OUTRIGHT VICTORY ON THE DONEGAL FORESTRY RALLY FOR McCORMACK’S KUMHO-SHOD SKODA FABIA R5
Posted: November 21, 2017 4:16 AM
Having finished a fine third overall on the previous weekend’s British Rally Championship Pirelli Rally in Carlisle, the pairing of Marty McCormack and David Moynihan were hopeful of a strong result on last weekend’s (May 13) Donegal Forestry Rally. And their wish was well and truly granted, with a memorable outright victory by the sizeable margin of over 1 minute 10 seconds for their TigerRisk Kumho-shod Skoda Fabia R5.
The victory leaves the duo joint fourth in the Irish Forest Rally Championship with three rounds to go, and just a handful of points away from the podium places of the British Rally Championship. Said Marty following the Donegal event: “It’s been a great day in the TigerRisk Skoda and to get the win is a big bonus, but the amount we have learned about the car in these conditions is invaluable and a great confidence boost heading into the Scottish Rally, where we need a good result to keep our British Championship hopes on track.”
Added Steve Thompson of Kumho Motorsport: “This was a truly dominant drive by Marty who made mincemeat of the tricky 17km stage through Tullnacarry, taking no less than 25 seconds out of his nearest rival. We wish him all the best with the coming rounds of both championships, as he is clearly in the groove right now.”
Marty Maximises in Donegal! 2017 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship-Round Three
Posted: November 21, 2017 4:14 AM
The 2017 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship, entered into its third round on Saturday for the Donegal Motor Club’s Forest Rally based in Donegal town, and the event provided it’s fair share of excitement, as Marty McCormack stormed to victory in his Skoda Fabia R5. “The first stage was incredibly demanding, it was very tricky and so slippy we were very glad to get through it. I settled in better on the second stage and felt much more comfortable on the third, it was very nice. “ said Marty at the mid-point service as he and co-driver David Moynihan built up the lead and made changes to the car as the day progressed. “It’s been a great day and to get the win is a great bonus, but the amount we have learned about the car in these conditions is invaluable”
In a resounding second overall was the Mitsubishi Evo 6 of Omagh’s Patrick O’Brien and co-driver Stephen O’Brien, who’s consistently fast pace all day brought a great result, despite a lack of recent seat-time for the former Valvoline Junior Champion. In a fabulous third overall early in the day was young Dungiven driver Jordan Hone in his Rallyhire Group N Lancer Evo 9, his fine drive coming to an end as he was stuck in a ditch on stage four. Finishing in fourth overall was another Evo, driven by Omagh’s Cathan McCourt, overcoming a stage one puncture to also take the Group N class. In sixth was Cork’s Ger Lucey in his venerable Evo 8. He recovered from a wrong tyre choice to climb up the leader-board, and like in 2016 he once again leads the Valvoline points race. Could this be the year that the clubman trounces the R5’s? With half the season to go it’s an interesting mid-term points table. Enda McCormack was delighted with ninth in his Impreza WRC, despite a costly stall on stage five, whilst Carrickfergus driver Ian Graham absolutely loved the Donegal stages, bringing his Evo home in tenth.
No one expected the Valvoline Two Wheel Drive category winner to make the podium in Donegal, but that’s what happened as Comber’s David Crossen brought his Mark 2 Escort into a fabulous third place overall with co-driver Damien Fleming on the pace-notes. “It was a great event, and we really enjoyed the stages “said David who leads the two-wheel drive title race. “The first stage was like something from Finland with the big jumps and bumps! We had a problem with a rear link bar during the day and had to replace a rose-joint at service, and had to put in an emergency spare front strut after stage six, but other than that the rally went very smoothly for us.” Former Valvoline 2wd champions, Fermanagh’s Shane McGirr and Castleblayney’s Micky Conlon were left to tussle for second in what was a frenetic race. McGirr’s Starlet picked up a puncture after stage four and one on stage six which cost some valuable time, but also meant that he had no spare wheel to replace the second flat tyre. Such is the camaraderie in the series that Mickey Conlon lent him his spare, as the battle raged into the final test. It was Conlon and co-driver Ciaran McPhilips who took second as McGirr and co-driver Marty McGarrity, who were choked with exhaust fumes coming into the car, dropping to eighth overall, and third placed two wheel drive runners behind were John Gordon and Thomas Wedlock in their ever enthusiastically driven Mark 2 Escort.
The Valvoline Junior Section (Class 16), where the eligible crews are competing for an automatic Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman Award nomination at the season’s end, saw Shane Kenneally take the early advantage before his Honda Civic retired with transmission trouble. Donegal driver Marty Gallagher in the 208
R2 was another retirement on stage five when the wheel studs sheared whilst in the lead of the class. Then the lead battle switched to the two Fiesta R2’s of John O’Sullivan and Stephen Dickson, and it was Dickson who once again put in a late charge to take the category after blitzing the final stage.
Other class winners were on the event were: Ruairi Maguire (Vauxhall Corsa)-class 9, Mike Garaghy- (MK2 Escort)-class 10, Stewart McClean (Vauxhall Nova)- class 11F, Damien McAleer (Toyota Corolla)-class 11R, Chris Simms (MK2 Escort)-class 12, Derek Mackeral (Mitsubishi Evo)-class 15.
The M. O’Brien Plant Hire Junior 1000 class for 16-18 year olds, entered its third round in Donegal and once again the Peugeot 107’s of Alex Byrne and Jason Murphy lined up to do battle. It was Jason Murphy’s turn to take victory this time, the Mayo driver coping with clutch issues to take the win from Alex Byrne.
Alex had built up a handsome lead on the first loop, only to run into his own more costly problems incurring over three minutes in road penalties. With a fabulous prize of a drive in an R2 car on a 2018 Irish Forest Rally round, entry vouchers for the top three on each round: €200 euro to first place, €125 euro to 2nd place and €75 euro to third place and Ears Motorsport putting up tyres as prizes the rewards are great for these youngsters.
Once again we would like to give special thanks to all our sponsors – Valvoline, Andrew Fanning Motor Factors, M. O'Brien Plant Hire, Suirway Group Forklifts & Farm Machinery, Jelf Motorsport Insurance, Exact Signs & Graphics, Pottinger Machinery, Ears Motorsport / Kumho Tyres, Colton Pump & Heating Services, Coillte, Concept Fire Services Ltd, Gordon Automotive Services, Barron Pix & SVS In-car Cameras.
Now it’s time for a mid-season break in the championship, before coming back to Cork for the Jim Walsh Cork Forest Rally in July. With a County Cork man leading the driver’s championship interest will be high at the end of July.
Marty/ Moynihan conquer Donegal!
Posted: November 21, 2017 4:08 AM
Marty McCormack with navigator David Moynihan took an emphatic win at the Donegal Forestry Rally 2017, round three of the Irish Forestry Rally Championship. This vaults the TigerRisk Škoda Fabia R5 to the joint fourth in the championship standings with three rounds to go.
Following on from a fine third overall at the British Rally Championship Pirelli Rally in Carlisle the previous weekend, hopes were high heading into the Donegal Town based event. After a number of notable withdrawals, the competition was slightly lacking, but this would not effect Marty as his aim was to gain as much testing prior to the Scottish Rally on the 20-21st of May. Marty now holds a firm 5th place overall in the British Rally Championship standings but is poised, just a handful of points away from the podium places. A good result at the Scottish event should pull the team back into title contention!
The Donegal Forestry Rally started as it was to continue, with the fastest time for the Kumho-shod Skoda over the opening test. This was followed up with another two fastest times over stages two and three before returning to service with a 19.3-second advantage over Patrick O’Brien. “The first stage was incredibly demanding, it was very tricky and so slippy we were very glad to get through it. I settled in better on the second stage and felt much more comfortable on the third, it was very nice. It was a mixed morning altogether but we are here and leading the rally so all is good!” “We have a few things we want to do with the car in service now to try and get more grip in the slippy sections, it’s all learning”
The car now re-fettled by the McGeehan Motorsport Team, Marty and David went back out with a renewed vigour. Another two fastest times were just reward with Marty commenting “The changes we made to the car seem to be helping, stage four was very tricky over the jumps and bumps so we were just a bit careful through that, we have a nice lead built up now so we just want to look after it now”
With only two stages remaining in the Donegal Forestry Rally, the TigerRisk car was 46.4 seconds clear in the lead of the event. It was now a case of keeping it clean and getting to the finish. The final test was a 16km blast through Tullnacarry, which was run twice. Disappointingly the first running of the stage was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances, so this left one stage before the finish line in Donegal Town centre.
Marty blasted into the final test, his last opportunity to feel comfortable with the car before the Scottish Rally. He finished the stage twenty-five seconds quicker than his nearest rival to claim the victory by over one minute ten seconds! “It’s been a great day in the TigerRisk Škoda and to get the win is a great bonus, but the amount we have learned about the car in these conditions is invaluable! It is a great confidence boost heading into the Scottish where we need a good result to keep us in the championship hunt.”
Keep an eye on this site for further updates on Marty’s BRC bid, as well as on Twitter @martymccormack and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/marty.mccormack1. Marty is competing this season with the support of Tiger Risk Partners and P. McCormack and Sons Ltd.
Junior Class: 1 Stephen Dickson/Tommy Hayes (Ford Fiesta R2) 32m 53s,
2 John O'Sullivan/Paddy McCrudden (Ford Fiesta R2) 33m 02s,
3 Johnny Mulholland/Jeff Case (Ford Fiesta R2) 34m 22s.
Junior 1000 Class: 1 Jason Murphy/John Burke (Peugeot 107) 46m 03s,
2 Alex Byrne/James Fogarty (Peugeot 107) 49m 05s.
Class Winners
Class 2: Ian Dickson/Darragh Mullen (Ford Fiesta ST)
Class 4: Cathan McCourt/Brian Hoy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo)
Class 5: Marty McCormack/David Moynihan (Škoda Fabia R5)
Class 7: Enda McCormack/Colin Fitzgerald (Subaru Impreza S10)
Class 9: Ruairi Maguire/Grace O'Brien (Vauxhall Corsa)
Class 10: Mike Garahy/Iarla McCarthy (Ford Escort MkII)
Class 11F: Stewart McClean/Gerard Neeson (Vauxhall Nova)
Class 11R: Damien McAleer/Benny Grainger (Toyota Corolla TC)
Class 12: Chris Simms/Mo Downey (Ford Escort MkII)
Class 13: David Crossan/Damien Fleming (Ford Escort MkII)
Class 15: Derek Mackerel/Daire Hayes (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo)
Class 16: Stephen Dickson/Tommy Hayes (Ford Fiesta)
Class 20: Patrick O'Brien/Stephen O Brien (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
Class 21: Jason Murphy/John Burke (Peugeot 107)
With less than a week to go for this Saturday’s Abbey Hotel Donegal Forest Rally, things are starting to fall into place with the sun in the sky, all is looking good at the minute. The action kicks off on Friday with Scrutiny at the Donegal County Council Offices were all cars will undergo mechanical examination before hitting the stages on Saturday. First car away on Saturday morning at 09:30 with the Opening test at Lough Sallagh is a tough start to any Rally. Next up is the short blast through Meencarrigh which will prove to a test were any second lost could prove costly. The third stage is the Croaghonagh Stage which is fast and furious from the word go. The crews will then visit the pier in Donegal Town for a much needed service before heading back through the gap to tackle the previous three stages again before returning to Donegal for service again. This is a chance for specters to get up close to the cars and drivers themselves. After the short rest in Donegal the crews then head to tackle the 17kms Tullynacarry Stage twice. This stage could prove to be the sting in the tail for many with 17kms of flawing gravel roads mixed in with Tarmac just to make it even harder for the crews. Then it is back to the Diamond in Donegal Town for the Ceremonial finish outside the Abby Hotel.
As with all Donegal Motor Club Events help will be required to run the event and anyone interested in Marshalling should contact the Chief Marshall on 0876892626 / +353 876892626.
Entries Received (05/05/17)
Posted: May 6, 2017 6:34 AM
Marty Gallagher/Dean O'Sullivan (Peugeot 208 R2) [2]
Conor Mc Court/Caolan Mc Kenna (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
Nail Turley/Andrew Weldlock (Subaru Impreza) [4]
Robert Mc Kelvey/Declan Campbell (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) [4]
Jordan Hone/Paul Hone (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
Patrick Keenan/Martin Brady (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
Marty Mc Cormack/David Moynihan (Skoda Fabia R5) [5]
Josh Moffett/Stephen Thornton (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
Sam Moffett/James Fulton (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
Enda Mc Cormack/Colin Fitzgerald (Subaru Impreza WRC S10) [7]
Ruairi Maguire/Grace O' Brien (Vauhall Corsa) [9]
Ciaran Mc Cullagh/TBA (Vauxhall Nova) [9]
Mike Garahy/Iarla Mc Carthy (Ford Escort MK 2) [10]
Ciaran Carr/Stephen Peoples (Vauxhall Corsa) [10]
Patricia Denning/Joe Downey (Peugeot 106 ) [11F]
Adrian Beattle/Declan Ryan (Honda Civic) [11F]
Damien Mc Aleer/Benny Grainger (Toyota Corolla Twin Cam) [11R]
Derek Heena/Barry Mc Gill (Ford Escort MK 2) [11R]
Kevin Gallinagh/Gerard Gibbons (Ford Escort MK 2) [11R]
Sean W/Benskin (Ford Escort MK 2) [12]
Chris Simms/Mo Downey (Ford Escort MK 2) [12]
David Crossan/Damien Fleming (Ford Escort MK 2) [13]
Owen Mc Mackin/Sean Nolan (Ford Escort MK 2) [13]
Damien Mc gauran/Darren Curran (BMW 320) [13]
Mickey Conlon/Kevin Mc Phillips (Ford Escort MK 2) [13]
Adrian Hetherington/Gary Nolan (Toyota Corolla WRC) [15]
Shane Kenneally/Jer Conners (Honda Civic) [16]
Johnnie Mulholland/Jeff Case (Ford Fiesta R2) [16]
John O'Sullivan/TBA (Ford Fiesta R2) [16]
Gerard Lucey/JJ Cremin (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) [20]
Ian Graham/Liam Mc Intyre (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [20]
Lukasz Czapnik/Piotr Szadkowski (Subaru Impreza WRX) [20]
Darren Mc Kelvey/Aaron Johnston (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [20]
Patrick O' Brien/Stephen O; Brien (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [20]
Paul Mc Cann/Paddy Plunkett (Skoda Fabia S2500) [20]
Gemma Kerley/Andy Curran (Subaru Impreza WRX) [20]
Seamus Goodfellow/Christoher Mc Laughlin (Subaru Impreza WRX) [20]
Jon Armstrong/Noel O' Su;;ivan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [20]
Stephen Mc Kenna/Mark Donnelly (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [20]
Alex Byrne/James Fogarty (Peugeot 207) [21]
Jason Murphy/John Burke (Peugeot 107) [21]
Richie Dalton/TBA (Subaru Impreza WRX) []
Donal Connolly/Danny Mc Laughlin (Ford Escort MK 2) []
Hugh Qiaid/Chris Melly (TBA) []
Entries still open, seeding Tuesday Night.
Press Release Three - The countdown is on
Posted: May 5, 2017 7:31 AM
With just over a week to go to the Donegal Forest Stages Rally, things are moving along closer to ensure the First Car will be leaving the Parc Ferme in Donegal Town at 09:30 on Saturday May 13th. Prepartions are being finalised to make sure that the Event will be a success this year. The stages are in fanstistic condition, with the Opening test at Lough Sallagh a tough start to any Rally. Next up is the short blast through Meencarrigh which will prove to a test were any second lost could prove costly. The third stage the Croaghonagh Stage is fast and furious from the word go. The crews will then Visit the Pier in Donegal Town for a much needed service before heading back through the Gap to tackle the previous Three stages again before returning to Donegal for service again, and a chance for specters to get up close to the cars and drivers themselves. After the short rest in Donegal the crews then head to tackle the 17kms Tullynacarry Stage twice. This stage could prove to be the sting in the tail for many with 17kms of flawing gravel roads mixed in with Tarmac just to make it even harder for the crews. Then it is back to the Diamond in Donegal Town for the Ceremonial finish outside the Abby Hotel.
COC of the event Johnny Baird said "The Rally is really generating interest in the area all we need now is sunshine and plenty of entries he has also urged Spectators to obey the Marshalls and Officals on the day for a safe event. Its really important that the Spectators get to the Stages early and obey the Marshalls for the Safe running of the event."
The Valvoline Championship at the minute is being led by Josh Moffett followed by brother Sam with last years champion Desi Henry in third overall in a Skoda Fabia R5 close on his heels. All done through the Championship there is many class battles and hopefully we will see as many of these on Saturday week around the Forests of Donegal.
Press Launch for the Rally will take place on Monday the 8th May in the Abbey Hotel at 7:30pm all are welcome to attend.
Press Release Two - The Forest is Heading for The Town
Posted: April 12, 2017 10:25 AM
As many of you know May 13th is fast approaching and Donegal Motor Club are delighted to be hosting round three of the Valvoline Irish Forestry Championship. This years’ rally will be based around Donegal Town with the Abbey Hotel as the title sponsor of the event. The Abbey Hotel will also the Rally HQ for the event.
With the crowds gracing Donegal Town this will be a great boost for the local economy as many will be taking to the hills to both take part and to see all the action. Donegal Town will be the place to be that weekend in terms of Rallying.
The action kicks off on Friday night with the scrutiny which will be held at the County Council offices from 5pm were the spectators can get an up close look at the top of range machinery that will be on display.
On Saturday Morning the First Car leaves Parc Ferme at 09:30 for a short service at the Pier in the Town were the Rally Service will be based until after lunch time that, this excellent service venue really brings the Rally into the Town and the yet again the chance for the Public to get up close to the wide variety of cars on show that weekend.
Speaking about the Rally coming into the Town COC Johnny Baird said “It’s a great opportunity for spectator’s to get the chance to see top drivers and their cars up close, but without the help of the Garda and especially the Donegal County Council none of this could happen we are very much in gratitude to all those who made this happen.”
The crews will visit 8 special stages in total over the day, with the coupe de gratis being the tricky 17kms Tullynacarney Stage which will be visited twice in the afternoon a real test for The Driver and Co-Drivers after the final stage of the day the Crews will then converge on the Diamond in Donegal Town for the Ceremonial finish were once again the event is brought up close to the spectators.
The Rally Guide is also available on the Donegal Motor Club for further information on the event. The Rally Guide includes all details regarding how to enter, dates, scrutiny, rally HQ and service location. Entries will be open Easter week and will be accepted until May 5th at 6 pm. The entry list will then be published on May 8th.
With the months flying in it will not be long until May 13th is upon us. Donegal Motor Club are delighted to confirm that they will be hosting round three of the Valvoline Irish Forestry Championship on the 13th of May 2017. The event will also be round two of the hotly contested 2017 Donegal Commercials Club Championship.
2015 was the last time the Irish Forestry championship was in Donegal and this year will be no disappointment. Even though, it has been two years since the championship has graced the hills of Donegal this year sets out to be the best year yet. This years' rally will be based around Donegal Town with the Abbey Hotel as the title sponsor of the event.
Johnny Baird COC of this year's event commented 'preparations and planning are well underway with the help of my team. They are all working extremely hard together to pull out all of the stops and make this year's event that little bit extra special. I would also like to thank all the staff in Coillte for their help to date.' Everything is now coming together as we add the final touches to the stages and routes.
The Championship chairman Ray Fitzpatrick has been an invaluable help to date for the committee and has put in a lot of hard work on the running of a successful championship yet again for 2017. The J1000 incentive is a great way to bring in new faces to the sport and we hope to see a few 'newbies' in the Donegal woods come May 13th. This is an event that everyone in Donegal is looking forward to, especially the locals and the businesses around the Donegal Town area. So far, it looks to be a fantastic event and Johnny and his team are hoping for a safe, successful and enjoyable rally for all involved.
On last weekend's opening round, the Willie Loughman Carrick on Suir Forest Rally it was Josh Moffett & Stephen Thornton in their Fiesta who came out on top stop with a winning margin of 0.06 seconds ahead of his brother Sam Moffett. This shows the tight nature of the forest championship. Last year's Champion Desi Henry had a steady start to finish 4th behind Keith Cronin.
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