Kerry (Banna) Mini Stages Rally - 9 Nov 14

Event report: CRONIN/BUCKLEY SECURE LAST STAGE VICTORY

Posted: November 10, 2014 2:43 PM

West Cork driver Daniel Cronin came from behind to win Sunday’s 25th anniversary Banna Beach Resort Kerry Winter Rally on the sixth and final stage. Cronin, from Ballylickey, and his co-driver Shane Buckley from Faha, just outside Killarney were driving the Cronin family Subaru Impreza World Rally for the first time on tarmac.

They took a few stages to settle in to the their new mount but set a string of fastest times over the middle part of the rally to set up an exciting final stage showdown. Long-time leader and defending champion Mike Quinn started the last stage, near the village of Kilflynn with a four second advantage but the local hero was unable to keep off the challenge of Cronin who went 12 seconds quicker over the test to win the rally by just eight seconds.

It was the Cronin’s and Buckley’s first win but the third on this event for the well-known motorsport family from West Cork. His uncle Denis won the rally back in 1995 and his brother Keith, a three-time British Rally Champion, is a past double winner of this popular end of season rally.

Quinn, who won the rally last year after 18 years of trying was gallant in defeat. He admitted at the final stage finish near Finuge that his rival simply drove better and faster over the final loop of stages and accepted he was far too cautious through the penultimate test at Smearlagh River.

There was heartbreak too for Killarney’s Rob Duggan. The Mitsubishi Lancer driver had really taken the fight to Quinn over the opening loop of stages. The two Kerry crews tied for time on stage one, Duggan went eight seconds faster on the second test, only to lose that exact amount of time on stage three and level the contest again. It all fell apart for Duggan on stage four when his car picked up a right front puncture and he and co-driver Noel O’Sullivan lost over six minutes when they stopped to change it.

Third place went to Shanagolden’s Ed Synan who had local Kilflynn-based co-driver Denis O’Connell on pacenote duty. It was the Ford Escort crew’s first outing since The Circuit of Munster in June and it took them a few stages to get settled in.

There were plenty of other Kerry success stories in the top ten with Tom Relihan and Maurice McElligott taking fourth overall in their Ford Escort Mk1.

The top all Kerry Motor Club crew and winners of the prestigious Donal O’Flaherty Memorial Cup were Dave Murphy and John Gleeson in their Escort. They finished eighth overall. One place behind were the North Kerry pairing of Tim Enright and Stephen Buckley while Killarney’s Tadgh O’Sullivan and Eoin O’Leary rounded off the top ten.

Local class winners included Tralee’s Darren Young and Sean Walsh who topped the time sheets in the 1600cc Front-wheel-drive class in their Honda Civic. Ballybunnion’s Jason Costello won the rear-wheel drive category in the same class and also sealed the class title in the Top Part West Coast Rally championship – the event being the final round of the club man series.

Next up on the local rally scene is the Rentokil-Intial Killarney Historic Rally on November 30.

Results

Posted: November 10, 2014 2:33 PM

1 Daniel Cronin/Shane Buckley (Subaru Impreza WRC) 52m 35s, 2 Mike Quinn/Donal Balfe (Ford Escort MkII) 52m 43s, 3 Ed Synan/Denis O'Connell (Ford Escort MkII) 54m 40s, 4 Tom Relihan/Maurice McElligott (Ford Escort) 56m 03s, 5 Benny Kennedy/David Forde (Ford Escort) 56m 06s, 6 Sean Moran/Mark O'Sullivan (Toyota Corolla RWD) 56m 12s, 7 Stephen Carey/Ella Ryan (Honda Civic) 56m 21s, 8 David Murphy/John Gleeson (Ford Escort) 56m 34s, 9 Tim Enright/Stephen Buckley (Ford Escort) 56m 38s, 10 Tadhg O'Sullivan/Eoin O'Leary (Ford Escort) 56m 51s.

Production class:
1 Stephen Carey/Ella Ryan.

Juniors:
1 Niall O'Sullivan/Sean O'Crowley (Citroen C2) 58m 08s,
2 John O'Sullivan/Kieran Reen (Civic) 58m 09s,
3 Kenneth Quirke/Seamus Skinner (Civic) 59m 58s.

Leaders After
Leaders After SS1 Mike Quinn/Donal Balfe (Ford Escort MkII)
& Rob Duggan/Noel O'Sullivan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 GpN)
SS2 Rob Duggan/Noel O'Sullivan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 GpN)
SS3-5 Mike Quinn/Donal Balfe (Ford Escort MkII)
SS6 Daniel Cronin/Shane Buckley (Subaru Impreza WRC)

Stage Winners
SS1 Mike Quinn/Donal Balfe (Ford Escort MkII)
& Rob Duggan/Noel O'Sullivan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 GpN)
SS2 Rob Duggan/Noel O'Sullivan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 GpN)
SS3 Daniel Cronin/Shane Buckley (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS4 Mike Quinn/Donal Balfe (Ford Escort MkII)
SS5 Daniel Cronin/Shane Buckley (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS6 Daniel Cronin/Shane Buckley (Subaru Impreza WRC)

Full Results results.shannonsportsit.ie (Angus Sealy)

Updates on Radio Kerry

Posted: November 6, 2014 1:17 PM

25TH Anniversary Banna Beach Resort Kerry Winter Rally

Radio Kerry Rally Report Broadcast times

Saturday November 8

1620 approx preview piece

12.05 News from Stage One
13.05 News from Stage Two
14.30 News from Stage Four
15.25 News from Listowal Service park
16.15 News from end of sixth and final stage
17.05 Final wrap from finish ramp

Time and Distance / Final Instructions

Posted: November 6, 2014 1:17 PM

Available at:

• Kerry Motor Club

Seeded Entry List

Posted: November 4, 2014 9:54 AM

1 Mike Quinn/Donal Balfe (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
2 Wesley Patterson/Johnny Baird (Ford Escort RS Mk2) [14]
3 Edward O'Callaghan/Ger Clancy (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
4 Rob Duggan/Noel O'Sullivan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
5 Shane Maguire/Paul Kelly (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
6 Stephen McCann/Niall Burns (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [20]
7 ED Synan/Denis O'Connell (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
8 Daniel Cronin/Shane Buckley (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
9 Derek Daly/Brian Doherty (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
10 David Murphy/John Gleeson (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
11 Frank Sweeney/Jane Cogan (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
12 Kevin Donoghue/Aoife O Donoghue (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
14 Eddie Power/Mark Bowens (Toyota Corolla WRC) [15]
15 Benny Kennedy/David Forde (Ford Escort) [13]
16 Paul McCann/Tomas McCann (Ford Escort Cosworth) [15]
17 Tom Relihan/Maurice McElligott (Ford Escort Mk1) [13]
18 Sean Moran/TBA (Toyota Corolla RWD) [13]
19 Paul Curley/Jason Ollerenshaw (Subaru Imprea N12B) [20]
20 Jonathan Folan/Nicola Folan (Subaru Impreza N10) [20]
21 Stephen Carey/Ella Ryan (Honda Civic) [3]
22 Pat Barry/Stephen O'Connell (Ford Escort) [14]
23 Shane Buckley/TBA (Honda Civic EK4) [13]
24 Diarmuid Keohane/Peter Keohane (Ford Escort RS Mk2) [13]
25 Darren Young/Sean Walsh (Honda Civic) [11F]
26 John Danaher/Keith Curley (Ford Escort RS) [14]
27 Gary Reidy/Padraig Doody (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
28 Niall O'Sullivan/Sean O'Crowley (Citroen C2) [16]
29 Tadgh Sullivan/Eoin O Leary (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
30 Jason Costello/TBA (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
31 Eoin Woods/Jonathan Carroll (Ford Escort) [13]
32 Anthony Hand/Peter Deery (Ford Escort) [11R]
33 William Cavanagh/Olivia Coen (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
34 Mark Kane/Colin Fitzgerald (Ford Escort) [13]
35 Derek Butler/PA Murphy (Honda SIR Vtec) [11F]
36 Ger Lyons/Steve O'Brien (Honda Civic) [16]
37 Paddy O'Rourke/Tony Healy (Ford Escort) [13]
38 Mike Dolan/Derek Flynn (Honda Civic 1.6VTI) [11F]
39 Andrew Slattery/Shaun Forde (Peugeot 208 R2) [6]
40 Richard Moore/Brian Halligan (Honda Civic) [16]
41 John Collins/Donal Falvey (Honda Civic Type R) [3]
42 Paudie Casey/Gene Stack (Toyota Corolla RWD) [13]
43 Justin Comer/Adrian Comer (Mitsubishi Evo 5) [15]
44 PJ O'Dowd/John Young (Talbot Sunbeam) [18]
45 Mikey P Kelliher/Damien Fleming (Ford Escort Mk2) [10]
46 Jason Roycroft/Nicole O'Shea (Honda Civic EK4) [2]
47 Paul Rowley/Patrick Brides (Renault Clio Maxi) [13]
48 Patrick Slattery/Mike Cleary (Honda Civic) [11F]
49 Don Keating/Sean Duggan (Subaru Impreza N11) [4]
50 David Smyth/Johnny Rooney (Toyota Corolla RWD) [11R]
51 John O'Sullivan/Denny Riordan (Toyota Corolla RWD) [11R]
52 Joe McCarthy/Jason O'Brien (Honda Civic Type R) [3]
53 Mike Walsh/TBA (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
54 Kenneth Ryan/Keith McCarthy (Ford Escort Mk2) [9]
55 Eamon Barrett/Ken Kenneally (Ford Escort) [9]
56 Liam Higgins/Paul Cummins (Mitsubishi Evo 7) [15]
57 Kenneth Quirke/TBA (Honda Civic) [J2]
58 Michael Stack/TBA (Subaru Impreza) [20]
59 Kenneth Cullinane/Mark Linehan (Honda Civic) [11F]
60 John O'Sullivan/Kieran Reen (Honda Civic Type R) [16]
61 Cathal McCarthy/Alison Levis (Honda Civic) [11F]
62 Andrew Lehane/Cliff Desmond (Honda Civic) [11F]
63 Con Mulcahy/John Nugent (Vauxhall Nova) [10]
64 Andrew Fanning/Derek Gibbs (Ford Fiesta ST) [20]
65 Kieran O'Donoghue/Peter Falvey (Honda Civic 1.6VTI) [16]
66 Seamus Doyle/Kevin Barry (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
67 Stephen Sheehan/Gavin Sheehan (Subaru Impreza) [20]
68 Michael Nolan/James Lowry (Honda Civic VTi) [11F]
69 Pat Ryan/Jack Dalton (Ford Escort) [9]
70 Anthony Masterson/Tommy Clinton (Ford Escort RS1600) [1]
71 Hazel O'Callaghan/TBA (Peugeot 106 GTi) [6]
72 Kieran Donohue/Sharon Egan (Subaru Impreza) [15]
73 Denis Burke/Paddy Nash (Ford Escort) [9]
74 Kenith Hogan/Patrick Curley (Honda Civic 1.6VTI) [2]
75 Andrew Sheehan/Cian Corbett (Honda Civic eg6) [16]
76 Simon Greene/Brendan Greene (Ford Escort) [10]
77 Eddie Kennelly/Jonathan Keane (Ford Escort Mk2) [10]
78 Jarlath Conneely/Michael Hynes (Honda Civic EK4) [2]
79 Denis Dineen/Donal Dineen (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
80 Gearoid O'Regan/Tony McCarthy (Citroen C2 R2) [6]
81 Maurice Browne/Colm Browne (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
82 Brian Slattery/Gary Carroll (Ford Escort Mk2) [16]
83 Dan Kelleher/Aileen Shanahan (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
84 Anthony Madigan/Tim Gleeson (Peugeot TBA) [1]
85 Alan Dineen/Tony Dineen (Vauxhall Corsa B) [11F]
86 Jeff Case/Charles Galagher (Honda Civic) [11F]
87 Robert Behan/Brendan Behan (BMW Mini cooper S) [11F]
88 Terry Carmody/Don Bosco Rogers (Ford Escort) [11R]
89 James Kissane/Tim Kennelly (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
90 Grainne Caplis/TJ O'Brien (Opel Corsa) [9]
91 Chris Faulconbridge/Nicole Treanor (Opel Kadett) [10]
92 Patrick Lawlor/Kevin Rohan (Honda Civic) [16]
93 David Dee/Rita Dee (Austin Mini Cooper S) [1]
94 Jimmy Kiely/Michael John O'Brien (Honda Civic VTi) [16]
95 Jerry O'Callaghan/TBA (Vauxhall Nova) [12]
96 Jonathan Courtney/Paul McGlinchey (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
97 Marcin Mleczko/Tomasz Bachor (Opel Corsa) [9]
98 Edward Kennedy/Maurice O'Connor (Peugeot 106 GTi) [11]
99 Donal O'Sullivan/Linda Curtin (Suzuki Swift GTI) [9]
100 Declan Forde/Chris King (Ford Escort Mk2) [10]
101 Ian Ryan/Conor Cagney (Honda EG6) [16]
102 Trevor Galvin/Vincent Hilliard (Subaru Impreza STI) [20]
103 John O Sullivan/Sean Howard (Honda Civic LE) [11F]
104 John O Brien/TBA (Ford Escort Mk2 LE) [12]
105 Tim Enright/Stephen Buckley (Ford Escort LE) [13]

Local drivers to the fore in Sunday’s Kerry Winter Rally

Posted: November 4, 2014 9:36 AM

The battle for honours in Sunday’s Banna Beach Resort Kerry Winter Rally is likely to be an all Kerry-affair with last year’s winner Mike Quinn taking on rising star Rob Duggan from Killarney.

Quinn won last year's event after 18 years of trying in his Ford Escort Mk2 , while Duggan will be on just his third outing in a Mitsubishi Lancer E9 after finishing fourth overall on the recent Fastnet Rally in Bantry.

Limerick’s Ed O’Callaghan, another Escort mounted pilot, gave Quinn a run for his money last year and won’t be found wanting over the fast flowing stages near Listowal and Kilflynn.

One dark-horse for overall glory is Northern Ireland’s Wesley Patterson. It is some time since the Escort man competed in the Kerry Winter Rally, and while he is using this event as a high-speed test for the Rentokil-Initial Killarney Historic Rally later this month, he cannot be ruled out of a podium finish at the end of the day’s action.

The rally gets under way at 830am from the Banna Beach Hotel, just outside Ardfert, and competitors face six special stages and nearly 60 miles of competitive action over a tight loop of classic North Kerry roads. The 25th running of the popular end-of-season event will feature a new service park on the grounds of Listowal Racecourse with the first car due back on the podium at Banna just before 5pm.

The rally is the final round of the Top Part West Coast Rally Championship and while the overall honours have already been decided in favour of Welshman Hugh Hunter there are plenty of class awards up for grabs. Top seed Mike Quinn has already secured the Class 14 title and Tralee’s PJ O’Dowd is the 2014 Historic class champion. Interestingly, O’Dowd is co-driven by fellow Tralee man John Young who acted as the event’s first Clerk of the Course in 1989.

Ballybunnion’s Jason Costello is the current leader of class 11.

The entry also includes Kenneth Quirke from Camp and Tralee’s Sean Hegarty who were recently crowned the Southern 4 Junior Rally Champions in their Talbot Sunbeam. Late entries are available and can be submitted via the club website. (Link below)

Motorsport fans set to flock to The Kingdom of Kerry in November

Posted: October 17, 2014 9:29 AM

County Kerry is the place to be for motorsport fans in November as the Irish rally season draws to a close on the roads of The Kingdom.

Two of Ireland’s most-popular rallies will take place just three weeks apart.

First up is the Banna Beach Resort Kerry Winter Rally, an event that is this year celebrating its 25th anniversary and is set to take place on Sunday November 9. Organised by the Tralee-based Kerry Motor Club, the rally is the final round of the Top Part West Coast Rally Championship.

The rally will take place on closed roads in the North Kerry area with centralised servicing at Listowal Racecourse.

It is expected to draw a capacity entry of 130 cars.

Three weeks later the Rentokil-Initial Killarney Historic Rally takes place. This is the only rally in Ireland that caters exclusively for historic-specification rally cars and has grown in stature and international recognition since its inception in 1996.

The Saturday, November 29 event will use some of Ireland’s most-famous rally roads including the world-respected Moll’s Gap.

The Killarney and District Motor Club organised event is the opening round of the 2015 Clonakilty Black Pudding Irish Tarmac Historic Rally Championship and will attract 150 competitors from all over Ireland and Britain.

Regulations / On Line Entry

Posted: October 7, 2014 3:00 PM

Available at:

• Kerry Motor Club

25th Anniversary Banna Beach Resort Kerry Winter Rally

Posted: October 2, 2014 12:31 PM

The ever-popular Banna Beach Resort Kerry Winter Rally will celebrate its 25th anniversary on November 9.
Masterminded by Banna Beach Hotel proprietor Willie Murphy and Kerry Motor Club in 1989 the traditional end of season event has grown to become one Ireland’s most popular club rallies.

Competitors always took advantage of the favourable accommodation rates that the popular North Kerry summer resort offered during its winter off-season.

As a result the rally, as well as being the final round of the Top Part West Coast Rally Championship, is always regarded as an end of season party by the rally crews.

Clerk of the course Senan Ragget has promised a challenging route to ensure an action packed weekend for the 130 or so competitors who are expected to enter.

He has chosen a compact, six-stage rally, using variations of special stages in the north Kerry area traditionally reserved for Kerry Motor Club’s Dunlop Irish National Rally Championship counting Circuit of Kerry.

New for this year will be the inclusion of the world-famous Listowel Racecourse as the event’s service area.

Mr Ragget said:
“I have been involved in this rally almost since its inception, as a competitor, marshal and organiser. Both the club and the hotel wanted to mark the 25th anniversary of this unique event by offering almost national rally mileage for what is really a club event. The usual special accommodation rates for the weekend will be offered by the Murphy family and we will soon be announcing other incentives, like free entries for the 2015 event for the winners of certain categories. As the final round of the Top Part West Coast Rally Championship we are expecting a big entry but we would love to attract entries from drivers who have supported us over the 25 years.”

Past winners include multiple British Champion Keith Cronin and his uncle Denis and local Kerry Motor Club drivers Mike Quinn (2013), John Kearney and Johnny O’Sullivan o Killarney and District Motor Club.

Entry forms and regulations will published once they have been approved by Motorsport Ireland.

Club Website

Posted: October 2, 2014 12:27 PM

• Kerry Motor Club