the famous Donnelly brothers Eugene and Charlie. Eugene of course being the current Irish Tarmac Champion and Charlie being a former National Irish Tarmac Champion.

Rosemary Smith, the glamorous Dublin driver of Hillman Imp fame and winning the 1965 Tulip Rally outright. Dougie Hughes the legendary voice of Irish rallying who is going to break a world record later this year for 56 years commentating will also be in attendance.

More Details:

Tipperary Motor Club

Regulations available

Posted: January 28, 2008 10:42 PM

Tipperary Motor Club