Many Valvoline Crews Making The Journey to Ballyvourney!
Posted: April 14, 2016 7:16 AM
Round two of the 2016 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship, the Moonraker Forest Rally is gathering a staggering entry, as the championship has literally taken off once more following its break after round one. The Munster Car Club promoters and organisers of the renowned Moonraker Forestry Rally have moved the rally to a Saturday for the first time, with four stages done twice, under new Clerk of the Course Paul Browne. "This is a Rally run by competitors for Competitors. I am delighted to have the Abbey Hotel Ballyvourney as event Headquarters for this the second counting round of the Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship. We look forward to welcoming old friends and new to Ballyvourney for what will be one of the best Forestry Rallies of 2016." Indeed reports are encouraging that the stages are in excellent shape and over eighty-five entries have now been received, thanks to the efforts of the Munster Club and the championship organisers.
After scoring maximum points on round one, young Patrick O'Brien in his Evo 9 is amongst the favourites. The Omagh charger is seeded at number four behind former forestry champion Pat O'Connell and Liam Ryan both also in Evo's, and Niall McCullagh who led much of the first round in Carrick on Suir . Ger Lucey and Michael Carbin are in older Evo's but much of the interest circles around other four wheel drive machinery.
The WRC brigade are represented by Martin Cairns in his Subaru, and John Reid in his familiar Corolla. However at number eleven is Adrian Hetherington, the two wheel drive ace, debuting his newly acquired Corolla WRC on the event, and it will interesting to see how the spectacular Tyrone driver adapts. Desi Henry is also now a late entry, and Brendan Cumiskey brings his R5 Fiesta, in what is a highly competitive four wheel entry, especially when Don Keating, Cathan McCourt and Andrew Fanning are added into the mix.
The two-wheel drive racers will be lead away by reigning champion- Micky Conlon in his 2 litre Escort. With a new Toyota engine installed into his Starlet, Shane McGirr's progress will be interesting to watch, and John Gordon in his class 12 MK2 Escort, showed even more speed on the first round. Damian McGauran's rear wheel drive Corolla, the Citroen DS3 of Dean Raftery, and the Escort's of Hugh McQuaid, David Condell and David Crossen in a freshly rebuilt car provide further excitement. Derek Mackeral in his Vauxhall Nova won the rallytrader.ie/ Kumho tyres Junior category, collecting two tyres from Ears Motorsport Ireland, on round one. He is back to defend his Junior lead, with Shane Kenneally, Ian Downey and Alan Moran amongst the tough opposition.
Late Entries
Posted: April 14, 2016 5:31 AM
ANDY NASH
TOM MURPHY
PAUL MCDAID
DESI HENRY
JOE STANLEY
IAN GRAMHNE
ALAN CUMMINS
JOHN O CONNOR
ROBERT MOFFETT
JOSH MOFFETT
Rob Duggan
Michael Carbin
Joe Stanley
John O'Connor
1 Pat O'Connell/Mark Wiley (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [20]
2 Liam Ryan/KEITH MORIARTY (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [20]
3 Niall McCullagh /Ryan McCloskey (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) []
4 Patrick O'Brien/Aine McGuigan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
5 Gerard Lucey/JJ Cremin (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) [20]
6 Michael Carbin/TBA (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [20]
7 Martin Cairns/Garry Elhinney (Subaru ) [7]
8 Don Keating/Donal Balfe (Subaru Impreza) [20]
9 Cathan McCourt/Brian Hoy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [20]
10 John Reid/Enda Shields (Toyota Corolla WRC) [20]
11 Adrian Hethrington/Gary Nolan (Toyota Corolla WRC) [15]
12 Andrew Fanning/Derek Gibbs (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [20]
14 Brendan Cumiskey/Ronan O'Kane (Ford ) [20]
15 Niall Henry/John Rowan (Mitsubishi Lancer ) [20]
16 Gerry Kearin /TBA (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
17 Stephen Cullen /Seamus O Grady (Subaru Impreza N12B) [4]
18 Enda McCormack /Colin Fitzgerald (Subaru Impreza WRC S10) [7]
19 Eddie Power/John Rafter (Toyota Corolla WRC) [7]
20 Eamon Daly/Andrew Hayes (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [20]
21 Danny Creedon/Derry Healy (Subaru Impreza) [6]
22 Michael McGillan/Paddy Curdden (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [20]
23 Ed Muldoon/Mark Byrne (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [20]
24 Ashley Dickson/Fabian McAleer (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo ) [4]
25 Brecan McBreen/Breen McNamee (Subaru Impreza) [6]
26 Garry Donoghue/Andrew Browne (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [20]
27 Darren McKelvey/Graham Henderson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [20]
28 Paul McCann /Paddy Plunkett (Escort RS Cosworth) []
29 Gemma Kerley/Lisa Knox (Subaru Impreza) [20]
30 Aidan Long/Anthoney O' Sullivan (Subaru Impreza) [15]
201 Mickey Conlon/Ciaran McPhilips (Ford Escort MkII) [13]
202 Shane McGirr/Jackie Elliott (Toyota Starlet) [13]
203 John Gordon/Thomas Wedlock (Ford Escort MkII) [12]
204 Damain McGauran /Michaela McGinn (Toyota Corolla) [13]
205 Dean Rafferty /TBA (Citroen DS3 R3) [3]
206 Huge McQuaid/Enda Gearthy (Ford Escort MkII) [12]
207 David Condell/Eugene McGrath (Ford Escort MkII) [14]
208 David Crossen/Chis McSherry (Ford Escort MkII) [13]
209 Derek Mackerel/Muireann Hayes (Vauxhall Nova) [16]
210 Ray J Benskin/TBA (Ford Escort ) [12]
211 Ruaire Maguire/Grace O'Brien (Vauxhall Corsa) [9]
212 Emmet Lyons/Tommy Cuddihy (Honda Civic) [3]
214 Shane Kenneally/Jer Connors (Ford Escort) [16]
215 Ian Downey/William Kelly (Opel Corsa) [16]
216 Sean W Benskin/Joe Fitzgibons (Ford Escort) [12]
217 Mick Gerathy /TBA (Ford Escort) [10]
218 David Fitzsimons/Tommy Moynihan (Ford Escort MkII) [12]
219 Alan Moran /David Loughney (Peugeot ) [16]
220 Diarmuid Lynch/Darragh Lynch (Ford Escort ) [4]
221 David Beanish/Eric Calnan (Opel ) [10]
222 Tony McKenna/Jonathan Dinsmore (Ford Escort MkII) [12]
223 Barry Mahon/Ultan Gowan (Honda Civic ) [11F]
224 Jason Walsh/Michael Walsh (Ford Escort MkII) [11R]
225 James Luvey/Kieran Lynch (Honda Civic) [11F]
226 Niall O'Sullivan/Nicholas Burke (Citreon ) [9]
227 Dylan Curley/TBA (Ford Escort ) [16]
228 Neil Phelan/Joe Kearns (Ford Escort MkII) [13]
229 Stephan Dickson/Tommy Hayes (Ford ) [3]
230 Brian Little/Adam Semple (Ford Escort MkII) [10]
231 John Quill/Patricia Hogan (Peugeot ) [9]
232 Friancis Kelly/Brian Hutton (Vauxhall ) [10]
233 Colm Kearns/Terence McCabe (Ford ) [9]
234 Pierce J Dohney/Eilish Dunne (Opel Corsa) [2]
235 Martin O'Brien/Brian McCarthy (Citreon C2R2Max) [2]
236 Aaron Watters/Paddy Carroll (Honda Civic) [16]
237 Martin Lordan/Rory Hennessy (Ford MkII) [9]
238 James Driver/Megan Conway (Ford Ka) [16]
239 Jason Dickson/TBA (Ford Fiesta ST ) [2]
240 Iarla McCarthy/Eoghan McCarthy (Honda Civic) [11F]
241 Shay Delaney/Mark Furlong (Suzuki ) [9]
242 Ciaran Creedon/John Murphy (Honda Civic) [16]
243 Lukasz Czapnik/Robert Majchrzak (Peugeot 206) [11F]
244 Adrian Beattie/Declan Ryan (Honda Civic) [11F]
245 Paul Harrington/PJ Keane (Toyota Corolla) [16]
246 Anthony Roche/Aaron Browne (Peugeot 106) [9]
247 Johnny Casey/Patrick O' Sullivan (Ford Escort MkII) [9]
248 Michael Ormond/Paddy King (Honda Civic) [3]
249 David Fitzmaurice/TBA (TBA ) []
250 Kelvin Lyons/Paul O' Leary (Peugeot ) [2]
251 Richard O'Shea/Steven Mackey (Honda ) [9]
252 Paul McErlern/Niell McKenne (Ford Escort) [13]
Entries remain open.
Program Outlets for Moonraker Forest Rally 2016
Posted: April 10, 2016 1:55 PM
Abbey Hotel, Rally HQ, Ballyvourney.
Christy Lucey Service Station, Scrutiny, Ballyvourney
Siobhan O'Connell Shop, Ballyvourney.
Centra Foodstore, Ballyvourney.
MJ Kelleher's Clondrohid, Macroom
Coleman's Car Care, Wilton, Cork
O'Leary's Topaz Ser. Station, Lissarda.
Glenview Motors, Macroom.
Program includes maps, time and seeded entry list, Cost Eur 10.
Entries Received (3/4/16)
Posted: April 5, 2016 7:21 AM
Mickey Conlon,
Barry Mahon,
Adrian Hetherington,
Ashley Dickson,
Don Keating,
Cathan McCourt,
Diarmuid Lynch,
Anthony Roche,
Gemma Kerley,
Brian Little,
Emmet Lyons,
Niall Henry,
Martin O?Brien,
Pierse Doheny,
Ruairi McGuire,
Adrian Beattie,
Kelvin Lyons,
Sean W Benskin,
Iarla McCarthy,
Jason Walsh,
Tony McKenna,
Francis Kelly,
Martin Lordan,
Gary Donoghue,
James Driver,
John Quill,
Michael Carbin,
Liam Ryan,
Michael McGillin,
Andrew Fanning,
Shane McGirr,
Patrick O?Brien,
John Gordon,
Eamon Daly,
Ed Muldoon,
Brendan Comiskey,
Niall MuCullagh,
David Fitzmaurice,
James Lucey,
Gerard Lucey,
Gary Kiernan,
David Condell,
Bobby Benskin,
Neil Phelan,
Derek Mackeral,
Shane Kenneally,
Paul McErlean,
Ciaran Creedon,
David Fitzsimons,
Aaron Waters Wexford,
Shay Delaney Wexford,
Aidan Long,
Pat O Connell,
Eddie Power,
Lwkagz Czapnik,
Michael Ormond,
?????????? Colm Kearns,
????????? ?Alan Moran,
????????? ?Danny Creedon,
???????? ?David Beamish,
???????? ?Ian Downey,
?????????Johnny Casey,
???????? ?Martin Cairns,
???????? ?John Reid
Feedback from Safety Notes Suppliers:
Posted: April 5, 2016 6:46 AM
Michael Patterson of Patterson Safety Notes
"The Moonraker Forestry stages are in outstanding condition. The high level of maintainance that the wind farm operations demand means the roads are in great shape. Add in the fact they have great character due to their location, the rally offers everything from high speed fast following sections contrasting with some more technical uphill and downhill elements. Overall the Moonraker offers one of the better opportunities to sample Irish forestry rallying."
Killan Duffy of On the Pace Notes
"I would say the Moonraker stages are some of the best that I have ever seen in this country, and they are on a par with many of the Rally GB?s classic stages. The stages could not be in better condition. Some sections are the same as 2015 and all of these sections are in even better condition than last year."
REMINDER EARLY BIRD ENTRY INCENTIVE
Posted: March 31, 2016 4:12 AM
Early bird entry fee for the Abbey Hotel, Moonraker Rally 2016 closes on this coming Friday 1st April 2016.
Anyone intending on competing please send in your entries with the full discounted fee of Euro 570 including insurance levy to be received no later than the 2nd April
Remember 8 of the nicest forestry stages in the country are calling you.
Rally Launch - (Sat) 19 Mar 16
Posted: February 24, 2016 9:53 AM
Launch of the Abbey Hotel Moonraker Forestry Rally 2016 will take place on Saturday,19th March 2016 at 8 p.m. in the Abbey Hotel, Ballyvourney,
With the Abbey Hotel Ballyvourney, Moonraker Forestry Rally 2016 quickly approaching, the following are some details to assist all competitors in planning their weekend.
Headquarters is the Abbey Hotel, Ballyvourney, Co Cork. For any accommodation requests please contact the hotel directly.
Scrutiny for the event will be in Christy Lucey's Service Station, Ballyvourney, Co Cork
Paper Scrutiny will be based in the rally headquarters
Parc Ferme will be at 'Scoil Ghobnatain school, Ballyvourney, Co Cork
Service Area will be in Udaras na Gaeltacha Business Park, Ballyvourney, Co Cork
Further instruction's will be provided in due course.
Press Release 1
Posted: December 10, 2015 2:27 PM
With the ever evolving world of Motorsport the Munster Car Club Promoters and organisers of the Renowned Moonraker Forestry Rally are delighted to announce that the 2016 Event will change its day of running to a Saturday for the First time.
The Rally will run on Saturday 16th April and will use a 4?2 Format. The man at the helm is Paul Browne.
Paul a well known competitor in his own right commented that we at the Munster Car Club were delighted with the feedback we received on last year's event when we based the Rally in Ballyvourney so this year we have decided to run a similar format, while changing the stages but keeping the quality that makes the Moonraker Forestry Rally one of the best received by competitor?s and spectators alike.
"This is a Rally run by competitors for Competitors. I am delighted to have the Abbey Hotel Ballyvourney as event Headquarters for this the second counting round of the Valvoline Irish Forestry Rally Championship and without the event Headquarters we cannot run the event. We look forward to welcoming old friends and new to Ballyvourney for what will be one of the best Forestry Rallies of 2016."
News Stories
Classifieds
Shop
TV Guide
Links
Upcoming 
Most