Desi Henry and Liam Moynihan have won the 'Go' sponsored Tour of the Sperrins Rally, round two of the McGrady Insurance MSA N.I. Rally Championship!
After the opening three stages of the Magherafelt and District Motor Club event, Portglenone's Henry edged out an advantage of 3.2 seconds over number one seed Garry Jennings. However, as the crews entered service, Henry wasn't confident of being able to stay in front.
"I think we might struggle a bit," he said. "When Garry starts getting the power down in the World Rally Car, I think the R5 will struggle but we'll give it our best shot."
Give it his best shot is exactly what he did. Henry was flying through the fourth stage, setting fastest time by almost five seconds. Meanwhile, Jennings could only manage third fastest time after he spun his Impreza WRC.
"I knew the rally was over when that happened but we enjoyed it," Jennings said. "I'm a lot happier in the car than what I was in the morning. We'll have to do a couple more rallies before Donegal."
With Jennings losing six seconds to the rally leaders on stage four, it gave Henry a bit of breathing room for the final two tests. He still went on to set another two fastest times, handing him the rally win by 12.9 seconds.
"It's good to get the win!" Henry enthused at the finish. "Garry's spin gave us a wee bit of air but I had to keep pushing."
Garry Jennings and Michael Moran slotted home in second with their Go backed Impreza WRC, while third for Derek McGarrity and Paddy Robinson allowed them to maintain their position at the top of the McGrady Insurance N.I. Championship tables.
"We should really have gone on to a harder tyre," McGarrity said, "but I'm happy enough!"
Ryan Loughran and Gareth Doherty arrived home in an excellent fourth overall, picking up the top two-wheel-drive award in the process. The crew survived a scare near the start of the opening stage but settled themselves to set a handful of top five overall stage times.
Scottish visitor, David Bogie, was full of smiles at the finish as he arrived home in fifth overall with his Escort. The result helped him put his recent accident at the Pirelli International Rally behind him when he overturned his Skoda Fabia.
"After sticking the Skoda on its roof at the Pirelli, I thought it would be good fun to come here in the Escort," Bogie said at the finish. "We stiffened the car up for the last loop and it was good."
"We had a really enjoyable day," he added. "Great stages, great weather, great people, and great co-driving!"
Paddy McVeigh and Denver Rafferty blew the rust off to secure sixth overall while Amy Cox and Caron McCormack were flying in their Skoda Fabia S2000 to seal seventh.
"It was a very enjoyable event," Cox said. "The car was perfect, the weather was great and they were good stages."
In eighth overall, James Laverty and Barry McNulty also claimed the class two Group N win aboard their Subaru Impreza.
"We had no major dramas although I made a couple of mistakes on the last stage," Laverty admitted. "We ran wide at the hairpin and I caught the back wheel which filled with mud so there was a bad vibration but it didn't cost us any major time."
Darren McKelvey and Aaron Johnston brought their class eight Evo 9 home in ninth overall while a struggling Stuart Biggerstaff and Damian McCann completed the top 10.
"The differentials weren't working on the last two stages," he explained. "The car was wandering all over the road!"
Despite his troubles, which also included an argument with a hedge during the first loop, he just managed to hold off the Citroen DS3 belonging to Niall Henry and Damien Duffin. One-tenth of a second separated the two crews at the finish!
"We've a lot of work to do but we're heading in the right direction," Niall Henry said. "We're still learning what the car can do. It can scare the life out of you!"
Oran Donnelly and Paul Hughes arrived home behind Henry as winners of class six. They selected a harder tyre for the second loop of stages which helped them fend off the challenge from Stanley McKeown and Nigel Gourley, who were 7.3 seconds adrift.
Retirements
Plenty of crews faced dramas during the day. Joe McGonigle failed to make the start in his Mini WRC due to illness while fellow Mini pilot, Alan Carmichael, was forced to retire after stage one with a slipping clutch.
Philip Allen was the next major retirement. He survived a massive two-wheel moment on stage one but then slipped off the road and into retirement on stage two. Barry Morris and Declan Campbell, who were just outside the top 10 in their Escort after stage one, also went off the road on stage two after a tyre parted with a rim, leaving them to watch the remainder of the rally as spectators.
Others that joined the retirement list included Alan Smyth who was fifth overall until his Evo X broke a shaft near the start of the fourth stage. Marty McCormack (Escort) was thwarted by a misfire while both Kevin McBride (Evo) and Kyle White (Peugeot 208) ended their rallies off the road.
Counting his lucky stars was Banbridge driver David Armstrong. He was lucky to escape unscathed after a big moment on stage one and he also had to nurse a slipping clutch throughout the entire rally. Against all the odds, he reached the finish just outside the top 20.
Next Event
With the second round of the McGrady Insurance backed series now brought to a close, all eyes are turning their attention towards round three of the Championship. The Mourne Rally takes place on 9 June where the battle for the N.I. crown will continue. More details can be found online at www.nirallychampionship.com.
Class Winners
Class 1: Ryan O'Kane/James Duffin (Honda Civic)
Class 2: James Laverty/Barry McNulty (Subaru Impreza N12N)
Class 3: Philip White/Sam McMullan (Nissan Micra)
Class 4: Niall Donnelly/Dave Birt (Ford Escort MkII)
Class 5: Andrew Bustard/Gavin Doherty (Ford Escort MkII)
Class 6: Oran Donnelly/Paul Hughes (Ford Escort MkII)
Class 7: Ryan Loughran/Gareth Doherty (Ford Escort MkII)
Class 8: Garry Jennings/Michael Moran (Subaru Impreza WRC S12B)
Class 9: Desi Henry/Liam Moynihan (Škoda Fabia R5)
Class 10: Stanley Orr/Graham Henderson (Ford Escort RS1600)
Leaders After
SS1-6 Desi Henry/Liam Moynihan (Škoda Fabia R5)
Philip Allen to use Donnelly Motorsport Hyundai for Tour of Sperrins Rally
Posted: May 11, 2018 4:19 PM
Less than a week after the Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing i20 R5 of Donnelly Motorsport was in action at the Rally of the Lakes in Killarney, it will be once again seen on the stages but this time with a new pilot behind the wheel.
Five-time Irish Tarmac Champion Eugene Donnelly took the new machine to seventh overall at the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship qualifier last weekend, but on Saturday 26 year old Philip Allen will be handed the keys and will contest the Cookstown based “GO” Tour of the Sperrins Rally.
The latest generation i20 R5 has endured a busy few weeks thanks to being used by multiple British Champion Keith Cronin at the opening round of the season in Kielder forest, before being returned to asphalt spec by the Philip Case Rally Sport squad for Donnelly the very next week. It will now be used in anger by the rapid youngster in round 2 of the McGrady Insurance MSA ANICC Northern Ireland Stage Rally Championship.
Philip, son of the late former Northern Ireland champion Glenn, will tackle only his sixth ever rally in the Hyundai but his previous results already prove that the family genes have resonated through. On his debut in the sport at the Pacenotes Rally Magazine Stages last year, Philip won his class at the wheel of a Mitsubishi Evo IX.
With Donnelly co-driving, Philip secured his first ever win at the St Angelo Stages Rally in a Mini WRC last year on only his third ever event.
This weekend he will be joined by Martin Connolly and the duo will head to the event with Donnelly’s support on the closed road event which offers six stages and 34 miles of competitive driving.
Philip lines up at number nine seed in an entry packed with World Rally Cars and ultra-experienced crews. But Donnelly doesn’t think it will faze him in the slightest and believes he may throw up a few surprises over the weekend.
“I’ve had first-hand experience of just how well Philip can handle a car and I’ve no doubt that he will adapt really quickly to the Hyundai on Saturday” he says.
“It’s a good rally to learn the i20 on as its fairly short and I don’t want to put any pressure on the guy but I know what he is capable of and he will make the Hyundai work really well for him. It’s a quality entry and it’s not going to be all about results, more the experience and if he surprises a few people then so be it.
I’m lucky to be able to offer him the Hyundai for the event and I have to say thanks to PCRS for turning the car around so quickly. I`ll be flying back from Italy on Friday to keep an eye on proceedings and I`m looking forward to seeing how he gets on”.
Philip Allen brings support from GA Auto Repairs.
Donnelly Motorsport is supported by Divers Hyundai, Sligo Pallets, PPP Group, Midland Tyre Services, McPartland Group, Philp Case Rally Sport, CBM Signs and the CFM Group.
Seeded Entry List
Posted: May 7, 2018 3:43 PM
1 Garry Jennings/Michael Moran (Subaru Impreza WRC S12B) [8]
2 Derek McGarrity/Paddy Robinson (Subaru Impreza WRC S14) [9]
3 Desi Henry/Liam Moynihan (Skoda Fabia R5) [9]
4 Joseph McGonigle/Ciaran Geaney (Mini Countryman WRC) [8]
5 Paddy McVeigh/Denver Rafferty (Subaru Impreza WRC S12B) [9]
6 Alan Carmichael/Ivor Lamont (Mini Countryman WRC) [9]
7 Connor McCloskey/Tba (Ford Fiesta R5+) [8]
8 Frank Wray/Joe McNulty (Subaru Impreza WRC S11) [9]
9 Philip Allen/Martin Connolly (Hyundai i20 R5) [9]
10 Alan Smyth/Mac Kierans (Mitsubishi LancerEvo X) [8]
11 Niall Henry/Damien Duffin (Citroen DS3 R5) [8]
12 Stuart Biggerstaff/Anthony Nestor (Subaru Impreza WRC S9) [9]
14 Camillus Bradley/Crawford Henderson (Ford Escort MKII) [7]
15 David Bogie/John Rowan (Ford Escort MKII) [7]
16 Ryan Loughran/Gareth Doherty (Ford Escort MK2) [7]
17 Wesley Patterson/Johnny Baird (Ford Escort MKII RS) [7]
18 Kevin Gallagher/Noel O Sullivan (Darrian T90) [7]
19 David Armstrong/Paul Mulholland (Ford Escort MK2) [7]
20 Barry Morris/Declan Campbell (Ford Escort MK2) [6]
21 Martin McCormack/Laura Conlon (Ford Escort) [10]
22 Paul Britton/George Tinsley (Subaru Impreza N12B) [2]
23 Darren McKelvey/Aaron Johnston (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) [8]
24 Gary Cooney/John McElhinney (Subaru Impreza WRC S12B) [9]
25 James Laverty/Barry McNulty (Subaru Impreza N12B) [2]
26 Jonny Morrow/Simon Morrow (Mitsubishi Mirage RS) [8]
27 Amy Cox/Caron McCormack (Skoda Fabia S2000) [9]
28 Stanley Orr/Graham Henderson (Ford Escort RS1600) [10]
29 Fintan McGrady/Ray Fitzpatrick (Ford Escort MK2) [7]
30 Oran Donnelly/Paul Hughes (Ford Escort MK2) [6]
31 John Bradley/Ryan Crozier (Ford Escort MK2) [6]
32 John Devlin/John McCarthy (Ford Escort) [6]
33 Gary Rodgers/Geoff Patterson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
34 Colm McFall/Tba (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
35 Peter Bennett/Simon Jones (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [8]
36 Conor McCrossan/Connor Murphy (Skoda Fabia S2000) [8]
37 Brian McFall/Matthew McKenna (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
38 Shane Cullen/Tba (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
39 James Kennedy/Heather Kennedy (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
40 Alan Gardiner/Dave Robson (Ford Escort Mk1) [7]
41 Paul McErlean/Niall McKenna (Ford Escort MK2) [6]
42 Jason Black/Thomas Wedlock (Toyota Starlet) [4]
43 Kyle White/Sean Topping (Peugeot 208 R2) [4]
44 Stanley McKeown/Nigel Gourley (Ford Escort MK2) [6]
45 Brian Muldoon/David Burns (Ford Escort) [7]
46 Niall Donnelly/Dave Birt (Ford Escort MK2) [4]
47 Ian Green/Amanda Green (Peugeot 205 GTI) [5]
48 Drew Wylie/Tba (Ford Escort) [10]
49 Raymond Johnston/Marc Johnston (Ford escort RS 1800) [10]
50 Christian Cochrane/Martin Lynch (Ford Escort) [6]
51 Stephen McFerran/Martin McBrearty (Ford Escort) [5]
52 Anthony Cairns/Mark Preston (Subaru Impreza) [8]
53 Raymond Doyle/Marc Nugent (Toyota Corolla) [4]
54 Jamie Grant/Tba (Toyota Starlet) [5]
55 Ryan McCusker/Barney Mitchell (Ford Escort Mk 2) [5]
56 William McClurkin/Tba (Ford Escort MK2) [5]
57 Joe Hegarty/David Turkington (Mitsubish Lancer Evo 6) [8]
58 Christopher Quinn/Thomas Nevin (Subaru Impreza) [2]
59 Paul McKenna/Patrick Kelly (Mitsubish Lancer Evo 6) [8]
60 Neil Kirkpatrick/Richard Livingston (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
61 Liam Egan/Patrick Brides (Subaru Impreza R4) [2]
62 Gary Cairns/Mark Preston (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
63 Cathal Mulgrew/Darren O'Brien (Ford Escort) [6]
64 Simon Devlin/Michael Laverty (Ford Escort MK2) [6]
65 Michael McGarrity/Damien Garvey (Citroen DS3 R3) [4]
66 Andrew Bustard/Tba (Ford Escort Mk 2) [5]
67 Andrew McCormick/Rudy Tate (Vauxhall Chevette) [6]
68 Eamon Doherty/Tba (Ford Escort) [5]
69 Philip Wylie/Lewis Dunlop (Escort RS1800) [10]
70 Chris McGurk/Liam McIntye (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [8]
71 John Cairns/James Cairns (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [8]
72 Conor Lavery/Mo Downey (Ford Escort) [6]
73 Derek Crossen/Jody Patterson (Ford Escort) [6]
74 Darren Hamill/Karl Egan (Ford Escort) [6]
75 James Wylie/Tommy Speers (Ford Escort) [5]
76 Graham Patterson/Keith Hall (Toyota Corolla AE86) [4]
77 Conor Cochrane/Micheal Johnston (Ford Escort Mk 2) [3]
78 Philip White/Sam McMullan (Nissan Micra) [3]
79 Geoffrey Nevin/Paul Nevin (Ford Escort) [5]
80 Mervyn Tate/Dennis McMullan (Talbot Sunbeam) [3]
81 Kieran O'Kane/Sean Devlin (Opel Ascona) [7]
82 William Morgan/John Henderson (Ford Escort) [7]
83 Andrew Bushe/Chris McSherry (Vauxhall Chevette) [10]
84 Richard Somerville/John Nicholl (Ford Escort) [6]
85 Malcolm Pedlow/Billy Regan (BMW 2002tii) [10]
86 John Adams/Noel Watt (Ford Escort) [10]
87 Dermot Grant/Glenn Laverty (Ford Escort Mk 2) [6]
88 Stephen McGurk/Mark O Connor (Ford Escort) [6]
89 Conor Gillespie/Martin Harte (Ford Escort Mk 2) [5]
90 Mark Stewart/Chris Hobson (Mazda MX5) [4]
91 James Convery/Tba (Ford Ka) [3]
92 Gerard Neeson/Michael Murray (Peugeot 106 GTI) [4]
93 Daniel Hamill/Nathan Quin (Peugeot 106) [4]
94 Ryan O'Kane/James Duffin (Honda Civic) [1]
95 Michael Nutt/Dessie Nutt (HONDA CIVIC) [1]
96 Gerard Hughes/Paul Hughes (Peugeot 205gti) [3]
97 Stephen Caldwell/Steven McCrossan (Vauxhall Corsa) [3]
98 Daryl Sproule/Kevin Duggan (Vauxhall Astra) [6]
99 Mark Robinson/James Holland (Honda Civic) [1]
100 Harry Brown/Martin McGrath (Hillman Avenger) [3]
101 Bill Arbuthnot/Jason McGuckin (Subaru Impreza) [8]
102 Paddy Quinn/Joe Comerford (Ford Escort MK1) [3]
Reserves
103 Ross Brusby/Tba (Ford Escort) [7]
104 Kevin McBride/Tba (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
Tour of the Sperrins Rally is GO
Posted: May 7, 2018 3:18 PM
An impressive entry of more than 100 crews has been received for this Saturday's 'Go' sponsored Tour of the Sperrins Rally, round two of the McGrady Insurance MSA N.I. Rally Championship!
The Magherafelt & District Motor Club event will feature six closed-road stages in the Cookstown area, with rally headquarters and the event service area all based at Meteor Electrical's premises in Cookstown.
Former Irish Tarmac Champion, Garry Jennings, will lead the 101-strong field across the Meteor Electrical start ramp on Saturday morning. Navigated by Michael Moran, the Impreza WRC mounted crew are one of the firm favourites for victory. However, a few days before the event, their Impreza WRC wasn't quite ready for action and Jennings played down his chances of a win...
"I'm waiting to get an ECU from Prodrive," Jennings revealed. "It's supposed to be here this week but if it doesn't arrive in time, I should be able to borrow one to get the car going."
He added: "I'm not going out to win the rally. My navigator, Michael Moran, works with me in Go so we're going out for a bit of craic!"
Stiff opposition will come from N.I. Championship leader, Derek McGarrity, who starts at number two in his Impreza WRC. Having won the opening round of the McGrady Insurance backed series in March, the Glengormley driver is aiming for another strong finish in a bid to bolster his chances of claiming the 2018 N.I. Championship crown.
Portglenone's Desi Henry is the first of the 'R5' mounted drivers at number three. Having finished third overall at last weekend's Killarney Rally of the Lakes, Henry and navigator Liam Moynihan should be up to speed fairly quickly aboard their Skoda Fabia R5.
At number four, Joe McGonigle and Ciaran Geaney will have their Mini Countryman WRC at their disposal. Their most recent victory was claimed at the 2017 end-of-season Turkey Run Rally and they have just missed out on podium finishes on a handful of events this year, so will be hungry to make up for lost ground.
Dungannon's Paddy McVeigh starts the event at number five in his Impreza WRC, while Ballymena's Alan Carmichael is at number six in his Mini WRC. He also holds second overall in the N.I. Championship standings, just two points behind McGarrity.
Other notable crews include Connor McCloskey, who holds third overall in the N.I. title race. Former champion, Stuart Biggerstaff, is at number 12 and a host of high powered two-wheel-drive crews are set to do battle. They include Camillus Bradley, Scottish visitor David Bogie, Ryan Loughran, Wesley Patterson, Kevin Gallagher in a stunning Darrian, and 2016 event winner Marty McCormack.
Crews will leave the Meteor Electrical start ramp on Saturday at 10.30am before tackling a total of six stages (three stages completed twice). Spectators who want to follow the event can purchase event programmes containing the essential rally information from nearby filling stations. Event updates will also be available online at fb.com/nirallying.
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