Stephen McCann & Breen McNamee (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) SS2
Emmet Cronin & Adam Coffey (Ford Escort MkII) SS3
Brian Lawlor / Peter Kavanagh (Ford Escort MkII) SS5
O'Brien/Shinnors clinch victory on Moonraker Forest Rally.
Posted: March 9, 2013 4:21 PM
Mick O'Brien driving his Ford Focus WRC judged the pace of today's Moonraker Rally perfectly to win his first rally of the year. Philip Morrow (Evo9) was second just eight seconds adrift with Josh Moffett (Evo9)third 37 secs behind Morrow. Michael Conlon (Escort) was tenth overall and best 2WD car while Dean Raftery (Civic) was best junior once more.
Once again the Valvoline Motorsport Ireland Forest rally Championship served a nail biter on the Moonraker. The Moonraker was the second round of the Valvoline series and based in Lismore. On the previous round in West Limerick Morrow pipped O'Brien on the last stage to win by a second and a half. Today O'Brien was fastest out of the blocks with a time 9 seconds better than Morrow. For the remaining 4 stages (stage 6 was cancelled)it was nip and tuck on every test but Morrow was not able to pull back the time loss on stage 1.Josh Moffett had a great result in third with Martin Cairns fourth and Sam Moffett fifth. O'Brien and Morrow now share leadership of the Valvoline Championship.
Pat O'Connell and Vincent McAree did not start and Owen Murphy(Evo9) retired on stage one with transmission trouble. Other retirees included Andy Fanning (Puma) with broken shaft and Sean Benskin (Escort).
Raftery/Kelly Repeat Success at the Moonraker
Posted: March 9, 2013 4:19 PM
Last weekend saw the picturesque village of Lismore play host to the second round of the Valvoline Irish Forest Championship. The event run by Munster Car Club got underway Sunday morning, with the first car departing parc ferme shortly after 9am. 21 year old Dean Raftery fresh from his Junior victory at the opening round in Limerick was hoping for a repeat performance.
The rally got off to a perfect start for Raftery and his navigator Aileen Kelly, with the crew setting fastest junior time on stage 1 and slotting into 14th position overall. The crew extended this lead on stage two and held the lead heading to service in Cappoquin.
Dean commented, “I am happy so far; we had a clean run through the first stage and extended our lead slightly on the second stage. We have nominated this event to score double points, it’s vital that we finish for the purpose of the championship”.
The plan for the remainder of the day was to maintain pace and position. This worked well for the crew and they held a 14 second lead heading into the final stage. Unfortunately the stage was cancelled due to an incident on the stage. However, Dean and Aileen were delighted to claim another victory and set some impressive stage times on their way to 13th overall.
At the finish ramp Dean mentioned, “Today couldn’t have gone better, our pace was good all day and we are delighted with the result. Our priority today was to finish as double points were on offer! The victory was an added bonus”.
It was one year ago that Dean and Aileen first came together in a rally car at the same event, it was also the first Junior victory for the young crew. To come back a year later and have repeated success is a testament to how well the pair have worked together.
Raftery’s next event is Rally North Wales, located in Welshpool on the 6th & 7th of April. The event is the opening round of the NGK Sparkplugs BRC Challenge and will be the crew’s first outing on foreign soil and will provide a new and exciting challenge.
1 Michael O’Brien/Greg Shinnors (Ford Focus WRC) 29m 31s,
2 Philip Morrow/Simon Morrow (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 29m 39s,
3 Josh Moffett/Jason McKenna (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 30m 17s,
4 Martin Cairns/Kevin Flanagan (Subaru Impreza WRC) 30m 26s,
5 Sam Moffett/David Moynihan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 31m 10s,
6 John Reid/Enda Shiels (Toyota Corolla WRC) 31m 19s,
7 Liam Regan/Damien Duffin (Peugeot 206 4WD) 31m 20s,
8 Niall Henry/John Rowan (Mitsubishi Impreza N12) 31m 28s,
9 Enda McNulty/Paul Sheridan (Subaru Impreza WRX) 31m 36s,
10 Mickey Conlon/Ciaran McPhillips (Ford Escort MkII) 31m 59s.
Class winners: Emmet Cronin/Adam Coffey (Escort), Pascal O’Shea/Robert Hennessy (Escort), Paul Fitzgerald/Pierce Doheny Jnr (Escort), Hugh McQuaid/Enda Gerety (Escort), Mickey Conlon/Ciaran McPhillips, Danny Creedon/Tom Foley (Impreza), Martin Cairns/ Kevin Flanagan, Sam Moffett/David Moynihan, Dean Raftery/Aileen Kelly (Civic), Liam Regan/Damien Duffin.
Owen Murphy in his Evo 9 has drawn top seed for next Sunday's Moonraker Rally, round two of the 2013 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland Forest Rally Championship. Murphy won last years Moonraker and the Carrgaline driver was the Valvoline Forest Champion in 2011.
Competition in the Moonraker will be intense on Sunday with Mick O'Brien (Focus WRC) seeded at two. The London based Cork native was runner up on round one in West Limerick after a day long lead.
The winner in West Limerick was Philip Morrow (Evo9) is seeded at three. The Lisburn man blasted through the last stage to catapult from third to first. A former Evo UK Champion, he will be more closely marked this time.
Perhaps Enda Mc Nulty (Impreza) can do it. Seeded at four, the Tyrone man will be in great form after his marvellous win in Fivemiletown last Saturday. Another former winner is Pat O' Connell (Evo9).The Cashel man won this event three years ago on his way to the 2010 Forest Forest Championship.
The power of the WRC cars of Martin Cairns (Impreza) and John Reid (Corolla) will keep the top quintet honest while the Moffett brothers (Evo9's) and Liam Regan Peugeot make up the top ten. Missing from the entry list is Vincent Mc Aree. The Monaghan man was fourth in West Limerick (14secs off the lead), but he recently damaged his ankle while playing soccer.
The 2WD segment also promises to be a hum dinger. The Escorts of Michael Conlon, James Coleman, Paul Fitzgerald and Jimmy Deane will be flat out (and sideways) trying to deny the Starlet RWD of Shane Mc Girr. The Tyrone man was best 2WD in West Limerick and Fivemiletown-where he was also a great third overall.
The Honda Civic of Dean Raftery will be favourite in the junior class, but Daniel Cronin will be quick in a similar car. The little Citroen C2R2's of Kevin O' Connor and David Carney will also challenge for honours in this prestigious class.
The Moonraker is hosted by the Munster MC and the COC Jim Murphy has laid on a challenging 62km course that traverses six stages in total. There are three stage locations (Scart Coolatoor and Newtown) and the road mileage is low with centralised servicing in Cappaquin. The Rally is based in Lismore as usual, with the first car leaving the town at 0900 and the winner is expected on the finish ramp at 1645.
The Moonraker is also Round 1 of Triton Showers South East Stages Rally Championship 2013 and a Counting Round of the Munster Car Club Championship 2013.
Munster Car Club's Moonraker Forestry Rally is taking place on Sun 3rd March 2013. C.O.C Jim Murphy is delighted to announce: "We are again based In Lismore. Rally H.Q. is Lismore House Hotel who are also the main sponsors of the event. Our associate sponsors are Monplate signs Carrigtwohill. We have 60+ kms of smooth surface forestry over 3 stage locations (Scart Coolatoor and Newtown) Road mileage is low with centralised servicing in Cappaquin. "
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