Valvoline Motorsport Ireland Forest Rally Championship Preview
Posted: September 5, 2019 7:37 AM
The final round of the Valvoline Motorsport Ireland Forest Rally Championship moves to Fermanagh this weekend with the running of the Trailer Parts & Spares Lakeland Stages Rally. The Enniskillen based event is always popular and this year is no exception with 100 crews entered. Although Cathan McCourt has already secured the title, second and third overall in the series is still up for grabs. Top seed Sam Moffett lies in eighth place but could still take second overall if he wins and other results go his way. The 2017 champion has only made three championship appearances to this season but has had strong finishes on all events including winning the last round in Cork. Cathan McCourt will be looking to round off an excellent year with another good result following overall wins in the Donegal and Moonraker Rallies. He is seeded at four and will be looking for an overall win with the pressure of the championship now off.
Second placed Michael Carbin will be looking to tie up the runner up spot and currently lies seven points clear of Niall McCullagh. Conor McCourt is another who has put some impressive points totals up this year, especially on the last three rounds. As always the 2WD battle will be strong with David Crossen the standard bearer on many rounds, despite a non-finish on the Cork event. Adrian Hetherington, Shane McGirr, David Condell and John Gordon will be among those looking for 2WD supremacy in the Fermanagh countryside. In the homologated classes, Class 4 is still open although Niall McCullagh holds a six point lead over Stephen Dickson with Peter McCullagh in third place. Class 13 is also very close; John Gordon holds a two point advantage over David Crossen going into the final round while Class 14 sees Mickey Conlon & David Condell tied on 42 points.
The Class 16A section of the junior championship was won by Derek Mackarel on the last round in Cork, but class 16 sees Shane Kenneally hold a three point lead over Kieran Lynch with Brian Brady in third place, 11 points off the lead. Michael Carbin holds a five point lead over Joe Hegarty in Class 20 with Mark Murphy in third place. Six stages will tackled on Saturday with the first car leaving the Grosvenor Barracks base at 10.30am for three stages. The crews will return to the Barracks after three stages for service before going back out to repeat the three stages in the afternoon. The first car is due back at the finish ramp at around 6pm.
Seeded Entry List
Posted: September 3, 2019 5:47 AM
No. Driver/Co-Driver (Car) [Class]
1 Sam Moffett /James Fulton (Ford Fiesta R5) [8]
2 Desi Henry /Damien Connelly (Ford Fiesta WRC) [9]
3 Vivian Hamill /Andrew Grennan (Ford Fiesta R5) [9]
4 Cathan McCourt /Barry McNulty (Ford Fiesta R5) [8]
5 Donagh Kelly /Conor Foley (Skoda Fabia R5) [8]
6 Derek McGarrity /Paddy Robinson (Ford Fiesta WRC) [9]
7 Patrick O’Brien /Thomas Nugent (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [9]
8 Kenny McKinstry /Kenny Hull (Ford Fiesta R5) [8]
9 Niall Henry /Damien Duffin (Citroen DS3 R5) [8]
10 Derek McGeehan /Mark McGeehan (Ford Fiesta WRC) [9]
11 Niall McGonigle /Paddy McCrudden (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
12 Martin Cairns /Peter Ward (Ford Fiesta WRC) [9]
14 Conor McCourt /Brian Hoy (Ford Fiesta R5) [8]
15 Niall McCullagh /Ryan McCloskey (Ford Fiesta R5) [8]
16 Donall Sweeney /Dean O'Sullivan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [9]
17 Stephen Wright /Arthur Kierans (Ford Fiesta R5) [9]
18 Liam Regan /Ger Conway (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
19 Michael Carbin /Conor Mohan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) [9]
20 Joe Hegarty /David Turkington (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [9]
21 Sean Devine /Tba (Ford Fiesta) [9]
22 Martin McKenna /Martin Brady (Ford Fiesta WRC) [9]
23 Paul Britton /Niall Burns (Subaru Impreza N16) [2]
24 David Crosen /Aileen Kelly (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
25 David Condell /Paul Kelly (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
26 Adrian Hetherington /Gary Nolan (Ford Escort RS1800) [10]
27 Shane McGirr /Liam McIntyre (Toyota Starlet) [6]
29 John Gordon /Thomas Wedlock (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
30 Paul McErlean /Niall McKenna (Ford Escort MK2) [6]
31 Stanley Orr /Graham Henderson (Ford Escort RS1600) [10]
32 Owen McMackin /Barry Ferris (Ford Escort) [6]
33 Drew Stewart /David White (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
34 Derek Mackarel /Conor Boylan (Vauxhall Nova) [4]
35 David Dennison /Gareth Lewthwaite (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [2]
36 Peter McCullagh /Calum Maguire (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
37 Gareth Mimnagh /J Barry McCarney (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [9]
38 Ashley Dickson /Patrick Brides (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [9]
39 Chris McGurk /James Duffin (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) [2]
40 Colm McFall /Ronnie Craig (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
41 Brian McFall /Matthew McKenna (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) [9]
42 Patsy Keenan /Tba (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [1]
43 Stephen Dickson /Tommy Hayes (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
44 Alan Atcheson /Keith Curley (Ford Fiesta) [9]
45 Austin Snow /John Henderson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
46 Pauric Sheridan /Sean Brunton (Ford Fiesta) [9]
47 Robert McKelvey /Declan Campbell (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) [2]
48 Ian Dickson /Dermot McCafferty (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
49 Paul McCann /Paddy Plunkett (Ford Fiesta S2000) [8]
50 Andrew Bustard /Kaine Treanor (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [9]
51 Kyle White /Sean Topping (Peugeot 208 R2) [4]
52 Ruairi Maguire /Grace O'Brien (Vauxhall Corsa) [4]
53 Stewart McClean /Jonny Holdsworth (Vauxhall Nova) [4]
54 Brian Brady /Leonard Tuite (Honda Civic) [4]
55 Daryl McCanny /Cathain Colton (Vauxhall Corsa) [4]
56 Hugh McQuaid /Enda Gerety (Ford Escort) [5]
57 Damien McGauran /Darren Curran (BMW 320) [6]
58 Eamon Doherty /Tba (Ford Escort) [7]
60 Marc Johnston /Colin Irvine (Ford Escort) [5]
61 Andy Magee /Michael Johnston (Ford Escort) [5]
62 Raymond Doyle /Ryan Murray (Toyota Corolla) [4]
63 Packie McCarney /Mark Preston (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [9]
64 Jody McManus /Andrew Browne (Ford Fiesta) [4]
65 Matthew Cathcart /Stephen Griffith (Ford Escort) [6]
66 James Kennedy /Heather Kennedy (Ford Escort MK2) [6]
67 Tony McKenna /Eathan Colgan (Ford Escort MK2) [5]
68 Rodney Donaldson /Pauric Keeney (Ford Escort) [5]
69 Dominic Leonard /Martin Baxter (Honda Civic) [4]
70 Mervyn Wilson /Darragh Sheridan (Ford Escort) [3]
71 Liam McQuaid /Mervyn Gailbraith (Ford Escort) [5]
72 Travis Humphreys /Ben Thompson (Peugeot 205) [3]
73 Shane Kenneally /Jer Connors (Honda Civic) [4]
75 Drew Chambers /Wendy Blackledge (Peugeot 206 GTI) [1]
76 Dean Humphrey /Martin Gallogley (Vauxhall Corsa) [3]
77 Ed Muldoon /Mark Byrne (Suzuki Swift Sport) [4]
78 Adrian Grant /Olivia Coulter (Ford Escort MK2) [5]
79 Jamie Grant /Chris Johnston (Toyota Starlet) [6]
80 Niall Carey /Ciaran Carey (BMW Compact) [7]
81 Bill Arbuthnot /Jason McGuckin (Subaru Impreza) [9]
82 Cecil Minford /Damien McCann (Subaru Impreza) [2]
83 Aaron Cunningham /Paul McGahon (Ford Escort) [6]
84 James McGovern /Louise Boyle (Toyota Corolla) [1]
85 Sammy Scollan /Andy Heekin (Subaru Impreza) [2]
86 William Graham /Seamus McTigue (Vauxhall Corsa) [3]
87 Barry Meeke /Peter Dowds (Nissan Micra) [3]
88 Keelan Maguire /Steven Monaghan (Honda Civic) [4]
89 Gerard Neeson /Michael Murray (Peugeot 106 GTI) [4]
90 James Convery /Joey Walls (Subaru Impreza) [9]
91 Albert McClenahan /Caleb McClenahan (Subaru Impreza) [9]
92 Adam Vance /David Vance (Honda Civic Type R) [1]
93 Mark Faulkner /Ashley Boulton (Nissan Micra) [3]
94 Ryan McCanney /Conor McGurren (Vauxhall Nova) [3]
95 Thomas McGauran /Thomas McGauran (Mini Cooper) [10]
96 Gary Johnston /Dermot Brewster (Ford Escort) [6]
97 Joel Eakin /Sean Doherty (Peugeot 106 GTI) [1]
98 Gareth Deazley /Tony McGovern (Honda Civic) [4]
99 Shane McCanney /Diarmaid Campbell (Toyota Twincam) [1]
100 Jason Dickson /Tba (Ford Fiesta) [4]
Title Contenders Ready for Battle at Enniskillen Based Lakeland Stages Rally!
Posted: September 3, 2019 5:45 AM
The McGrady Insurance Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championship heads into the forests this Saturday for the first time this year with the Enniskillen based Trailer Parts & Spares Lakeland Stages Rally!
Almost 100 of the country's leading competitors will line up to tackle six stages in the County Fermanagh forests. The Enniskillen Motor Club organised event marks the beginning of the second half of the N.I. Rally Championship season and results at the Lakeland event could prove pivotal in the championship battle...
Title Contenders
Derek and Mark McGeehan head into the event as the championship leaders. The father and son team have topped the standings since round two with a string of consistent top three finishes in their Mini WRC helping them maintain their position at the head of the tables.
However, the threat from the chasing pack is still very much alive with Derek McGarrity and Stephen Wright keeping their sights set firmly on championship glory. McGarrity's round one retirement left him on the back foot at the start of the year but a win at round two followed by podium places at the following two events have left him in second overall.
Stephen Wright, who missed round three of the series due to work commitments, is just two points adrift of McGarrity. However, he has two wins to his name, with victory at round four's Down Rally ultimately encouraging him to continue with a championship campaign.
All three protagonists have entered the Lakeland Stages Rally and keeping them honest will be former N.I. Champion, Kenny McKinstry. The Banbridge rally ace is set to wheel out his Fiesta R5 and given he is only a handful of points adrift of Wright in the championship standings, a strong result in Enniskillen could entice him to continue with his championship campaign.
Also in the mix will be round three winner, Desi Henry. The Maiden City Stages event has been his only foray in the series so far this year but he's ready to make a comeback with his Fiesta WRC on Saturday. He finished second overall at the 2018 Lakeland event and will be one to watch.
The N.I. Championship's two-wheel drive category will almost certainly see a change for the lead. John Devlin currently heads the standings and holds an impressive fourth overall but he has decided to miss the event, giving rivals James Kennedy, Drew Stewart and Kyle White an opportunity to play catch-up.
The event is a joint-counter with the Valvoline Forestry Championship and forestry expert, Sam Moffett, whose brother Josh won the 2018 event, will lead the field off the start ramp on Saturday morning. Based from Grosvenor Barracks on the Coleshill Road, crews will leave the service area shortly after 10.30am before heading to the forests for six stages.
Crews will return to Grosvenor Barracks midway through the day for service and the winners will be crowned at approximately 6pm. Visit nirallychampionship.com or fb.com/nirallying to follow the latest news during the event!
Entries Received
Posted: August 20, 2019 7:53 AM
On Line Entry / Regulations
Posted: August 20, 2019 7:52 AM
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