Killarney International Rally of Lakes - 2-3 May 09

Four-some! Breen takes 4th straight Fiesta victory

Posted: May 8, 2009 1:49 PM

After his Pirelli International success a fortnight before, Kilmurry rally star Craig Breen returned to Irish Fiesta Sporting Trophy duties in last weekend’s (2/3 May) Killarney International Rally of the Lakes - and was once again the man to beat.

However, this would prove to be the young Waterford ace’s toughest event yet.

As Craig explains, “the rally started on Saturday morning with a daunting run up the world famous Molls Gap. After my big crash on the Circuit of Ireland, I was anxious to bring the car home in one piece - but also keen to get a respectable time on the board. I caught a slower car, which upset my rhythm and cost me vital seconds”.

Indeed he found himself well down the time-sheets at the finish. With their rivals laying down faster times, Craig and his navigator Gareth Roberts knew they needed to gather themselves and mount a charge - but couldn’t quite pull it off on the second stage.

As rain began to fall, Craig dropped more time after again coming across two slower cars that inadvertently baulked him as he tried to find his way past.

With a brief halt in the service area, his Tom Gahan Motorsport mechanics quickly made changes to the little Fiesta ST’s suspension which would prove to be crucial.

Craig promptly set the fastest time in the following stage, as his rivals failed to match his pace - or crashed trying.

“I remember saying to Gareth as we came back into the service park, ‘we’re a little bit faster now but there’s still lots of room for improvement’. But we were now up to second place and I was getting into my stride”.

Another fastest time on stage five brought the Gallo-Irish pair to within two seconds of the lead. It was now time to ‘give it death’, as they say in rallying and a stunning drive saw them develop what was to become an unassailable advantage, as the other crews struggled to make it to the finish line.

“Gareth and I are over the moon,” Craig told waiting journalists. “We had a hell of a lot of luck, especially as our competitors pushed us hard but began to fall by the wayside. Luck can be a factor in rallying and thankfully, today it was on our side!”

Saturday’s triumph has extended Breen and Roberts’ lead in the Irish Fiesta Sporting Trophy Championship to put them fifteen points clear of their nearest rivals.

SO NEAR FOR EUGENE DONNELLY IN KILLARNEY, BUT STILL THE CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER SO FAR

Posted: May 8, 2009 12:58 PM

After victories on the opening two rounds of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, in Galway and the Circuit of Ireland, the Donnelly Motorsport team were in confident mood as they headed for Killarney and round three, the famous Rally of the Lakes. Dry weather, and then prospect of the fast, flowing Killarney roads, made for high speeds on the May Bank Holiday weekend, as the massive crowds rolled into Killarney for the two day rally feast. The Skoda Fabia WRC had been re- worked for the Killarney roads, by the McGeehan Motorsport team, and Eugene was aiming for his second Killarney victory. The event started well for Eugene, co driver Paddy Toner and the Digiprintz Fabia WRC. After stage three Gortnagane, Tim McNulty in the S12 B Subaru had stolen the early march, with Gareth MacHale second in the 2005 Focus, and Eugene in the more outdated Skoda third, just nineteen seconds off the lead. But that third place was soon to become second, as leader McNulty slid off for one minute on stage four, and after stage six, the re run of Gortnagane, Eugene was second to MacHale just two seconds behind. “I was happy with our first day, and after stage eight the days final test, we were just two seconds behind, with Eamonn Boland not far behind us. We hadn’t taken any real chances however and really a large part of the rally had to be played out on Sunday afternoon. The car and the Kumho Tyres were working well in the dry conditions, and we were happy.”

First thing on Sunday morning were runs over the classic Molls Gap and Tim Healey Pass stages, and by the end of stage 10 Tim Healey, Eugene had slipped back to third, albeit just 8.3 seconds off the lead. “We had a steady enough run up the Gap, and on Tim Healey we expected to loose out to the power of the Subaru’s, which did happen, and Eamonn moved up to second. However it was Cods Head and Ardgroom that I really planned to attack on, and that’s were I felt the rally would be won or lost, and it proved to be correct! On stage 11, Cods Head 1, I passed Gareth, who had crashed, and he was out of the car and waved me on, but after I saw him off the road, I wasn’t concentrating properly. Really I had the rally in my lap then, but on down the stage, I just didn’t hear a pace note at all, and arrived into a tight left about forty miles an hour too fast, and hit the bank and telegraph pole on the outside of the corner. With the radiator broken we were unable to continue. The car thankfully isn’t too bad, and the boys have it stripped and away to Germany to be checked for alignment before the next round in Scotland. It was just one of those things, and we have to move on. At least we know we were on the pace again.”

Despite the non score at the weekend, Eugene still leads the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, and the four times champion, is still gunning for his fifth Irish Tarmac title, as the series moves to Edinburgh for the start of the Jim Clark Memorial Rally on May 22nd-24th. Eugene tasted victory on this event two years ago, but the Borders by-roads can be especially challenging if the rain decides to play.

Posted: May 7, 2009 4:19 PM

Gp N Winners - Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy

Video Clips

Posted: May 7, 2009 4:14 PM

Fiesta SportTrophy Ireland - Breen scores four in a row in the Lakes

Posted: May 7, 2009 3:42 PM

The third round of the Fiesta SportTrophy (FST) Ireland took place over the weekend at the Killarney International Rally of the Lakes where eight registered competitors lined up for the event. The event run by the Killarney and District Motor Club is based around the Killarney National Park and beautiful Ring of Kerry. The event gave the competitors the chance to compete on eight stages covering 130km. After an unpredictable day it was Craig Breen (18) from Waterford and navigator Gareth Roberts who eventually took the event win and increased their lead in the FST series, but it was by no means easy.

Crews awoke to dry weather conditions and the first stage they would face would be the 17.50km of the infamous Moll’s Gap. Mark Donnelly (17) from Omagh and navigator Paddy Robinson would set the quickest time up the Gap of nine minutes 31.1 seconds. That time was 11.5 seconds quicker than Shane Buckley (20) and navigator Thomas Maguire.
Buckley demonstrated good speed on the previous round of the series before retiring and was showing his potential again here. Third quickest through the opening test was Stephen Wright (18) from Co. Monaghan with navigator Paul McGee. Wright has had an unfortunate start to the season with two DNF’s on the first two rounds but he was making a great start to the event. Championship leader Craig Breen (18) from Waterford and navigator Gareth Roberts could only manage fourth quickest after struggling to get into a rhythm early on. Kyle Orr (19) from Dromore with new navigator Sean Duggan suffered a puncture with eight kilometres of the stage to complete, consequently losing over one minute to the leading crews.

With the event set to complete another run up Molls Gap for SS2, a great spectacle for spectators with over four hours of action up the famous twisty test was promised. It was not to be, however, when the stage was cancelled just before the first car was due to start, so, with this cancellation, the crews moved onto SS3, the 20.25km of Gortnagane.

With the weather changing and rain now falling on the stage, Donnelly was again quickest, showing just what he is capable of and led the event heading into service. Desi Henry (19) from Port Glenone, and navigator John Rowan put in an impressive performance to take second quickest. Henry certainly showed that he was capable of mixing it with the top crews. Wright finished the test third quickest, 5.8 seconds behind Donnelly. After struggling on SS1, Paul Quinn (20) from Dungannon and new navigator Sorcha Kelly found their pace again to finish fourth quickest with Breen fifth quickest - although he reported losing time after catching two cars on the stage. Buckley hit a bank on the last corner of the stage and sustained substantial cosmetic damage to his car but lost no time on the stage. With a new headlight fitted and wing straightened Buckley made it out of service to complete the next loop of stages.

With no other crews reporting problems in the service all the cars headed out for SS4, the 18.47km of Banard. The current rally leader Donnelly hit problems in this stage; striking a bank he bent a wishbone and damaged the rear beam dropping him over a minute to the stage winner, Breen. After commenting at service that he had been struggling, the current championship leader upped his game and seemed to be back on form. Wright, however, had no desire to make it easy for Breen, stopping the clocks only 1.1 seconds slower on the test and, with the loss of Donnelly from the top spot, it meant Wright moved into the overall lead. Third quickest went to Buckley and moved him into second overall. Orr was fourth quickest, 0.4 seconds slower than Buckley. Henry reported hitting a bale during the stage, but got to the end of the test.

Stage 5, the 17.13km of Knockacullig, saw the retirement of a front-runner: after fixing his earlier damage, Buckley hit a bale on a chicane, which pushed him off the road and into a dyke. Although the car sustained no damage, it was stuck and could not be pulled out. It was an unfortunate retirement for Buckley after he showed the potential to take his first podium spot. Meanwhile, Breen took the scratch time, ten minutes 39 seconds, with Orr second quickest, 5.6 seconds adrift. Quinn was third quickest with Henry fourth fastest. Robbie Barrable (21) from Dublin and navigator Seamus O’Grady had a good run during the day, setting faster times with each stage, at the end of SS5 their consistent times would see them move into second overall in the classifications.

The last test before the final service of the day was a re-run of Gortnagane. The stage witnessed the retirement of a further two crews. Wright suffered a fuel problem that ultimately forced his retirement after leading the event - a bitter blow. Henry had the misfortune of hitting a wall, which caused too much damage to extract the car from the stage. With the FST field now reduced in size, Breen set the quickest stage time and now moved into the lead of the FST field. Donnelly was second quickest and leapfrogged Barrable to move into second overall. Orr was third quickest on the stage, but was eventually placed fifth overall in the overall classification after his SS1 puncture dashed his hopes of an overall victory. Quinn was fourth quickest, with Barrable fifth fastest only 0.7 seconds behind.

As crews returned to the Mill Street service area no problems were reported. A final two stages faced the FST competitors before the conclusion of the event. As it stood, Breen led Donnelly by 51.1 seconds. Third was Barrable but Quinn was only 1.5 seconds adrift - setting the scene for a tense battle for the final podium position.

As crews headed to SS7, the penultimate stage, there was yet more drama to come, with a safety car having an accident; the stage was cancelled for all competitors meaning only the final stage would count to settle the FST result.

SS8 was a repeat of SS5, Knockacullig. Donnelly did his best to put pressure on Breen by taking the stage victory, but only managed to take 5.3 seconds out of Breen. This wasn’t enough and Breen took second quickest on the stage and the overall FST event win. His fourth consecutive FST win - an amazing achievement. With the top two spots settled, it was all eyes on the battle for the final podium spot. Quinn stopped the clocks on 10 minutes 38.5 seconds, knowing that if Barrable was slower than 10 minutes 40 seconds he had done enough for third overall. With a small delay until Barrable returned to the end, it was a tense atmosphere. When the time filtered through, Barrable had done the job and completed the stage in 10 minutes 39.7 seconds, taking third place by an amazing 0.3 seconds - emphasizing just how close the FST series can be. Quinn was understandably disappointed, but Barrable was delighted with his first podium on only his second ever Irish event. Orr finished the event in fifth place.

Although the end of the FST event it was not the end of the rally for all the finishing crews, by taking advantage of the new FST dual format for 2009 all the crews went on to complete the second day of the event. The pace was upped considerably on the second day between all the FST crews. Breen set two quickest Fiesta crew times and was running as high as 16th overall before driveshaft failure put him out of the event. This left Donnelly to take an impressive fourteenth overall, 1st in Class 3 and 3rd 2WD overall. Orr set 3 fastest Fiesta crew times on the remaining stages to finish one position behind Donnelly. Quinn set one quickest Fiesta time during day two and was lying an incredible fourth overall in the National section of the event but crashed heavily on the penultimate stage, this left Barrable who had been right in amongst the times of the other crews to take fifth overall in the National event and first in Class 16. With the end of the event, it had been another impressive show from the remaining competing Fiesta crews.

Event Winner, Craig Breen said:
“Once again the pace has moved on another peg, and we had to push really hard for the win. We were extremely lucky with others misfortunes, and I was not overly happy with my speed all day Saturday, I felt I just wasn't fully committed after our accident on Day 2 of the Circuit of Ireland. After the FST win we upped our pace on Sunday, but unfortunately it was not to be, but still, I enjoyed the battle with the other crews. There was no one off the pace this weekend, which is fantastic in a one make championship of this calibre"

Mc Nulty ups his Title hopes with great win in Rally of the Lakes

Posted: May 7, 2009 3:37 PM

Tim Mc Nulty gave his Irish Tarmac rally Championship title chances a huge boost with a dramatic victory on last weekend’s Rally of the Lakes, round three of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. Mc Nulty (Subaru Impreza WRC) finished half a minute ahead of the similar car of reigning Tarmac champion Eamon Boland, while the Ford Focus WRC of Aaron Mc Hale took third overall, three minutes behind Boland. The Lakes was based in Killarney with eight stages on Saturday followed by another eight on Sunday.

Mc Nulty arrived in Killarney hoping to repeat his 2006 victory. He made the best possible start with fastest on the stages one and two, only to lose forty seconds with an off on the third test, relegating him to fourth overall.

However the first run over Cods Head on Sunday morning brought the Meath driver better fortune. Leader Gareth Mc Hale and second place man Eugene Donnelly crashed out and Eamon Boland lost a minute with a puncture handing the lead to Mc Nulty who nurtured it to the finish. In the process he jumps to equal second in the Tarmac Championship and extends Subaru’s record in this event to eight wins in succession.

Eamon Boland won this event last year and went on to win the Tarmac Championship. On day one he had a steady drive to lie third overnight. A brace of best times on Sundays first two narrowed the gap to the front but that puncture on Cods Head robbed him of a probable win. Second place ensures the Wexford driver now shares second position in the series with Mc Nulty.

When Gareth Mc Hale retired from the lead, his brother Aaron upheld family honour by clinching third overall. With a string of top five times he was fifth overnight. He too benefitted from the carnage on Cods Head but a puncture on the day’s opener prevented him from attacking second place. The ten Tarmac points will keep him in the championship hunt however.

Gareth Mc Hale will be disappointed with his crash. He drove very well on day one, but his indiscretion on Cods Head probably cost him his debut Tarmac win. And while he drops from second to fourth in the Tarmac, he is a mere two points behind Boland and Mc Nulty.

Championship leader Eugene Donnelly had a brace of wins in Galway and Circuit of Ireland and as expected he was on the pace with the Skoda Fabia WRC. With a trio of fastest times on Saturday he was 2nd overnight and any podium finish would have given him a huge championship lead. However the uncharacteristic error on Cods Head forced him into retirement and gives the championship race a more competitive guise.

Colm Murphy (Impreza N) won Group N and was followed home by Alastair Fisher (Mitsubishi N) and Jer O’Donovan (Impreza N). Darragh 0’Riordan (Renault Clio Ragnotti) was sixth overall and first two- wheel drive home. Wesley Patterson (Escort Mk 2) and Derek Boyd (Porsche 911) extended their lead in the Modified Challenge and Post Historic respectively.

Photos

Posted: May 7, 2009 3:35 PM

Roy Dempster Photos
John Bayly (www.rallyfile.com)
GER LEAHY PHOTOGRAPHY & PR
Salmix Photos
Totally Sideways
TPM Photosport

Results

Posted: May 7, 2009 2:51 PM

INTERNATIONAL
1 Tim McNulty/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 04m 53s,
2 Eamonn Boland/Mick Morrissey (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 05m 29s,
3 Aaron MacHale/Killian Duffy (Ford Focus WRC) 2h 08m 37s,
4 Denis Cronin/Helen O'Sullivan (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 10m 27s,
5 Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 2h 12m 53s,
6 Colm Murphy/Martin Flannery (Subaru Impreza N12 Gp N) 2h 14m 57s,
7 Alastair Fisher/Barry McNulty (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 2h 15m 37s,
8 Daragh O'Riordan/Sean McCarthy (Renault Clio S1600) 2h 16m 15s,
9 Shaun Gallagher/James McKee (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 2h 18m 31s,
10 Eoin Doyle/Peter Brennan (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 19m 30s.

Class winners:
Niall Donoghue/Shane Greene (Honda Civic),
Mark Donnelly/Paddy Robinson (Ford Fiesta),
Daragh O'Riordan/Sean McCarthy,
David Randles/John Young (Nissan Almera).
Denis Cronin/Helen O'Sullivan.

NATIONAL EVENT:
1 Wesley Patterson/Martin McGarrity (Ford Escort) 2h 16m 54s,
2 Fergus O’Meara/Liam Brennan (Ford Escort) 2h 19m 29s,
3 Gary Reidy/Diarmuid Falvey (Ford Escort) 2h 21m 42s.

HISTORIC/CLASSIC EVENT:
1 Denis Moynihan/Dan Moynihan (Ford Escort) 1h 41m 50s,
2 Ray Hilliard/Senan Raggett (Ford Escort) 1h 43m 26s,
3 Martin Sheahan/Sean Daly (Ford Escort) 1h 47m 17s.

JUNIOR RALLY:
1 Damien McCarthy/Eamonn Hayes (Honda Civic) 1h 16m 17s,
2 Pat Barry/Bernard Foley (Honda Civic) 1h 18m 55s,
3 Patrick Divilly/Ger Divilly (Toyota Corolla) 1h 20m 04s.

Leaders:
SS1-3 Tim McNulty/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS4-10 Gareth Machale/Brian Murphy (Ford Focus WRC)
SS11-16 Tim McNulty/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza WRC)

Stage Winners
SS1 Tim McNulty/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS2 Cancelled
SS3 Tim McNulty/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS4 Gareth Machale/Brian Murphy (Ford Focus WRC)
SS5 Eugene Donnelly/Paddy Toner (Skoda Fabia WRC)
SS6 Eugene Donnelly/Paddy Toner (Skoda Fabia WRC)
SS7 Cancelled
SS8 Eugene Donnelly/Paddy Toner (Skoda Fabia WRC)
SS9 Eamonn Boland/Mick Morrissey (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS10 Eamonn Boland/Mick Morrissey (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS11 Tim McNulty/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS12 Tim McNulty/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS13 Tim McNulty/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS14 Tim McNulty/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS15 Tim McNulty/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS16 Eamonn Boland/Mick Morrissey (Subaru Impreza WRC)

Full Results: results.shannonsportsit.ie (Angus Sealy)

Rallynews (by Brian & Liz Patterson)

Rally of the Lakes (Killarney) Killarney and District Motor Club

Donnelly heads for hat-trick on round three of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship

Posted: April 30, 2009 6:29 PM

Round three of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship will be hosted on this weekends OSI Killarney Rally of the Lakes. The thirtieth running of this popular event will be held over two days: Saturday will see the crews tackle four stages done twice with service in Milstreet. The action on day two is based in the Beara peninsula, with eight stages and service in Castletownbere.

Eugene Donnelly (Skoda Fabia WRC) will arrive in Kerry in a confident mood. He has a maximum score of 32 points courtesy of winning the Tarmac Championship opener in Galway and the Circuit of Ireland at Easter weekend. Gareth Mc Hale (Ford Focus WRC) was second in Galway and third on the Circuit and he trails Donnelly by ten points. Reliability issues slowed Mc Hale in the Saturday stages of Galway and the Circuit, but he was on the pace on the Sunday stages. A consistent run from the Dubliner could trouble Donnelly.

Eamon Boland (Subaru Impreza WRC) is the 2008 Tarmac Champion and he won the rally of the Lakes last year. He was the pace setter for most of Galway 09 only to have a mechanical retirement. He drove a steady Circuit to finish second and open his ?Tarmac? account with twelve points.

Peader Hurson (Subaru Impreza WRC) has ten ?Tarmac? points, but it should be more. He had a fine third place in Galway. An early leader of the Circuit, he was forced into retirement by an oil leak whilst holding an excellent place behind Donnelly.

Thanks to the new bonus point system the next two cars in the championship are Group N (showroom category).Sean Flanagan (Subaru Impreza N12) and Alan Carmichael ( Mitsubishi EVo 9) have ten and nine points respectively.

Tim Mc Nulty (Subaru Impreza WRC) has eight championship points thanks to a retirement in Galway and a steady fourth place in the Circuit. Big Tim is a former Lakes winner and he definitely has the pace for a podium finish.

So who will it be? Boland and Mc Nulty will consider that they have the most competitive rally cars as Subaru have won every Rally of the Lakes since2002. Maybe this is the time for a renaissance from Ford, can Gareth Mc Hale break his Tarmac duck this weekend? Or will then little Czech machine prevail once again. It may not be the most powerful of rally cars but Donnelly is adept at selecting the perfect set up. Whether it is a Ford or Skoda or Subaru, all will be revealed on Sunday evening outside the Gleneagles Hotel, Killarney at 18.00.

Tarmac Championship Official Site

FST visits the lakes

Posted: April 28, 2009 4:44 PM

The third round of the Fiesta SportTrophy (FST) Ireland takes place this weekend at the Killarney International Rally of the Lakes where eight registered competitors will line up for the event. The event run by the Killarney and District Motor Club is based around the Killarney National Park and beautiful Ring of Kerry. The event gives the competitors the chance to compete on eight stages covering 130km, including two runs over the world famous Molls Gap stage.

Championship leader Craig Breen (18) from Waterford and navigator Gareth Roberts will lead the crews away. With victory for the pairing on the first round of the FSTi series in Portugal, victory on the previous round of the UK series, the Pirelli International Rally and victory on the previous round of the Irish series, the Circuit of Ireland, the crew comes to this event high in spirits and will hope to repeat their recent successes to keep them at the head of the championship table.

Kyle Orr (19) from Dromore and local navigator Sean Duggan will continue their Irish championship charge at the event. Orr comes to the event fresh on the back of a second overall at the previous round of the UK FST series and now leads the UK series by 3 points..
Orr is starting to show more and more mature drives as the season progresses and could be an outside bet for victory.

Mark Donnelly (17) from Omagh and navigator Paddy Robinson currently sit second overall in the Irish series and second in the UK series - a fantastic achievement. After fighting with Breen down to the last stage for the overall win on the Circuit, the talented youngster will be aiming to do one better in Killarney and take his first overall victory.

After a promising run on the previous round, which netted him a third overall Shane Buckley (20) from Ballyhaunis and navigator Thomas Maguire will hope to better their last result. Buckley only took to the driving seat this year, previously navigating for his brother and is already showing potential; he could well be a threat to the top crews as the season progresses.

Paul Quinn (20) from Dungannon suffered a disappointing retirement on the previous round but the talented youngster is able to challenge Breen and Donnelly on stage times and will look to do exactly this over the bank holiday weekend.

Stephen Wright (18) from Co. Monaghan and navigator Paul McGee have had a terrible start to their 2009 campaign, with two non-finishes on the opening two rounds the crew will be hoping to pick up their first points of the season at the event, Wright showed great potential in Cork at the end of 2008 and they will be hoping that luck follows them to Killarney.

Robert Barrable (21) from Dublin and navigator Seamus O Grady is continuing his steep learning curve on the Irish series. After a finish on the last round of the UK series, the ex Formula-Ford champion will look to repeat this performance on the midway event of the FST IE series to allow him to get more vital competitive km?s under his belt.

The final FST crew in the event is Desmond Henry (19) from Port Glenone and navigator John McGee. Henry is now starting to gain confidence and speed in the ST and after setting some very quick times at the Circuit of Ireland; if he can continue this trend there is a very good possibility of a podium finish.

The event also allows competitors, if they wish to continue after the conclusion of the FST event at the end of day one, to continue and complete day two of the event, allowing them to score Irish Tarmac Championship points.

The competitors will be battling for a prize fund of ?3000 on the event.

Championship leader, Craig Breen said:
?I am very much looking forward to the event, however, it will be hard to get back into the rhythm after our unfortunate accident on the second day of the Circuit of Ireland. The boys have worked incredibly hard and I will be back in my own car for the event, which is great news. I am also looking forward to the battle with Mark [Donnelly] and Kyle [Orr] who will be close for sure but my main aim is to finish the event with another maximum on the board.?

Keith Cronin not going in Focus

Posted: April 26, 2009 7:55 AM

See latest entry in Keith Blog:

Keith Cronin's Blog

Meeke out..... Keith Cronin to take his place?

Posted: April 23, 2009 7:51 PM

See Rallynews.net:

www.rallynews.net/irish_notes_archive_display.asp?inID=105

Entries Still Open

Posted: April 20, 2009 9:05 PM

Shannon Sports IT (EVO On line Entry)

Entry Lists

Posted: April 20, 2009 10:14 AM

No Driver/Co-Driver (Car) [Class]
1 Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Ford Focus WRC) [A8]
2 Eamon Boland/Mick Morrissey (Subaru Impreza WRC) [A8]
3 Eugene Donnelly/Paddy Toner (Skoda Fabia WRC) [A8]
4 Gareth McHale/Brian Murphy (Ford Focus WRC) [A8]
5 Derek McGarrity/James McKee (Subaru Impreza WRC) [A8]
6 Tim McNulty/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza WRC) [A8]
7 Peadar Hurson/Damian Connolly (Subaru Impreza WRC) [A8]
8 Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC) [A8]
9 Denis Cronin/Helen O'Sullivan (Subaru Impreza WRC) [A8]
10 Aaron McHale/Killian Duffy (Ford Focus WRC) [A8]
11 Shaun Gallagher/Paul Kiely (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [N4]
12 Colm Murphy/Martin Flannery (Subaru Impreza N12) [N4]
14 Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [N4]
15 Sean Flanagan/Brian Duggan (Subaru Impreza N12) [N4]
16 Ger O'Donovan/Sean Hayde (Subaru Impreza N12B) [N4]
17 Alastair Fisher/Barry McNulty (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [N4]
18 Mark Nangle/Michael Clyne (Subaru Impreza N12) [N4]
19 John Joe Fleming/Robbie Ward (Ford Focus WRC) [A8]
20 Wesley Patterson /Martin McGarrity (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M14]
21 Martin Magee/Arthur Kierans (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M14]
22 Adrian Hetherington/Gary Nolan (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M14]
23 Kevin O'Donoghue/Joe O'Leary (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M14]
24 Fergus O'Meara/Liam Brennan (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M13]
25 Jon Stangle/Frank Sweeney (Darrian T 90) [M13]
26 Willie Power /Frank Curtin (Darrian T 90) [M13]
27 Manus Kelly/Donal Barrett (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M14]
28 Tommy Doyle/Tony McDaid (Renault Clio) [A7]
29 John Hickey/TBA (Subaru Impreza 555) [M15]
30 Eoin Doyle/Peter Brennan (Subaru Impreza WRC) [A8]
31 Dave Randles/John Young (Nissan Almera) [A7]
32 Eugene Meegan/TBA (Honda Civic Type R) [A7]
33 Thomas Randles/Sean Duggan (Toyota Celica ) [M15]
34 Peter Kelly/Peggy Kelly (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M14]
35 Charlie Hickey/Johnny Hickey (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M13]
36 Vincent O'Shea/Brian Hickey (Escort Cosworth) [M15]
37 Brendan Brosnan/Gerard Conway (Peugeot 205 RWD) [M14]
38 Brendan Dennehy/Willie Buchanan (BMW M3 Compact) [M13]
39 Eddie Power/Jonathan McGrath (Toyota Corolla) [M15]
40 Thomas White/TBA (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [M16]
41 Mick Cummins/Don Montgomery (Mitsubishi Evo 8) [N4]
42 Rory Byrne/Jeremy Patterson (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [N4]
43 Martin McCormack/Liam Moynihan (Citroen C2 Max) [A6]
44 Craig Breen/Gregory Roberts (Ford Fiesta ST) [N3]
45 Kyle Orr/TBA (Ford Fiesta ST) [N3]
46 Mark Donnelly/Paddy Robinson (Ford Fiesta ST) [N3]
47 Shane Buckley/Thomas McGuire (Ford Fiesta ST) [N3]
48 Paul Quinn/Sorcha Kelly (Ford Fiesta ST) [N3]
49 Leonard Downey/Mark Murphy (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M13]
50 Adrian Randles/TBA (Ford Escort MK 2) [M13]
51 Gary Reidy/Stephen Reidy (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M14]
52 Darragh O'Riordan/Sean McCarthy (Renault Clio S1600) [A6a]
53 Keith Power/TBA (Peugeot 106 ) [A6]
54 Ken O'Neill/Ronald Riordan (Ford Puma S1600) [A6a]
56 Jason McSweeney/Denis O'Mahony (Honda Civic) [M11]
57 David Fleming/Kieran Doherty (Honda Civic ) [A6]
58 Paul Ahern/Kieran Murphy (Subaru Impreza ) [M16]
59 Kevin O'Sullivan/Martin Riordan (Honda Civic Type R) [M16]
60 Lloyd Hutchinson/Kevin Flanagan (Austin Cooper S) [M9]
61 Raymond Conlon/James O'Reilly (Toyota Corolla TC) [M13]
62 John Riordan/Shane Buckley (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M11]
63 Dermot Hannifin/Claire Mole (Subaru Impreza N12) [N4]
64 Barry Ryan/Donal Falvey (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M11]
65 Andrew Fanning/Paddy King (Ford Puma S1600) [A6a]
66 John Buttimer/Declan Buttimer (Subaru Impreza) [A8]
67 Joe McGonigle/Alan Whyte (Honda Civic) [N2]
68 Kieran Marshall/Mark Horgan (Honda Civic Type R) [N3]
69 Stephen Wright/Paul McGee (Ford Fiesta ST) [N3]
70 Robert Barrable/Seamus O'Grady (Ford Fiesta ST) [M16]
71 Desmond Henry/John Rowan (Ford Fiesta ST) [M16]
72 William Walsh/Ed O'Neill (Toyota Corolla TC) [M11]
73 Noel O'Sullivan/Nicky Burke (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M9]
74 Alan Bardon/Edwin Dunne (Honda Civic) [M11]
75 Sean Hartnett/Finbarr O'Mahony (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M11]
76 Anthony Neville/Brian Synott (Subaru Impreza N 12) [N4]
77 Pat Neville /TBA (Subaru Impreza N 12) [N4]
78 Pat Price/Stephen Price (Subaru Impreza N 12) [N4]
79 Duncan Cameron/Ian Frazer (Subaru Impreza 555) [M15]
80 Billy O'Keeffe/Scott Wheeler (Mitsubishi Evo 6) [M16]
81 Peter Gallagher/Keith Murray (Peugeot 206 Xsi) [A6]
82 William Buttimer/Alan Whyte (Escort Cosworth) [M15]
83
84 Tony Murphy/Brid Murphy (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M13]
85 Bob Moran/TBA (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M11]
86 Colm Flynn/Raymond Finnegan (Toyota Corolla TC) [M11]
87 Fergal Allen/Carl Atksion (BMW M3) [M14]
88 Rob Alderman/Paula Alderman (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M13]
89 Kevin Rumens/Kay Taylor (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M13]
90 Martin Kelly/Grainne McEnery (Subaru Impreza) [M15]
91 Keith Naughton/Jane Cogan (Subaru Impreza) [M16]
92 Keith Tierney/Aoife Keogh (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M13]
93
94 Steve Roberts/Jonathan Jennings (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M12]
95 Jason Clifford/TBA (Vauxhall Astra) [M16]
96 Andrew Stewart/Tony Gallagher (MG S1600) [A6a]
97 Brian O'Keeffe/Carol O'Keeffe (Subaru N 10) [N4]
98 Roland Doherty/P.J.O'Dowd (Opel Corsa) [M9]
99 Brian Davies/Alwyn Jones (Honda Civic ) [A6]
100 Billy McCarthy/John Falvey (Nissan Micra) [M9]
101 Colm Forde/Jonathan Trill (Peugeot 206 Xsi) [A6]
102 Jason Costelloe/Thomas Costelloe (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M11]
103
104 Stephen Murphy/Pat Duggan (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M11]
105 Ian Hynes/TBA (Honda Civic Type R) [N3]
106 Graeme Colfer/TBA (Nissan Sunny) [M13]
107 Niall Donoghue/Shane Green (Honda Civic) [N2]
108 Adrian Cannon/Jonathan Shovlin (Honda Civic) [N2]
109 Cristopher King/TBA (Honda Civic) [N2]
110 Colum Browne/Laurence McGrath (Honda Civic) [N2]
111 Michael Shaughnessy/Craig McSweeney (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M10]
112 John Fitzgerald/Niall Lynch (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M10]
113
114 Con Mulcahy/Jonathan Keane (Vauxhall Nova) [M10]
115 Martin Quirke/John Hurley (Talbot Sunbeam) [M11]
116 Sean Hickey/Noel Fleming (Ford Fiesta RWD) [M11]
117 Liam Dennehy/Tom Murphy (Honda Civic) [M11]
118 Ger Buckley/Ger Myers (Peugeot 106 ) [M16]
119 Kevin Donnelly/Andrew Lehane (Toyota Starlet) [M9]
120 Brian Dennis/Gerard Geraty (Skoda Fabia Tdi) [A8]
121 Steve Graham/Tony Graham (Vauxhall Astra D) [N4]
122 Donal McCarthy/Henry Reidy (Opel Manta) [M12]
123
124 John Curran/John Finnegan (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M13]
125 Colin Kingston/Nollie Crowley (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M9]
126 Brian Doherty/Colin Fitzgearld (Honda Civic) [M11]
127 Tom O'Sullivan/TBA (Peugeot 205) [M10]
128 Padraig Dinneen/Stephen Ferriter (Vauxhall Nova) [M9]
129 Brian McNamara/John McMahon (Peugeot 205) [M10]
130 Brendan O'Mahony/Marcus Treacy (Peugeot 205) [M10]
131 Alan Dineen/Tony Dineen (Vauxhall Nova) [M11]
132 Daniel O'Leary/TBA (Honda Civic) [M11]
133
134 Patrick Horan/Pa Baker (Vauxhall Nova) [M11]
135 Liam Graham/TBA (Honda Civic) [M11]
136 John Moran/Dave Cummins (Honda Civic) [M11]
137 Liam Howlett/Leo Tector (Talbot Sunbeam) [M13]
138 Patrick Sheehan/TBA (Honda Civic) [M9]
139 Sam Leech/Shane Griffin (Ford Fiesta XR2) [M10]
140 Sean Fleming/Colm Dromey (Ford Fiesta RWD) [M11]
141 Colin Fisher/TBA (MG ZR) [M9]
142 Michael Stack/TBA (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M10]
143
144 Thomas O'Keeffe/Donal Keane (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M12]
145 Seamus Flynn/Ian Munnelly (Ford Focus ) [M11]
146 Anthony Kiely/TBA (Opel Corsa) [M9]
147 Batty O'Donoghue/John Riordan (Vauxhall Nova) [M9]
148 Adrian Tobin/David Dunne (Toyota Corolla ) [M9]
149 Colin O'Keeffe/Cian Corbett (Vauxhall Nova) [M9]
150 JJ Wall/Patrick Wall (TBA) [M9]
151 Shane Keary/Brendan Madden (Honda Civic) [M11]
152 Christopher Dineen/Gavin Sheehan (Honda Civic) [M11]
153 Barry Murphy/TBA (Vauxhall Nova) [M9]

Historic
H1 Denis Moynihan/Dan Moynihan (Ford Escort Mk 1) [C2]
H2 Derek Boyd/Roisin Boyd (Porsche 911) [C2]
H3 Joe Connolly/John Connolly (Ford Escort Mk 1) [C2]
H4 Noel Conroy/Pat Cashman (Ford Escort RS1800) [D5]
H5 Keith McIvor/David Burns (Porsche 911) [C2]
H6 Niall O Connell/John Liston (Mini Cooper S) [C1]
H7 Diarmuid Lynch/Eoin McCarthy (Ford Escort Mk 2) [C2]
H8 Noel Hurley/Cyril Casey (Saab 99EMS) [C2]
H9 Peadar Walsh/Keith McCarthy (Fod Cortina Mk 1) [B3]
H10 Jeremiah O Flynn/Sean O'Flynn (Ford Escort Mk 1) [C1]
H11 Mark Falvey/Colin Moynihan (Ford Escort RS 1800) [D5]
H12 Edward Gibbons/Con Lucey (BMW 2002 Alpina) [C2]
H14 Ray Hilliard/Senan Raggett (Ford Escort Mk 1) [D2]
H15 Jack O'Shea/Mark Doody (Austin Mini Cooper) [C1]
H16 Stephen Coffey/Mike Mahony (Ford Escort Mk1) [C1]
H17 Edward Hallahan/Barry Murphy (Ford Escort Mk 1) [C2]
H18 Martin Sheehan/Sean Daly (Ford Escort Mk 1) [C2]
H19 James O'Mahony/Paddy McDonnell (Volvo 144S) [B4]
H20 John O Toole/Greg McCarthy (Ford Escort Mk 1) [C2]
H21 Martin Kehoe/Barty Dawe (Morris Mini ) [C1]
H22 Paul Mitchell/Timmy Kelly (Austin Mini) [D2]
H23 Eddie Cronin/Kark O'Mahony (Morris Mini ) [B1]
H24 William Todd/TBA (Mini Cooper ) [B2]
H25 Denis Hickey/Patrick Carey () [D4]
H26 Kevin Hickey/Derry Healy (Ford Escort Mk1) [C1]

Juniors
J1 Damien McCarthy/Eamonn Hayes (Honda Civic) [J2]
J2 David Guest/Gerard Seaman (Honda Civic) [J2]
J3 Dermot O Riordan/Brian O'Mahony (Honda Civic) [J2]
J4 Pat Barry/Bernard Foley (Honda Civic) [J2]
J5 Ray O Sullivan/Derek O'Brien (Vauxhall Nova) [J1]
J6 Daniel O Leary/Colm Lennihan (Honda Civic) [J2]
J7 Jonathan O'Callaghan/Raymond O'Conail (Peugeot 106 ) [J2]
J8 Darren Young/Kenneth Quirke (Honda Civic) [J2]
J9 Richard Price/Stephen Cooney (Honda Civic) [J2]
J10 David Duggan/Sean Murphy (Toyota Corolla) [J2]
J11 Simon Duggan/William Lynch (Talbot Sunbeam) [J1]
J12 David Brosnan/Donal Horgan (Honda Civic) [J2]
J14 Patrick Divilly/TBA (Toyota Corolla) [J1]
J15 Damien Doolan/Ian Stanley (Vauxhall Nova) [J1]
J16 Damien Fleming/John McCarthy (Honda Civic) [J1]
J17 Cal McCarthy/Paul Dullea (Suzuki Swift) [J1]
J18 Cathal McCarthy/Patrick McCarthy (Toyota Corolla) [J2]
J19 Jeremy Holland/Donna O'Regan (Toyota Corolla) [J2]
J20 Mark O'Shaughnessy/Paul O'Shea (Peugeot 106 ) [J1]
J21 Shane Lenihan/Eoin Lane (Honda Civic) [J1]
J22 William Angland/TBA (Honda Civic) [J1]
J23 Darren Noonan/TBA (Honda Civic) [J1]
J24 Jamie O'Flaherty/Niall Murphy (Honda Civic) [J1]
J25 Patrick Slattery/Chris Campbell (Honda Civic) [J2]
J26 Noel O'Regan/Kieran O'Regan (Suzuki Swift) [J1]
J27 Derek Flynn/Eoin Ryan (Honda Civic) [J2]
J28 Declan Murphy/Tony Collins (Honda Civic) [J1]
J29 Ciaran O'Driscoll/Diarmuid O'Shea (TBA) [J1]
J30 Donal Dinneen/Marian Dullea (Peugeot 205) [J2]
J31 Connie Trant/Timmy O'Callaghan (Skoda Felicia) [J2]
J32 Darren Nolan/TBA (Honda Civic) [J2]

Rally of the Lakes (Killarney)

Rally Launch - Sunday 19 Apr 09

Posted: April 16, 2009 2:11 PM

The Launch of the 2009 Rally of the Lakes which take place on Sunday the 19th April in the Brehon Hotel Killarney at 7.30pm

Over 180 Entries have been received, and the seeded entry list will be released at the Launch.

Rally of the Lakes (Killarney)

Rally to start with 2 runs in a row over Molls Gap

Posted: March 23, 2009 8:26 PM

For the 30th Rally of the Lakes KDMC have introduced an extra challenge for competitors in that the first stage at Molls Gap will be immediately followed by another run over this world famous stage.
This will then be followed by a double loop of 3 stages to the east and north of Killarney with centralised service in the Greenglens Arena in Millstreet.

On day two the rally will again start with (1 run) over Molls Gap followed by a double loop of the three classic stages Healy Pass, Cods Head and Ardgroom.
Centralised service through out the day will be in Castletownbere and the rally finishes with the other great classic Kilmackillogue.

Regulations / On Line Entry

Posted: March 23, 2009 8:21 PM

Regulations:
Rally of the Lakes (Killarney)

On line Entry:
http://www.shannonsportsit.ie/evo/Entry?event=IE-KDMC-KY09

30th Anniversary Rally of the Lakes

Posted: March 20, 2009 2:00 PM

The 2009 Rally of the Lakes will mark the 30th Anniversary of the first Rally of the Lakes.

Saturday will consist of 4 stage locations run 2 times, using some new and classic stages near Killarney.

8 more stages in the Beara area will be run on the Sunday.

Regulations and more details will be available in the coming weeks.

Event Website / Details

Posted: January 1, 2009 12:01 AM

• Rally of the Lakes (Killarney)
• Killarney and District Motor Club