Fisher leads Tarmac Championship after opening round in Galway
Posted: March 31, 2017 9:00 AM
Third place in the Corrib Oil Galway International Rally was good enough to give Alastair Fisher & Gordon Noble maximum points in the opening round of the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac championship. Despite having to give way to the superior power of the World Rally Cars of Garry Jennings and Roy White who finished first and second overall, the young Fermanagh driver still had over thirty seconds in hand over his nearest rivals Sam Moffett & Karl Atkinson after two days rallying in the Athenry and Tuam area. Fisher was never led by his R5 peers over the weekend despite the best efforts of Sam Moffett who could never get quite close enough.
Robert Barrable?s long awaited comeback saw him take a satisfactory fifth place overall and score third place points as he acclimatised to his new Fiesta R5. By the end of the event his times had become much more competitive and he will get quicker with more time in the car. Stephen Wright also performed very well over the weekend and is in fourth place in the championship, while Josh Moffett hopes of a better result were ruined by a puncture on the opening day and he only edged past the Skoda Fabia of Joe McGonigle on the final stage to leave the top five championship placings all held by Ford Fiesta drivers.
Not everyone had a good weekend in Galway, as Jonny Greer had performed very well on the opening day in his Citroen only to suffer a couple of punctures and without enough spares he had to withdraw. Tomas Davies from Wales suffered a similar fate while Aaron McHale went off the road on the penultimate stage of the opening day. Brendan Cumiskey also lost a lot of time on the opening day when he visited the scenery for a few minutes.
The six Sunday stages were badly curtailed by a severe frost which left the roads very treacherous and the first pair were cancelled, while two of the remaining four were drastically shortened. This meant very little change in the leader board on the second day as all of Saturdays survivors were determined to score points on the opening round.
Group N was won by Stephen Hernon from William Mavitty with both drivers having to drop into Rally 2 having retired on the opening day. William Creighton took maximum points in the R2 class after his closest championship rival Marty Gallagher went off the road on the opening day. He did however re-join under Rally 2 to take championship points while Andrew Burke won class 3 in his Citroen DS3.
Provisional Points after Round 1
1 - Alastair Fisher 17
2 - Sam Moffett 14
3 - Robert Barrable 12
4 - Stephen Wright 10
5 - Josh Moffett 8
Modified Championship
The modified championship has a very strong list of registrations this year and at the top there was a tremendous battle between the Escorts of Gary Kiernan and Damien Tourish. Kiernan overturned a 24 second overnight deficit to record victory by 31 seconds over his Donegal rival after some excellent driving in very difficult conditions. Kevin Eves was spectacular to watch in his Toyota Corolla while Patrick McHugh also drove extremely well to take fourth place. The pair of BMW 1Ms came fifth and sixth in the hands of Eugene Meegan and Richard Whelan as the cars were a handful in the slippery conditions. Other drivers to get good results included Jason McSweeney and Vivian Hamill, while Pat Donegan, Tom Flaherty and Ed Murphy all retired over the weekend.
Provisional Modified Points after Round 1
1 - Gary Kiernan 17
2 - Damien Tourish 14
3 - Kevin Eves 12
4 - Patrick McHugh 10
5 - Eugene Meegan 8
Historic Championship
The historic rally was very competitive and saw a few lead changes before Ernie Graham took control and took victory by just over a minute in his immaculate Escort Mk2. Gareth Lloyd moved his way steadily up the field over the weekend to eventually finish second ahead over Keith McIvor who had held that position overnight. David Goose, Frank Cunningham and Barry Jones were the other championship registered finishers. Current Historic champion, Frank Cunningham had been off the road on the third stage and completed the event in Rally 2. Mechanical problems forced out John Coyne and Andy Johnson on the opening day with the latter leading overall at the time of his retirement.
Provisional Historic Points after Round 2
1 - Keith McIvor 19
2 - Ernie Graham 18.5
3 - Owen Murphy & Barry Jones 17
5 - Andy Johnson & Gareth Lloyd 14
Junior Championship
Only four crews took part in the rally, but significantly all were registered for the championship. Cavan?s John McCabe took a very impressive win by almost a minute and a half from last year?s runner up Justin Ryan. Third place went to Noel Murphy just 20 seconds behind Ryan with the first three cars all being Honda Civics. Jenna McCann in her Fiesta was fourth just over twenty seconds behind Murphy and it promises to be a very competitive season ahead.
Provisional Junior Points after Round 1
1 - John McCabe 17
2 - Justin Ryan 14
3 - Noel Murphy 12
5 - Jenna McCann 10
In Car
Posted: February 22, 2017 8:57 AM
Gary Kiernan & Keith Moriarty (Ford Escort Mk2) SS15
Stephen McCann & Damien Fleming (Ford Fiesta S2000) SS9
Frank Cunningham & Aaron Forde (BMW M3)
Kevin Eves & William Lynch (Toyota Corolla) SS15
Derek Butler & Aaron O'Regan (Honda Civic) SS4
Art McCarrick & John McCay (Honda Civic) SS8
John McCabe & Stephen Doogan (Honda Civic) SS15
Justin Ryan & Lorcan Moore (Honda Civic)
Jenna McCann & Sean Nolan (Ford Fiesta R2) SS15
Andy Johnson & Jim McSherry (Vauxhall Chevette) SS3
Barrable scores Irish Tarmac Championship podium in Galway on his first rally for 21 months
Posted: February 22, 2017 8:53 AM
On his first rally for 21 months, Robert Barrable finished fifth overall and third in the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship standings on the 2017 Corrib Oil Galway International Rally (4-5 February), driving a Michael Barrable Motors supported Ford Fiesta R5.
The talented 29-year old Dublin driver has spent much of the last two years racing in the UK - driving a Ginetta G55 GT4 in last year's British GT Championship and a Golf GTI in the 2015 Volkswagen Racing Cup Championship. Barrable's last rally was the Killarney Rally of the Lakes in May 2015, where he finished second overall in a Subaru WRC S14 and won the Bertie Fisher Cup for setting the fastest time over Moll's Gap.
His long absence from the special stages didn't prevent Barrable, a former Billy Coleman Award winner and Tunnock's World Rally Team pilot, return to the Irish rally lanes in some style last weekend. Co-driven by Damien Connolly, Barrable never put a foot wrong over the 15 narrow and slippery Galway stages to score a memorable comeback result in a Dom Buckley Motorsport-run Fiesta R5.
Barrable will contest round two of the Irish Tarmac Championship, the West Cork Rally (18-19 March).
Barrable said: "It felt great to be back in a rally car on a round of the Irish Tarmac Championship after such a long time away. Galway is a rally I'm fairly familiar with, but it's a tough event to do as a comeback rally as it's one of the most difficult events in the series. It's always very slippery and it's very easy to make a mistake, so on our first rally back we just concentrated on keeping the car on the road and not making any mistakes. That tactic paid off, because when others picked up punctures and hit problems, we were able to move up the leaderboard without ever pushing too hard or taking any risks - and in the end we finished the event without any problems and were rewarded with a very good result.
"We're working hard to secure a full Irish rally programme for 2017, but we're definitely going to contest the next round of the Tarmac Championship, the West Cork Rally. We'll see how things go after that."
KUMHO ENJOYS MEMORABLE SUCCESS ON GALWAY RALLY, EQUIPPING ALMOST ALL THE MAJOR CLASS WINNERS
Posted: February 22, 2017 8:50 AM
Kumho had high hopes of success on last weekend's (February 4/5) Corrib Oil Galway International Rally, but exceeded all expectations by equipping not only the outright winning WRC Subaru of Garry Jennings and Rory Kennedy, and the Ford Fiesta of new signings Alastair Fisher and Gordon Noble that annexed the all-important R5 class, but cars victorious in no less than 10 other divisions.
This was Fisher's first outing with backing from Kumho, plus renewed support from the company's Irish Distributor, Modern Tyre Service of Enniskillen, and his haul of maximum points towards the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Rally Championship means he is now leading the series outright with five rounds to go.
Said Kumho Motorsport's Steve Thompson: "We have a strong record in Irish rallying, but this was nevertheless a standout weekend for us. Fisher and Noble were never headed within the R5 class and finished over 30 seconds ahead of their nearest championship rival. They were running our latest, soft-compound FIA-homologated TM02 tarmac rally tyres, while the majority of our other runners were shod with Kumho's proven TW02 tyre or hand-cut slicks. We couldn't have hoped for a better start to the season and now very much look forward to the second round of the Irish tarmac series, the West Cork Rally on March 18/19.
The full list of Kumho's Galway Rally successes is as follows:
1st WRC & 1st overall - Garry Jennings & Rory Kennedy, Subaru Impreza WRC S12B
1st R5 & 3rd overall - Alastair Fisher & Gordon Noble, Ford Fiesta R5
1st R3 - Andrew Burke & Colin Keegan, Citroen DS3
1st Class 13 & 2nd overall National - Damien Tourish & Domhnall McAlaney, Ford Escort MKII
2nd Class 14 & 3rd overall National - Kevin Eves & William Lynch, Toyota Corolla AE86
1st Class 15 - Tommy Cahill & Enda O'Leary, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
1st Class 11R - Jason Tuthill & Ben Teggart, Ford Escort MKII
1st Class 22 - Art McCarrick & John McCay, Honda Civic
1st Class 13 - Paul McHugh & David Mannion, Honda Integra
1st Class 10 - Declan Forde & Thomas Ward, Ford Escort MKII
1st Class 12 - Joe & Leona Donoghue, Ford Escort MKII
1st Overall Historic - Ernie Graham & Tim Sayer, Ford Escort MKII
Corrib Oil Galway International Rally - Full Rally Preview.
Posted: February 1, 2017 3:01 PM
The 2017 Corrib Oil Galway International Rally takes place over the coming weekend, 4th & 5th February inclusive.
Galway Motor Club is delighted to confirm that there is a capacity entry with teams coming from Germany, China and America in addition to numerous UK and Irish crews, over 100 in total. The competing teams, their sponsors and crews, and the thousands of spectators that will line the route will bring a welcome early season boost of visitor numbers to Galway city and county. The event has retained its full weekend format and is expected to generate over 2,000 bed nights for hotels and guest houses. The rally is estimated to generate approximately Eur5m of revenue for the local economy.
At the recent launch, Clerk of the Course, Kieran Donohue said "Galway Motor Club is indebted to the staff of Galway County and City Councils, An Garda Siochana, Failte Ireland, the Road Safety Authority, the Directors and staff of Corrib Oil, the 300 volunteer marshals from all over Ireland, and most of all the residents along the route for their assistance with temporary road closures to ensure the safe running of the event."
The rally will get under way with a Ceremonial Start in Eyre Square on Friday the 3rd of February at 8pm, this is following scrutineering of cars at the Galway Race Course from 2pm. These are ideal opportunities to see the rally cars and drivers prior to the start of the competition.
Headquarters for the event is the Clayton Hotel, Ballybrit, Galway. The rally route will cover 9 closed road stages on Saturday 4th February and a further 6 on Sunday 5th February. The Service Park will be in Athenry Mart on Saturday and in the old Sugar facility at Airglooney, Tuam on Sunday, by kind permission of the Mart Committee and the businesses in the Tuam Business Park. Sunday evening will see the ceremonial finish back at Clayton Hotel from approximately 3.30pm. Admission to all events is free over the weekend.
Tarmac season begins with strong Galway entry
Posted: February 1, 2017 2:48 PM
The opening round of the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship, the Corrib Oil Galway International Rally, has attracted a very strong entry and a fabulous line up of cars. The R5 class once again is the premier category in the championship with World Rally Cars no longer eligible to score points. After the tremendous battles that went to the wire in 2016 there promises to be as much excitement in the coming season. Despite taking maximum points on three rounds last season Alastair Fisher & Gordon Noble were extremely unfortunate to only finish fourth on last year's series and will be looking to improve in that in in 2017 starting in Galway where once again they will use their R5 Fiesta.
Most of the top contenders are using R5 Fiestas and these include Sam and Josh Moffett who finished second and third respectively in the championship last season while Robert Barrable makes a welcome return to the Irish Tarmac series also in a Fiesta. Joe McGonigle has upgraded to a Skoda R5 and should be very competitive while Jonny Greer will drive a Citroen DS3 while Aaron McHale is also making the switch to Citroen. Brendan Cumiskey, Stephen McCann and Tomas Davies are just a number of others who will be very competitive and last year's Group N champion David Guest is also entered in his Mitsubishi Lancer. Another interesting car is that of championship sponsor Ed Twomey who will drive a Fiat Punto Abarth S2000. Marty Gallagher and William Creighton had some great battles last year in the R2 class and are set to renew their rivalry in 2017.
The modified entry is also competitive and includes a pair of BMW 1Ms in the hands of Eugene Meegan and Richard Whelan while Brian Brogan who took maximum points on two rounds last year is also entered. The Historic Championship has already seen one round completed and with Frank Cunningham and Gareth Lloyd the last two Historic Champions entered, it looks like it could be a very competitive year. Among others who have entered in Galway are Ernie Graham, Barry Jones, John Coyne, Desi Nutt and David Goose who will provide stiff opposition to Frank Cunningham who won the championship so impressively last season. Amongst the entries for the Junior Rally are last year's second and third placed drivers, Justin Ryan and Noel Murphy who took the battle for the title all the way to the final round in Cork last year.
A small change to the points system this year sees the top points for winning overall / class winners increased from 16 to 17 points. The R5 class will score points in the ITRC 1 category, Group N / R4 / S2000 will score in the ITRC 2 category while classes 1, 2 and 3 will score in the ITRC 3 category. The Corrib Oil Galway International gets underway at 8:30am on Saturday 4th February and competitors will get nine stages on the Athenry area. The second day's action is centered around Tuam with six more stages before the first car due at the finish ramp around 4pm on Sunday 5th February.
Jon Armstrong/Noel O'Sullivan to debut M-Sport Fiesta R2T in Galway
Posted: February 1, 2017 2:39 PM
It's the news we've all be waiting for, M-Sport have confirmed that Fermanagh native Jon Armstrong has been tasked with the enviable job of giving their Ford Fiesta R2T Sport Trophy car its ITRC debut on next weekends Galway International Rally.
M-Sport developed the car as a cheaper alternative to the full Fiesta R2T with the in- ten on of running one make series throughout Europe.
The main difference between the two cars are in the engine and suspension, the car runs a standard engine producing 150bhp and an non-adjustable suspension.
M-Sport are sending over a suspension kit prior to Galway for Jon to test in his own R2T. He will use M-Sport's own car in Galway.
Jon Armstrong said:
"I am really pleased that M-Sport have invited me to drive the car in Galway. I think Irish Tarmac Rally Championship Fiesta Sport Trophy is a great platform for young drivers to showcase their talent in a Homologated car and with the prize on offer from M-Sport, it could also give them an opportunity to further develop their career".
Jon and co-driver Noel O'Sullivan will also receive backing from Lakeland Tyres. Adrian Frazer M.D. Lakeland Tyres said:
"I am delighted to be involved, Jon is a very talented driver and this is a great opportunity to raise our brand profile".
The Corrib Oil Galway International Rally gets underway on Friday 3rd February, and the list of early entries suggests a great weekends rallying is ahead. Already a competitive battle is shaping up between last year's winner Gary Jennings, with Rory Kennedy co driving, in his Subaru WRC, Declan Boyle in his Fiesta WRC, National Champion Roy White in his similar car, and the R5 Fiestas of Cork 20 winner Josh Moffett, and another for his brother Sam, along with a number of the new Skoda and Citroen R5 cars adding to the mix. More top line entries are expected in the coming weeks.
Overseas interest includes a two car German team of Porsche 911 cars, with the entry also including two of the iconic BMW M3 rally cars, and two of the latest BMW 1M versions.
Early local entries include Jonathan Folan and Pat and Jonathan Kelly driving Subaru's Richard, James and Sarah Whelan in BMW's , Tommy Cahill and Enda O Leary in a Mitsubishi Evo and Andrew Burke and Colin Keegan in Citroen DS3.
The Galway Race Course will play host to mechanical scrutineering on Friday the 3rd of February. The event will finish at the Clayton Hotel, Ballybrit, on the Sunday evening with the top cars crossing the finish ramp and the victors spraying the champagne. The management and staff of the Clayton Hotel will be celebrating the fact that this will be the 10th consecutive year of their involvement with the rally.
The event will run over two days and will have a total of 15 closed road stages. The demanding route consists of 9 stages on Saturday centered on the town of Athenry with a further 6 stages being covered on the Sunday based in the town of Tuam in north Galway. Detailed Maps and time schedules will be available from the Official Rally Programme which will be available closer the event. A list of outlets will be published on the event website shortly.
The 2017 event will have International Status and will be the opening round of the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Rally Championship The event will include an Historic Rally and a Junior Rally and an entry of 100 teams is expected when entries close.
The rally will bring a welcome early season boost to visitor numbers in Galway city and county. The event generates over 2,000 bed nights annually as most of the hundred or so teams, some of up to 30 people, spend two weekends in the city and county between making their route notes and taking part in the event itself. Corrib Oil, the title sponsors have a range of rally jackets and other rally products available from their website and their petrol station outlets nationwide.
The Rally Launch will take place on Friday 20th January next at 8.00pm at the Clayton Hotel, and anyone interested is invited to attend.
More information can be found on the rally website www.galwayinternationalrally.com and on social media accounts.
Draw for Galway Motor Club Members
Posted: January 14, 2017 5:11 PM
Galway International Rally gets into gear!
Posted: December 26, 2016 4:17 AM
Preparations are well under way for the 2017 Corrib Oil Galway International Rally, which takes place from the 3rd to the 5th of February. Galway Motor Club's Kieran Donohue, from Headford, is once again Clerk of the Course. He and his dedicated team have laid on a challenging route, based in the Athenry area on Saturday 4th February, and Tuam on Sunday 5th February. Kieran has selected some stages not used for many years in addition to old favorites from more recent years events. These are sure to test the drivers to their limits over the two days!
Corrib Oil has again taken up the role of title sponsor for the rally. The event costs over EUR 120,000 to run each year, and the club committee is indebted to the management and staff of Corrib Oil for their significant sponsorship.
The Galway Race Course will play host to mechanical scrutineering on Friday the 3rd of February. This will be a perfect opportunity to get up close to the cars and drivers prior to the high-speed action on Saturday and Sunday. The event will finish at the Clayton Hotel, Ballybrit, on the Sunday evening with the top cars crossing the finish ramp and the victors spraying the champagne. The management and staff of the Clayton Hotel will be celebrating the fact the this is the 10th consecutive year of their involvement with the rally.
The event will run over two days and will have a total of 15 closed road stages. The demanding route consists of 9 stages on Saturday, with a further 6 stages being covered on Sunday. Detailed Maps and time schedules will be available in the official Rally Programme, which will be available closer the event. A list of outlets will be published on the event website shortly.
The 2017 edition will have International Status and will be the opening round of the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. It is a truly International event with competitors traveling from all over the world for a chance to compete on the Galway roads. One such competitor is Kai-Dieter K?lle, who is again bringing his iconic Porsche 911 all the way from Northern Germany to Galway to compete over the unique terrain of the "Wild Atlantic Way". The five times North German Rally Champion is relishing the challenge having competed in Galway in 2015 for the first time and enjoying every aspect of the rally. Also coming from Germany is Andreas Dahms driving a similar Porsche. The event will include a Historic and Junior rallies and an entry of over 100 teams is expected
The rally will bring a welcome early season boost to visitor numbers in Galway city and county. The event generates over 2,000 bed-nights annually as most of the hundred or so teams, some of up to 30 people, spend two weekends in the city and county between making their route notes and taking part in the event itself.
Launch Date: Friday 20th January in the Clayton Hotel, Ballybrit.
General Competitor Information
Posted: December 16, 2016 10:17 AM
Headquarters:
Clayton Hotel, Ballybrit, Galway
(Special Early bird room rates for rooms booked and paid for by 31/12/16). Please contact the hotel directly.
Entry Fees:
- International & National = Eur750 + Insurance Levy of Eur250. TOTAL Eur1000
- Historic = Eur750 + Insurance Levy of Eur125. TOTAL Eur875
- Junior = Eur375 + Insurance Levy of Eur125. Total Eur500
Length
The length of the Rally including non-competitive sections will be approximately 490 kms, including 15 special stages of circa 220kms and is divided into 2 legs.
For Junior Competitors, the length of the Rally including non-competitive sections will be approximately 220 kms, including 6 special stages of circa 100kms Eur Sunday Only
Insurance
ALL DRIVERS MUST ensure that they are listed on the 2017 IRDS/BRDS database on the
Motorsport Ireland website (updated weekly) and pay any additional premium loading to be
permitted to start the event.
Entries & Regulations:
Queries Eur Email Niamh@galwaymotorclub.ie
Easy pay options are available. Gift vouchers available. Payment can be made by EFT.
Launch Date: Friday 20th January in the Clayton Hotel, Ballybrit.
Recce Dates: (9am to 6pm)
- Saturday 28th January
- Sunday 29th January
- Thursday 2nd February
- Friday 3rd February
- Saturday 4th February (Juniors)
Service Saturday: The Mart, Athenry, Co Galway
Service Sunday: Burkes DOE Centre, Tuam, Co Galway
Traders: Only those with a valid SERVICE PASS issued by the organisers will be granted access to the Service Area. For details please send an EMAIL ONLY to galwayinternationalservicearea@gmail.com
Scrutiny: Galway Racecourse. Friday 3rd February 2017 from 2pm Eur 7pm.
Rally Office: Clayton Hotel, Ballybrit, Galway
Programme
Programme will be available in mid-January and a list of vendors will be published on the rally facebook page.
Advertisers are asked to contact niamh@galwaymotorclub.ie for rates.
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