2013 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland Rally Championship Review
Posted: December 25, 2013 8:44 PM
ROUND 1:WEST LIMERICK FOREST RALLY 75starters/58 finishers
The Valvoline powered off the line at the West Limerick Forest Rally where Philip Morrow (Evo9) leaped from third on the last stage to a surprise victory over long time leader Mick O' Brien (Focus WRC) and second place Owen Murphy (Evo9). Morrow won by 1.2 seconds. Murphy was third just 4.4 seconds behind O Brien. Vincent Mc Aree (Evo9) and Martin Cairns (Subaru WRC) claimed fourth and fifth spots while 2010 Forest champion Pat O'Connell (Evo9) was sixth overall.
The 2WD was another nail biter with a margin of 2.9 seconds between first and second. Shane McGirr (Starlet RWD) emerged the winner from Seamus O'Connell (Escort Mk2) and Mickey Conlon (EscortMk2) was third. The juniors was claimed by Dean Raftery (Civic) ahead of Kevin O' Connor (C2R2) and Daniel Cronin (Civic).
ROUND 2: Munster Moonraker Rally 62 startrs/41 finishers
The Moonraker was round two and O' Brien turned the tables on Morrow by leading from start to finish and the margin on this occasion was eight seconds. Josh Moffett(Evo9) had a brilliant run to third, a result that helped the young Monaghan man clinch the nomination for this year’s Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman Young Rally Driver Award for his performances in January and February. Former Billy Coleman Award winner and 2011 Forest Champion Owen Murphy retired on stage one with a broken differential. Martin Cairns(Subaru WRC) and Sam Moffett (Evo9)completed the top five. In 2WD Mickey Conlon won by seven seconds from Shane Mc Girr with Dean Raftery third. Raftery also scooped the junior class.
ROUND 3: Willie Loughman Carrick-on-Suir Rally 81 starters/40 finishers
Carrick MC hosted round 3 and this time Owen Murphy was victor with Morrow and O' Brien in second and third. Murphy's margin was 6 seconds after another thriller and it provided this exciting series with its third winner in three events. O' Brien was fastest out of the blocks as usual with fastest on the first stage but a half shaft problem dropped him down the order but he recovered to third at the finish. A huge battle was waged between Murphy and Moffett from stage two. They were level going into the final test stage but Murphy prevailed by 6 seconds. Josh Moffett was third all day but he slipped off on the penultimate test. Fourth was claimed by Dan O Brien (Focus WRC) ahead of Vincent Mc Aree who was making a welcome return to rallying after a football injury. In 2WD ShaneGirr was best,56 secons ahead of Desi Henry (DS3), while Dean Raftery claimed the junior crown once again.
Round 4 Sean Conlon Mitchelstown Rally 54 starters/40finishers
The wet stages of MItchelstown did nothing to dampen the intensity of the battle for overall honours. Another chapter of the Morrow-Murphy Magical Mitsubushi show was screened, with Philip Morrow beating Owen Murphy by three seconds. Mick O' Brien (Focus WRC) was third. Morrow went fastest on the opening three stages and he held a 16 second lead over the Corkman at the half way. On stage four Morrow punctured and Murphy went into a seven second lead. At the end of the penultimate test the gap was one second and on the final test Morrow dug deep to win the stage by four seconds and claim the rally by three.
The 2WD class was another humdinger with Desi Henry(DS3) and Shane Mc Girr swopping stage victories and the lead all day. One second separated the rivals starting the last stage. Mc Girr punctured and Henry went on to win Dean Raftery won the junior class once again.
ROUND 5 Jim Walsh Cork Forest Rally 54 starters/43 finishers
Round five was hosted by the Cork MC and based in Ballyhea and its four fast and smooth stages (repeated) were run in the nearby Ballyhoura mountains.
Mick O' Brien (Focus WRC) dominated the from start to finish and he had a margin at the finish of 55 seconds ahead of Owen Murphy (Evo9) who in turn had a margin of 6.8 seconds over third placed Josh Moffet (Evo9). Fourth overall was claimed by John Reid (Corolla WRC)and the Dubliner was followed home by a trio of warring 2WDs lead by Frank Kelly (Escort) Martin Mc Cormack (Escort) and Shane Mc Girr(Starlet RWD. Peter Mc Cullagh (Evo9) and Sam Moffet (Evo9) were next up ahead of James Coleman giving the Fiesta WRC its debut in the Irish forests. Another newcomer to impress was Bob Duggan (Civic) who won the Junior category in his first rally in the woods.
O 'Brien is now leading on 115 points. Owen Murphy second with 97 and Philip Morrow is on 80. Morrow non-started in Cork but he has nominated the Bushwhacker for bonus points. Should he win in Omagh a maximum a 42 points awaits the Lisburn driver. And the 2013 Valvoline championship title.
ROUND 6 Bushwhacker Rally 106 starters/75 finishers
Third place in the Bushwhacker rally was sufficient for Mick O' Brien (Focus WRC) to win his first Valvoline Motorsport Ireland Forest Rally Championship. The Omagh based Bushwhacker was the sixth and final round and O' Brien was in contention for the title along with fellow Corkman Owen Murphy and Philip Morrow from Lisburn. Morrow (Evo9) was the pre-event favourite but he non started the Bushwhacker . Owen Murphy (Evo9) had a great start with fastest time on the first stage, but his rally and championship aspirations evaporated when the rear diff expired on stage 2, a repeat of the problem that also caused his retirement on round two. Murphy won this series in 2011, and is runner up this year(by one point) but he has the consolation of his co-driver James O'Brien claiming the championship for co-drivers. Second on the rally went to Martin Cairns (Impreza WRC) who was able to claim maximum championship points a result that lifted him to third overall in the series.
His co-driver Kevin Flanagan also received maximum championship points, and this had a major effect on the destination of the co-drivers championship, as it denied Greg Shinnors (Mick O'Brien's co-driver) a maximum score that would have kept him ahead of James O' Brien's tally.
POST SCRIPT
A brilliant year in the Irish woods, probably the best ever. It was fiercely competitive. On five of the rounds there was less than 8 seconds between winner and runner-up, only in Cork was there a gap of 55 seconds. Mick O' Brien,Owen Murphy and Philip Morrow dominated the scene and ensured it was a three horse race down to the final round.And while the front runners got all the headlines, the competition in the 2WD was excellent. Shane Mc Girr claimed the 2WD title, the Fivemiletown driver had three 2WD wins, two seconds and a third in the Startlet RWD. Others to star were Mickey Conlon and Desi Henry and who will forget the warfare between Frank Kellyand martin Mc Cormack in Cork.
A measure of the quality of the Valvoline Championship is the success of the forest drivers in the Billy Coleman Young Rally Driver Award. Championship regulars Josh Moffet and Dean Raftery recieved nominations while Rob Duggan (Junior winner in Cork) was shortlisted for the award.The E50,0000 prize fund was awarded to Stephen Wright who "cut his teeth in the forestry stages", finishing fourth overall in the 2011 and 2012 series.
2013 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland Forest Rally Championship
Drivers Codrivers
Mick O' Brien 97 James O' Brien 98
Owen Murphy 96 Greg Shinnors 97
Martin Cairns 92 Jason McKenna 87
Sam Moffet 82 Enda Sheils 75
Philip Morrow 80 Jackie Elliot 74
Class Winners
Class 1 Pierce J.Doheny Opel Corsa
Class2 Mike Garahy Escort Mk2
Class3:Paul Fitzgerald Escort Mk2
Class4:Raymind Benskin Jnr Escort Mk2
Class5:Shane Mc Girr Starlet RWD
Class 6:Danny Creedon Impreza
Class 7:Mick O'Brien Focus WRC
Class 8:Josh Moffet Mitsubishi Evo
Class9:(Juniors) Dean Raftery (Civic)
Class 20:Owen Murphy Mitsubishi Evo
VIDEO: Valvoline Irish Forest 2wd Rally Champions 2013 - Shane McGirr & Jackie Elliott
Posted: December 4, 2013 3:40 PM
Final Championship Points
Posted: September 29, 2013 8:14 PM
Forest Rally Championship Prizegiving - (Sat) 23 Nov 13
Posted: February 25, 2013 11:37 AM
TV deal secured for 2013 Valvoline Forest Championship
Posted: February 8, 2013 12:29 PM
The Valvoline/Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally championship will be televised for 2013 by On the Limit sports.
Following on from the success of the 2012 TV package, the championship committee have put the funding in place to have this exciting series shown on Irish National TV with TG4 and across Europe and the rest of the World on Motors TV Sky Sports.
The championship committee would like to thank the main sponsor, Valvoline for their continued support and associate sponsors, Suirway Forklifts & Farm Machinery, Hankook Performance Tyres, CCS Race’n Rally and Exact Signs for assisting with this. Also many thanks to the competitors and the club running the rallies for their contributions.
Round 1 The West Limerick Mini Stage Forest Rally kicks off this Sunday based from the Kentoher Business Park, south of Newcastle West with 2 stages west of Broadford, Co Limerick.
Flyer / Details
Posted: January 9, 2013 12:34 PM
Round 1 moves to Limerick
Posted: January 9, 2013 12:23 PM
The opening round of the 2013 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland Forest Championship will now take place in the West Limerick Area:
Programme for 2013 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland Forest Championship is announced.
Posted: November 8, 2012 3:55 PM
The calendar of rallies qualifying for the 2013 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland Forest Championship has been published. It consists of six rallies, and will kick off on Feb 10th with a mini rally in Wicklow. The new programme was unveiled by John Quill, Chairman of the Forest Rally Championship at this year’s this years Valvoline rally championship prizegiving in Clonmel.
“After the rally in Wicklow, the championship heads to Munster for a quartet of familiar events like the Moonraker, Carrick-on-Suir, Mitchelstown and Cork. For the third year in a row the final event will be hosted in Northern Ireland, this time in the Bushwhacker”.
Mr Quill thanked all the competitors who supported the Valvoline series again this year.
“Naturally I would love to see more entries for our rallies but we must face the reality of the current economic climate and be very grateful for the support we get. I would also like to thank Valvoline for their continuing support and I am thrilled they have agreed to be back with us in 2013, their third year as title sponsors. I must congratulate Gary Jennings on winning the Valvoline Forest Championship as a driver and Arthur Kierans as the winning co-driver and all the class winners."
Mr Quill concluded his remarks by announcing Desi Henry as Best New Comer of the Year.
Championship Rounds
Posted: November 8, 2012 3:53 PM
Round 1 February 1 Forest Mini Stages (Limerick)
Round 2 March 3 Munster Moonraker Rally (Lismore)
Round 3 April 14 Carrick on Suir William Loughman Rally (Waterford)
Round 4 June 16 Tipperary Sean Conlon Forest Rally (Mitchelstown)
Round 5 August 18 Jim Walsh Cork Forest Rally (Mallow)
Round 6 September 28th Bushwhacker Rally (Omagh)
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