Second coming for Cronin and Buckley as they win Kerry Winter Rally
Posted: November 21, 2016 8:34 AM
Winning the Banna Beach Resort Kerry Winter Rally for the second time was a huge occasion for West Cork driver Daniel Cronin and his Kerry co-driver Shane Buckley.
It was the Mitsubishi Lancer E9 crew's second win is any many events. Their recent victory on Cronin's home rally, the Bantry-based Fastnet Rally, came just two weeks before their win on Buckley's home event. It was the continuation of a fine family tradition for the Cronin clan, Daniel's brother Keith and his uncle Denis are both former multiple winners of this popular end of season rally.
They had to give best to last year's winners Stephen McCann and Damien Fleming but once they took the lead on stage two they never looked back . Even a mid-rally drama, where the cockpit of their Lancer filled with smoke, blamed on leaking gear oil on to the hot exhaust pipe, could not prevent their second win.
Faha-based Buckley said: "It has been great few weeks. First we win Daniel's home rally and now we win my home rally. This is really nice in fairness and sets us up nicely for next year and gives us the encouragement to keep pushing."
Ford Escort Mk2 crew Jack Newman and Andrew Browne, although from County Meath, are both members of Killarney and District Motor Club, finished second. At one point only three second separated the two crews but Cronin was the fastest over the afternoon loop of stages and increased his winning margin to nine seconds at the finish.
Last year's winners (McCann and Fleming) were fastest on the opening stage near Ballyduff in their new Ford Fiesta S2000 but lacked top-end speed for the ultra-fast stage between Causeway and Kilmoley. A few close encounters with chicanes cost them valuable seconds too and while McCann admitted at the finish that he could have gone faster it was a successful debut for the new car.
The highest placed Kerry Motor Club crew over the line was navigator Denis O'Connell. Co-driving for Ed Synan in a Ford Escort Mk2, they finished fifth overall and won class 14.
Tommy Mason and Conor Walsh were ninth, second in Class 14, but more importantly, winners of the Donal O'Flaherty Memorial Trophy, presented to highest place all Kerry Motor Club crew driving a rear-wheel drive car.
Local navigator Keith McCarthy helped Limerick's Kenneth Ryan to second in class 11 R, while Pat Barry and Stephen O'Connell, two of the longest serving Kerry Motor Club members to support this rally were third in class 14. Former winner Mick Quinn was out of luck, he held a top five position for much of the rally but lost of three minutes on the final stage and finished a disappointing 20th overall. Other KMC members to make the finish included Paudie Casey and Gene Stack (Toyota Corolla) and Ger O'Brien and Tony Healy (Ford Escort).
PJ O'Dowd and John Young from Tralee won the Historic section while the Junior rally was won by Cork crew Seanie McGrath and Ger Clancy.
As another successful Banna Beach Kerry Winter Rally drew to a close clerk of the course Jakes Kelly reflected on a great weekend and thanked the Kerry Motor Club team for putting the massive event together.
He said :"There is a huge group of dedicated people within the club who made it all happen. They put in huge work in the run up and on the day and without this group of volunteers this rally could not happen. Huge thanks to the marshals who were out since early morning keeping the show safe and massive gratitude to the residents who allow the roads to be closed for the day."
Next event on the local calendar is the Rentokil-Initial Killarney Historic Rally on December 3.
Video Clips
Posted: November 21, 2016 8:26 AM
In Car
Posted: November 21, 2016 8:22 AM
Cal McCarthy & Paul Dullea (Citroen C2 R2) SS3
Stephen McCann & Damien Fleming (Ford Fiesta S2000) SS6
Leaders After
SS1 Stephen McCann/Damien Fleming (Ford Fiesta S2000)
SS2-6 Daniel Cronin/Shane Buckley (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9)
Stage Winners
SS1 Stephen McCann/Damien Fleming (Ford Fiesta S2000)
SS2 Daniel Cronin/Shane Buckley (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9)
SS3 Daniel Cronin/Shane Buckley (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9)
SS4 Jack Newman/Andrew Browne (Ford Escort MkII)
SS5 Daniel Cronin/Shane Buckley (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9)
SS6 Daniel Cronin/Shane Buckley (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9)
Close on 100 cars will start Sunday's Kerry Winter Rally which gets underway at 930am from the Banna Beach Resort near Ardfert.
Competitors in this popular end of season rally will face six demanding stages in the North Kerry area with a centralised service park on the sea-front in Ballyheuige providing the perfect back drop.
Leading the field away will be last year's winners Stephen McCann and his Killarney co-driver Damien Fleming. The pair won the rally last year at the wheel of a Mitsubishi Lancer E9 but have since sold the car and arrive in Kerry with a newly acquired Ford Fiesta S2000 at their disposal. The pair hope to contest next year's Irish Tarmac Rally Championship in the new car. Back-to-back victories in Banna would be the perfect way to set up their 2017 season.
A second win won't be easy, Daniel Cronin won the rally years ago and is the current owner of Mc Cann's 2016 event-winning Lancer. West Cork driver Cronin , who has local man Shane Buckley on the notes was the winner of the recent Fastnet Rally held over the October bank holiday weekend in Bantry and will be all out to revenge last year's defeat. Cronin's uncle Denis and brother Keith are both former multiple winner of this rally and the younger Cronin would love to add a second victory and uphold family honour.
Third on the road is local hero Mike Quinn, the Ford Escort driver, not always blessed with the kindest of luck was the 2013 winner and few would bet against anyone of the top trio taking a second victory.
The rally is the final round of the Top Part West Coast Rally championship and favourite for championship honours is Monaghan driver Shane Maguire. The Mitsubishi Lancer E9 driver is a regular visitor to the Kingdom but has never won a event here ? something he will be anxious to correct over the fast but challenging roads near Ballyduff and Causeway.
Another local crew who are likely to feature near the top end of the results are father and son team Charlie and Johnny Hickey from Killarney. The Ford Escort crew have just been crowned Southern Four Rally Champions.
One of the most coveted trophies on the Kerry Winter Rally is the Donal O'Flahery Memorial Trophy. I is awarded to the highest-placed Kerry Motor Club crew who are driving a rear-wheel-drive car. Tom Relihan and club chairman Maurice McElligott are one of the favourites for this award but the Ford Escort crew will face opposition from the likes of Pat Barry and Stephen O'Connell in a Ford Sierra Cosworth and father and daughter team Denis and Marguerite Dowling in another Escort. Eoin Duffin and Mike Cleary and Tim Enright and Stephen Buckley are another two crews in line for this award. Tralee team Daren Young and Sean Hegarty are seeded in the top 20 in their Honda Civic.
One interesting entry is that of Calvin Beattie. The Armagh driver is usually found competing on British Rally Championship international events but is using Sunday's rally as a high-speed tarmac test for his Opel Adam.
Seeded Entry List
Posted: November 7, 2016 6:09 AM
1 Stephen McCann/Damien Fleming (Ford Fiesta S2000) [5]
2 Daniel Cronin/Shane Buckley (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [20]
3 Mike Quinn/Donal Balfe (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
4 Shane Maguire/Mac Kierans (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
5 Jack Newman/Andrew Browne (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
6 Pat O'Connell/Mark Wiley (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [20]
7 David Murphy/John Gleeson (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
8 ED Synan/Denis O'Connell (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
9 Jer O'Donovan/Derek Tobin (Subaru Impreza N16 R4) [5]
10 Keith Power/Mark O'Sullivan (Toyota Corolla WRC) [15]
11 Tim Enright/Stephen Buckley (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
12 Peter Wilson/Karen Kelly (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
14 Charlie Hickey/Johnny Hickey (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
15 Tom Relihan/Maurice McElligott (Ford Escort Mk1) [13]
16 Sean Moran/Jonathan Keane (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
17 Jason O'Mahony/Jonathan O'Mahony (Honda Civic) [11F]
18 Brian Brady/TBA (Honda Civic) [1]
19 Darren Young/Sean Walsh (Honda Civic) [11F]
20 Anthony Hand/Peter Deery (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
21 Vincent O'Shea/Brian Hickey (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
22 Paul Manton/Adam Coffey (Subaru Impreza N12B) [20]
23 Richard Moore/Brian Halligan (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
24 Pat Kelly/Jonathan Kelly (Subaru Impreza N11) [15]
25 Tommy Mason/Conor Walsh (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
26 Frank Sweeney/Jane Cogan (Peugeot 205 RWD) [13]
27 Cal McCarthy/Eammon Dullea (TBA ) [4]
28 Andrew Burke/Colin Keegan (Citroen DS3 R3) [3]
29 Kenneth Ryan/Keith McCarthy (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
30 Kevin O'Donoghue/Diarmuid Lynch (BMW M3) [7]
31 Diarmuid "super" Keohane/Peter Keohane (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
32 John Hickey/Eoin O'Leary (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
33 Kevin Cole/Matthew Kirwan (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
34 Gary Reidy/Podge Doody (Ford Escort) [14]
35 Eoin Duffin/Mike Cleary (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
36 Keith Lyons/Se?n Hegarty (Ford R2 T) [2]
37 Paudie Casey/Gene Stack (Toyota Corolla RWD) [13]
38 Pat Barry/Stephen O'Connell (Ford Sierra) [14]
39 Ger Lyons/Steve O'Brien (Honda Civic) [11F]
40 Donal McGrath/Finbarr Fogarty (Toyota Corolla Twin Cam) [11R]
41 Seanie McGrath/Ger Clancy (Honda Civic) [16]
42 Eoghain McMahon/Pa Harding (Subaru GpN GC8) [15]
43 Pat Ryan/Jack Dalton (Ford Escort) [9]
44 Sean Kerins/Donagh Crowley (Honda Civic) [11F]
45 Ger O'Brien/TBA (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
46 James Cassidy/Declan Smith (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
47 Patrick Slattery/Pa Lawlor (Honda Civic) [11F]
48 John Browne/Breen McNamee (Honda Civic) [11F]
49 Niall O'Sullivan/Sean O'Crowley (Citroen C2) [11F]
50 Eddie Kennelly/Timmy Murphy (Ford Escort) [10]
51 Padraig Egan/Brian Hassett (Subaru Impreza WRX) [15]
52 David Smyth/Carmel Tuite (Toyota Corolla RWD) [11R]
53 Chris Campbell/Sean Nolan (Honda Civic) [11F]
54 PJ O'Dowd/John Young (Talbot Sunbeam) [17]
55 Dan O'Riordan/Darren Cremin (Honda EG6) [1]
56 Mike Dolan/TBA (Honda Civic 1.6VTI) [11F]
57 Paul O'Brien/Robert Nolan (Honda EG6) [11F]
58 Anthony Keating/Kevin Enright (Ford Escort G4) [16]
59 Denis Dowling/Marguerite Dowling (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
60 Ken Lyons/Paddy McDonnell (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
61 Michael Hamilton/Timmy Kelly (Honda Civic) [11F]
62 Tommy O'Sullivan/Kevin Rohan (Ford Focus RS) [3]
63 Jason Roycroft/Nicole O'Shea (Honda Civic Type R) [2]
64 John Murphy/Cliodhna Murphy (Subaru Impreza) [20]
65 James McGreal/Chris Mitchell (Mitsubishi Evo 6) [15]
66 Declan Forde/Brian Forde (Ford Escort Mk2) [10]
67 Tommy Kelly/Barry Foyle (Honda Civic) [11F]
68 Padraig Cronin/Kieran O'Donoghue (Honda Civic) [16]
69 Steven O'Connor/Adrian O'Connor (Honda Civic) [11F]
70 Shane Norris/Charlie Boland (Honda Civic EK4) [16]
71 Darragh Fleming/Kelvin O'Connor (Honda Civic 1.6VTI) [16]
72 Brendan Stone/JP Ruth (Honda Civic EK4) [11F]
73 Kieran Reen/Sean Collins (Honda Civic) [16]
74 Des Lyons/TBA (Honda Civic EK4) [11F]
75 Desmond Roche/Danial Brown (Honda Civic) [1]
76 Robert Leech/Conor Flynn (Proton Satria) [2]
77 James Kissane/Tim Kissane (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
78 Sean Enright/Timothy Diggin (Ford Escort Mk2) [10]
79 Brendan Treanor/Emmet McCooey (Ford Escort) [11R]
80 Niall O'Connell/John Liston (Austin Mini Cooper S) [10]
81 Martin O'Halloran /Thomas Ryan (Ford Escort) [11R]
82 Calvin Beattie/Jack Morton (Opel Adam Cup Car) [16]
83 Ollie Lynch/Linda O'Neill (Honda Civic) [11F]
84 Derry Long/Denny O'Riordan (Toyota Corolla Twincam) [1]
85 Trevor Galvin/Vincent Hilliard (Subaru Impreza STI) [20]
86 Thomas O'Brien/David O'Brien (Morris Mini) [17]
87 Sean Maloney/Shane Barry (Toyota Corolla Twin Cam) [11R]
88 Kenneth Cullinane/Robert O'Regan (Honda Civic) [11F]
89 Alan Lane/TBA (Honda Civic) [11F]
90 Maurice Gannon/Cathal Gannon (Ford Escort) [11R]
91 Conan O'Riordan/Cian O'Riordan (Peugeot 205) [10]
92 Brian Keohane/Donal Keohane (Peugeot 106) [16]
93 Shane Griffin/Ian Ryan (Peugeot 205 GTi) [10]
94 Chris Faulconbridge/Anthony Rigney (Opel Kadett) [10]
95 Pat O'Connell/Paddy Nash (Toyota Starlet) [1]
Late Entries will be taken
Massive prizes to be won by entering the upcoming Kerry Motor Club Mini Stages Rally.
Posted: October 11, 2016 5:50 AM
Kerry Motor Club would like to announce that all entries received before Friday 4th November will be entered in a draw for the following prizes:
- €500 Rally of the Lakes 2017 entry voucher
- €200 Kerry Mini Stages 2016 entry refund (1of2)
- €200 Kerry Mini Stages 2016 entry refund (2of2)
- FREE Holiday home for rally weekend (1of2) Banna Beach Resort
- FREE Holiday home for rally weekend (2of2) Banna Beach Resort
- Free Hans Hire
- Free helmet and Suit Hire
- Free Twin Room at The Rose Hotel for Circuit of Kerry 2017
- Free Patterson Pacenote & DVD
- Free Killian Duffy Pacenote & DVD
Simply get your completed entry in before 4th November to qualify for the draw for one of these Great prizes!
Kerry Motor Club would like to thank KDMC, Banna Beach Resort, Christy Carey (HANS hire), Aidan Walsh WLRS, The Rose Hotel, Killian Duffy and Brian and Liz Patterson for their kind sponsorship of the prizes.
Terms and conditions apply. All prize winners must start the event to receive their prize.
More Details on the club website, link below.
Local co-driver Fleming set to defend Kerry Winter Rally title
Posted: October 11, 2016 5:47 AM
Kerry Motor Club has announced details of its November 13 Banna Beach Hotel Kerry Winter Rally.
The popular, end-of- season clubmans’s rally will follow a tried and tested format with classic stages in the North Kerry area with the service park set to located on the seafront of the picturesque village of Ballyheigue.
The rally is the final round of the Top Part West Coast Rally championship and several of the awards are set to be decided on the event.
Kerry Motor Club and the Banna Beach Hotel have enjoyed a relationship that spans four decades, the seaside resort is one of the longest serving rally headquarters in the country and offers competitors and fans favourable accommodation rates over the rally weekend.
Clerk of the course Jakes Kelly will lay on two different stages, each run three times, in a route that promises to be challenging for the drivers but with very limited road mileage between each test.
He said: “The stages are exactly what the drivers expect for Banna at the time of year. Fast flowing roads, with plenty challenging twists and turns, added to the uncertainty of the weather make for an unpredictable day. We look forward to welcoming our regular competitors back to Banna and hopefully we will see a few new faces too.”
Last year’s rally was won by the Cavan /Kerry pairing of Stephen McCann. They have since sold their event-winning Subaru Impreza and have recently acquired an S2000 -specification Ford Fiesta.
The Kerry Winter Rally will mark the car’s first outing after a planned entry in the Garda Motor Club’s Baltinglass Rally in October was deferred due to electrical problems.
Local co-driver Fleming said: “It will be an honour to run first on the road in one my local rallies. It will be our first time in a left-hand-drive car so that could be interesting. The plan is to test the car in Banna with a view to entering the Irish Tarmac Championship next season.”
Regulations and entry forms can be downloaded from the club website, link below.
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