Noel Smith from Cavan became the third winner of a round the Peugeot Service Club Irish 205 Challenge with a hard fought victory on the mountain roads around Clonmel in Tipperary on Sunday. Co driven by Dara Lyttle they immerged victorious after nine difficult stages to beat Kenny English of Ballinasloe by just 6 seconds.
Just the four crews still in with a chance of lifting the title started the event but right from the start the drama unfolded. Stage one was relatively short at just under seven miles but was full of tricky places to catch out anyone not fully awake. The stage started as a light drizzle fell and first challenge crew into the stage were the joint championship leaders and winners of the previous round Andrew Slattery/ Donal Lynch. Despite showing caution the stage would catch Slattery out when braking for a tight junction, the back of the car got loose, clipped a wall and turned the front wheel in against a stone breaking a driveshaft, forcing them to retire, a huge blow to their championship aspirations. The other crews got through unscathed with Smith setting fastest time by 9 seconds from Norman Dunne/ Niall Gavin who were 1 second up on Kenny English/ Joe Bannerton.
Stage two was a fast flowing test close to ten miles long and English pulled 8 seconds back on Smith who overshot a junction. Dunne who really needed to be at the sharp end on this rally felt his engine was down on power for such a quick stage and dropped 12 seconds as a result.
Stage three was the longest at twelve miles and a determined English pushed hard beating Smith by 13 seconds and taking the overall lead as they entered first service back in Clonmel. Also pushing hard was Dunne, but it was extracting his car from a ditch, which cost him over 8 minutes and left him to concentrate now on just finishing.
A repeat of the loop after service saw Smith fastest on the short stage four taking 3 seconds out of English and closing the gap to 9 seconds. Well fired up now and knowing he needed top points he went fastest again on stage six (stage five was cancelled) taking 25 seconds from English who was furious with himself for spinning at a very tight corner. Smiths lead stood at 16 seconds as they left second service and both through caution to the wind through stage seven with English taking just 1 second from Smith.
The return to stage eight proved crucial to the outcome when English spun and gifted his rival a further 10 seconds pointing his car in the correct direction. Smith felt he was home and dry now but English risked everything through the last stage, faster by 19 seconds but just missing out on the win by 6 seconds.
Smith though deserved his first win and can now look forward to a brilliant final round battle with English for the title. Dunne brought his car home in third place to keep his chances alive albeit slim and the out of luck Slattery too can still figure in Wexford in five weeks.
Final Results;
57th Noel Smith/Dara Lyttle Peugeot 205 GTi 1:15:50
60th Kenny English/ Joe Bannerton Peugeot 205 GTi 1:15:56
87th Norman Dunne/Gavin Niall Peugeot 205 GTi 1:25:39
The Peugeot Service Club Irish 205 Challenge wish to thank the Tipperary Motor Club for an excellent event.
The Irish 205 challenge is proud to be sponsored by,
www.serviceclub.ie ,
Slatterys of Puckane Peugeot and Subaru dealerships,
Total quartz lubricants,
Blaklader workwear ,
Kumho tyres,
Ears motorsport,
In Car:
Posted: August 12, 2009 2:56 PM
Lloyd Hutchinson and Kevin Flanagan in the 1440cc Mini
Video Clips
Posted: August 12, 2009 2:42 PM
Posted: August 10, 2009 5:31 PM
Posted: August 10, 2009 5:23 PM
Mike Quinn/Grainne McEnery leaders of the rally.ie 2wd award after Round 7
ELLIOTT/GOODMAN A STONESTHROW AWAY FROM SECOND DUNLOP SERIES Report courtesy of Dunlop - Proud sponsors of the National Rally Championship
Posted: August 10, 2009 5:02 PM
Dunlop National Rally champions, Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Subaru
WRC) took a 13 second victory in the Clonmel based Sepam Tipperary
Stonethrowers Rally to edge closer to back-to-back national titles.
They finished 13 seconds ahead of Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry (Subaru
WRC) with Cork pair, Kevin and Martin Kelleher (Mitsubishi) taking
third place� - over a minute further adrift after they reeled in the
similar Mitsubishi of Garry Jennings/David Moynihan, who struggled
with transmission problems on the second loop of stages.�
Jennings/Moynihan, who were six seconds behind, retain their lead role
in the quest to land the Patterson's RallyNews Group N award.�
Mike Quinn/Grainne McEnery (Ford Escort) won the two-wheel drive award
to extend their lead of the rally.ie award.
Top seeds, Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin crashed their Ford Fiesta R2
out of eighth place on the final stage.
Elliott set a strong pace on the first stage, Deerpark, where he was
five seconds ahead of the Subaru WRC of his Dunlop championship rival,
Niall Maguire with Kevin Barrett, also in a Subaru WRC, just two
seconds behind in third in the slippery conditions.
Garry Jennings, in his Group N Mitsubishi, was only seven seconds off
the lead and fourth in general classification.� The top six was
completed by the Mitsubishi pair of Kevin Kelleher and Dave Weston
(Jr).� Meanwhile, Eamonn Daly (Mitsubishi) was seventh.� Matthew
Wilson in the Ford Fiesta R2, held eight overall.
Leader, Elliott also dominated the remaining stages of the opening
loop and arrived at the Powerstown Racecourse with a 15 second lead
over Maguire.� Barrett stayed close to Maguire, the margin between
them was just four seconds.� Jennings consolidated his fourth place
and more importantly, his Group N position.� Kelleher managed to trim
three seconds off the deficit on the second test but then lost time
when he slid wide at a junction on the third test leaving him 14
seconds behind his rival at the service halt.
Weston continued to gain experience of the Irish roads ahead of the
forthcoming Ulster Rally, he was sixth.� Brian O'Mahony (Renault Clio
S1600) retired with mechanical problems on the second test and on the
third stage, Eamonn Daly slid his Mitsubishi off the road and out of
the rally.�
Kilkenny's, James Travers was the top performer in the two-wheel drive
category, his Renault Clio occupied seventh in general classification
- nine seconds in front of the modified Escort of Mike Quinn.� Marty
McCormack (Citroen C2R2) and Thomas Fitzmaurice (Mitsubishi) held the
final places in the top ten.� Matthew Wilson was just outside this
grouping, at the service halt, the suspension of the Fiesta R2 was
raised to improve its performance.
On stage four, Elliott added two seconds to his lead in a unchanged
top six where Kelleher took a few seconds from Group N leader,
Jennings.� The adjustments made at the service halt proved worthwhile
as Wilson set a fine time.� Maguire set his first fastest stage time
on Stage 5 but the three seconds gained were quickly negated by
Elliott on the sixth stage as the Cavan man led by 17 seconds at the
final service halt.� In Group N, Jennings, who experienced both first
and second gear problems, had to contend with a charging Kelleher, who
was only four seconds behind in fifth spot.� Weston continued to set
consistent times. Mike Quinn, with a seemingly errant handling Escort,
was seventh and top two-wheel drive.� Thomas Fitzmaurice (Mitsubishi)
held eighth place.
Wilson's Fiesta, adapting to the Irish terrain, moved into the top
ten, the Briton was ninth and Shay Power (Escort) completed the top
ten.
James Travers retired his Renault Clio on S.S. 5; Marty McCormack's
Citroen broke a drive shaft on the sixth stage and Andrew Bushe
(Citroen Saxo) retired with engine problems.
On the final loop, Elliott was quickest on stages seven and eight but
spun on the final test, however, he had enough of a cushion and went
on to claim his fifth set of maximum Dunlop points.� The Cavan driver
needs two second place finishes to retain his title.
Maguire, who lost time at the location where Elliott spun as
spectators waved him down, was unsettled and hit the rear of his
Subaru further down the stage.� Barrett retired at the end of the
penultimate stage when his Subaru lost all but first gear.� In the
Group N race, Kelleher reeled in Jennings on the penultimate test and
with Barrett's demise, claimed third overall.� The showroom category
victory subsequently went to Jennings.� Weston, Quinn and Fitzmaurice
followed.� The top ten was completed by Stephen Cullen (Subaru),
Andrew Hockridge (Citroen C2R2) and Shay Power (Escort).
Peugeot Service Club IRISH 205 CHALLENGE : Preview to Round 5 - The battle begins to boil�.
Posted: August 10, 2009 12:26 PM
The penultimate round of the 2009 Peugeot Service Club Irish 205 Challenge takes competitors to the beautiful town of Clonmel in South Tipperary for the Sepam sponsored Stonethrowers Rally on Sunday the 9th of August.
A new edition to the championship at short notice, it will give the crews an extra week to prepare their cars for the final round of the series. Of more interest is the TV coverage that will be present on the event as part of the Dunlop National Rally Championship. Each of the class winners will be shown on TV and challenge drivers have won their class on three out of the four rounds so far so a little bit of extra incentive for them and their sponsors.
The battle for this years crown is still a four way fight entering this rally with each of the drivers in a position to enter the final round with a chance of lifting the challenge trophy and prizemoney depending on their result here. With the most work to do is fourth placed Norman Dunne who must win this event and hope the joint championship leaders finish third or lower to stand any chance in Wexford. In a similar but not so tight a position is third placed Noel Smith who can afford to finish second to Dunne but would have to win the final round with the others retiring which is a possibility given it�s a two day rally and very hard on cars. The championship leaders Andrew Slattery and Kenny English can play a waiting game on this rally and not risk too much depending on how each other is performing but in rallying you can never be sure of a result until your car is back on its trailer. The safest bet for both would be to go for the win and carefully judge their pace in Wexford. No pressure then!.
The Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally will start from the Clonmel Park Hotel and cover 110km of special stages with a central service area close to Clonmel town.
ANOTHER TRIP TO TIPP FOR DUNLOP CONTENDERS Preview courtesy of Dunlop - Proud sponsors of the National Rally Championship
Posted: August 7, 2009 1:14 PM
World Rally Championship driver, Matthew Wilson headlines next Sunday
's Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally that is based at the Clonmel Park
Hotel.� The Briton, who finished eighth in last week's Rally Finland,
will exchange his Ford Focus WRC for the new Ford Fiesta R2.
Primarily, the rally is the seventh round of the Dunlop National Rally
Championship and marks the third time that an event of the ten round
series will be based in the premier county.� The series began with the
Nenagh Rally that was won by defending national rally champion,
Patrick Elliot (Subaru WRC) while Niall Maguire (Subaru WRC), his
championship rival, took the maximum twenty points on the Carrick on
Suir based Raven's Rock Rally that was actually won by Keith Cronin
(Mitsubishi).
Of the six rounds to date, Elliott has amassed 98 points, on four
occasions he has taken maximum points with victories in the
aforementioned Nenagh Rally, the Mayo Rally, the Circuit of Kerry and
the recent Sligo Rally.� On the Raven's Rock, he was third overall -
but second in terms of Dunlop points whilst he crashed out of the
Circuit of Munster.
Meanwhile, Maguire, who is seeking an unprecedented fourth title, has
scored in all six rounds to date.� He won the Circuit of Munster,
netted maximum points on the Raven's Rock and took second place
finishes on the other rounds and is currently 14 points ahead of
Elliott.
Elliott can take a major step towards back to back titles should he
emerge victorious on the nine-stage Clonmel based event.� However, the
nature of the special stages, tight and twisty, compared to other
rounds, would seem to suit Maguire.
Another Dunlop National Championship regular, Kevin Barrett, also in a
Subaru WRC, will occupy the number four berth.� This season, the
Maynooth driver has punched in a number of fastest stage times and is
edging closer to gaining a first ever victory in a round of the
national series.
Fermanagh's, Garry Jennings (Mitsubishi) is the top seeded Group N
driver.� He heads the chase for the Patterson's RallyNews Group N
award.� He took a major share of Dunlop points on the last round in
Sligo where he managed to depose long time leader of the category,
Thomas Fitzmaurice.� However, with both Kevin Kelleher and Eamonn Daly
also on the Tipperary entry, Jennings will have a tough battle on his
hands.�
Former Irish and British S16000 champion, Brian O'Mahony returns to
Dunlop action.� His Renault Clio now seems finally sorted and the Cork
ace will be determined to gain points for the inaugural rally.ie award
for two-wheel drive cars.� O'Mahony won the recent Kerry Rallysprint
onboard the all-powerful Metro 6R4.� The two-wheel drive category also
features top seed, Wilson and Northern Ireland's, Andrew Bushe
(Citroen Saxo) and should be extremely interesting.�
The presence of Mike Quinn in his modified Mk. 2 Ford Escort adds to
this particular battle.� The Kerryman, with Clare's, Grainne McEnry
calling the pacenotes, is seeded at eleven.� Wexford's, John Somers
(Toyota Celica) occupies the number nine berth.
Welsh ace, Dave Weston (Jr), who competed in the Raven's Rock, is
sampling another Irish event ahead of the Ulster Rally in a few weeks
time.� Fellow countryman, Thomas Davies (Escort) is also journeying to
Tipperary where apart from the aforementioned Quinn, the modified
entry also features Shay Power and Sam Smyth, also in Ford Escorts.
Kilkenny's, James Travers (Renault Clio) along with Andrew Hockridge
and Marty McCormack, both in Citroen C2 R2's add further spice to the
two-wheel drive category.� Meanwhile, the Welsh contingent also
includes Adrian Evans (Escort), who is seeded at twenty.
The County Tipperary entry features William Cavanagh (Escort), Andrew
Fanning (Ford Puma), Eoin Woods (Escort), Paul Manton (Citroen), Mark
Kane (Citroen), Michael Ormond (Honda Civic), Tom Sheehan (Nissan
Micra), Benny Kennedy (Honda Civic), William Lawrence (Escort), Hans
Mattia (Subaru), Barry O'Keeffe (Starlet) Ray Heaney (Toyota Corolla),
Martin O'Keeffe (Opel Manta), Michael Halley, Colm Browne (Honda
Civic), Liam Graham (Honda Civic), Kieran Hayes (Peugeot 205) and John
Purcell (Peugeot 106).
Tipperary Motor Club are delighted to confirm that John Moynihan will be bringing out 2223 IM that belonged to the late great Frank Meagher as 00 on the Stonethrowers.
Regulations / Details
Posted: January 1, 2009 12:01 AM
Regulations are now available for the 2009 Sepam Stonethrowers Rally
The Rally will take place over a route of approximately 110 stage km/100 road kilometres and is a counting Round of the Dunlop National Championship aswell as the Southeast Stages Rally Championship.
Clerk of the Course, Willie Walsh has been plotting a course and has indicated that all the stages will be based in County Waterford just outside Clonmel with central servicing to be based the town of Clonmel itself.
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