Rallying Returns to Northern Ireland This Weekend with Top Class Bishopscourt Rally Entry!
Posted: June 18, 2021 4:17 PM
Rallying returns to Northern Ireland this weekend with the opening round of the McGrady Insurance Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championship!
Based just outside Downpatrick at Bishopscourt Race Circuit, the Bishopscourt Stages Rally is also sponsored by McGrady Insurance and has attracted a full capacity entry of 100 crews.
The event marks the first stage rally to be held in Northern Ireland since the pandemic was declared last year. Spectators will not be permitted into the venue on this occasion but fans can follow regular updates via the Championship’s website and social media.
Ballynahinch and District Motor Club has organised six stages with Derek McGarrity and Paddy Robinson leading the field off start ramp in their Ford Focus WRC. Bishopscourt is one of the Glengormley driver’s favourite hunting grounds. He has numerous wins to his credit, the most recent being in March 2020 at what was the last rally to be successfully held in Northern Ireland.
Stiff opposition will come from a host of top-line World Rally Car and R5 specification crews. The top 10 is filled with high-specification machinery and taking the fight to eight times N.I. Champion McGarrity will be a number of former champions.
Reigning (2019) Champion Stephen Wright, Jonny Greer (2017 Champion), Stuart Biggerstaff (2010 Champion) and Kenny McKinstry (1988, 1989, 2011 Champion) are all among the main contenders.
Greer and Kirsty Riddick start the event at number 2 in their Citroen C3 R5 while Wright and Liam Moynihan are at number 4 with their Ford Fiesta R5. Sandwiched between the two is Portglenone’s Desi and Mark Henry in a Hyundai i20 R5, and former Irish National Champion, Peadar Hurson, is gearing up to mount an attack with Damien Connolly and his Fiesta WRC at number 5.
Stuart Biggerstaff and Chris Nelson return to the fray with a Fiesta R5 hired from McKinstry Motorsport; the same car that Biggerstaff used to win the Ulster National Rally in 2019. Kenny McKinstry and Dean McDowell are at number 7 in their Impreza, followed by a pair of Fiestas driven by Kieron Graffin/Amy Graffin and Sean Devine/Paul Ward.
Donal Sweeney was seeded at 10 but he has withdrawn his entry, as have a number of other drivers. That has allowed a few competitors on the reserve list to get a run, including Philip Allen and Ian Dickson in their Hyundai i20 R5.
Notably, Derek and Mark McGeehan are also on the reserve list, waiting patiently to see if they can bring their Mini WRC into the fray this weekend.
The event features a host of potent two-wheel-drive crews. From Darrians to Escorts, BMWs and more, the category will be hotly contested between a number of crews.
Barry Morris and Dylan Doonan are the favourites in their Darrian T90 GTR+. Seeded at 14, the crew will be one to watch and might even give some of the four-wheel-drive machinery a run for their money, especially if it’s a dry day.
Fighting them for the spoils will be Damian Toner (Escort MkII), Marty Toner (BMW 1M), John Devlin (Escort), event sponsor Fintan McGrady (Escort) and former 2WD Champions, James and Heather Kennedy in their Escort MkII.
(Numbers 10, 11 and 19 have withdrawn.)
Seeded Entry List & Reserve List
Posted: June 3, 2021 12:16 PM
No Driver/Co-Driver (Car) [Class]
1 Derek McGarrity/Paddy Robinson (Ford Focus WRC) [10]
2 Jonathan Greer/Kirsty Riddick (Citroen C3 R5) [10]
3 Desi Henry/Dale Furniss (Hyundai i20 R5) [10]
4 Stephen Wright/Liam Moynihan (Ford Fiesta R5) [11]
5 Pedar Hurson/Damien Connolly (Ford Fiesta WRC) [9]
6 Stuart Biggerstaff/Chris Nelson (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
7 Kenny McKinstry/Dean McDowell (Subaru Impreza WRC) [10]
8 Kieron Graffin/Amy Graffin (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
9 Sean Devine/Niall Devine (Ford Fiesta) [8]
10 Donall Sweeney/Dean Osullivan (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
11 Mark Massey/Niall Burns (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
12 Niall Henry/Damien Duffin (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
14 Barry Morris/Dylan Doonan (Darrian T90 GTR+) [7]
15 Pj McDermot/Shane Byrne (Subaru Impreza WRC S12) [9]
16 Liam McFall/Brian McFall (Ford Fiesta R5+) [11]
17 Peter Bennett/Rob Graham (Skoda Fabia) [9]
18 Clive Kilpatrick/Jay Colville (Skoda Fabia WRC) [11]
19 David Moffett/Martin Connolly (Toyota Starlet) [7]
20 Damian Toner/Denver Rafferty (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
21 Marty Toner/Philip Hamilton (BMW 1M) [7]
22 John Devlin/John McCarthy (Ford Escort) [6]
23 Fintan McGrady/Ray Fitzpatrick (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
24 James Kennedy/Heather Kennedy (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
25 John Bradley/Crawford Henderson (Ford Escort) [6]
26 Fraser Mulholland/Jonny Morrow (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [8]
27 Aaron McLaughlin/Darren Curran (Ford Fiesta R5+) [11]
28 Paul McKenna/Nial McKenna (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [9]
29 Gary McEvoy/Keith McEvoy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [8]
30 Chris McGurk/Liam McIntyre (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
31 Ashley Dickson/Jason Dickson (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
32 Paul Britton/Annmarie Devlin (Subaru Impreza N16) [2]
33 Dom McNiell/Tommy Speers (Ford Fiesta) [9]
34 Drew Wylie/Stephen McAuley (Ford Escort) [1]
35 Michael Conlon/Martin Byrne (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
36 Alastair Cochrane/John Adams (Ford Escort) [6]
37 Jamie Grant/Ben Teggart (Toyota Starlet) [6]
38 Philip Wylie/Lewis Dunlop (Ford Escort RS1800) [1]
39 Andrew McGaffin/Tanja Shields (Ford Escort Mk1) [5]
40 Robert Erwin/Sara Erwin (Toyota MR2) [6]
41 Marshall Kennedy/Davy Young (Peugeot 306 GTI6) [2]
42 Terry Donnelly/Gareth Donnelly (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [9]
43 Joe Hegarty/David Turkington (Ford Escort) [7]
44 Seamus Branniff/Barry Savage (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [8]
45 William Herron./Julia Herron (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
46 Niall Carey/Ciaran Carey (BMW Compact) [7]
47 Andrew White/Paul Hughes (Ford Escort Mk1) [7]
48 Conor Lavery/Sean Topping (Ford Escort) [6]
49 Arthur Kierans/Conor Maguire (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
50 Nicky Caughey/Graeme Stewart (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
51 Kevin Wilson/Martin Farren (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [9]
52 Shane Murray/Gary Hyde (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
53 Michael McGarrity/Damien Garvey (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
54 Thomas Simon Michael/Ivor Lamont (Citreon DS3 R5) [10]
55 Ian Millar/Ronan Oneill (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
56 Barry Fitzsimons/Patrick McMullan (Subaru Impreza) [8]
57 David Porter/Declan Boyle (Subaru Impreza) [8]
58 Sam Adams/Harry Johnston (Ford Escort) [5]
59 Adrian Grant/Olivia Coulter (Ford Escort) [5]
60 Jason Black/Karl Egan (Toyota Starlet) [5]
61 Raymond Johnston/Marc Johnston (Ford Escort) [5]
62 Jason Roche/Jamie Roche (Ford Escort) [7]
63 Jack Maguire/Colin Maguire (Ford Escort) [7]
64 Seamus Morris/Jarlath Kelly (Darrian GTR) [7]
65 Noel Vallely/Neill Vallely (Toyota Corolla) [5]
66 Allan Mackay/Dan Hamill (Ford Anglia) [6]
67 Roy Haslett/Gavin Larmour (Ford Escort) [6]
68 Matthew McGaffin/Laura McGaffin (Ford Escort) [5]
69 Anthony McCann/Damian McCann (Ford Escort Mk2) [5]
70 Colin Moynihan/Sean Collins (Ford Escort) [6]
71 Harry White/Rory Shields (Peugeot 205 RWD) [6]
72 Alexander Cochrane/Chrissy Johnston (Ford Escort) [6]
73 John Gordon/Thomas Wedlock (ford escort) [6]
74 Tommy Maxwell/Sam McMullan (Ford Focus) [7]
75 Daniel Breslin/Caolan Gaffney (Ford Escort) [7]
76 Richard McCartney/Hannah McCartney (Ford Ka 1.6t) [7]
77 Fabian McAleer/Steven Monaghan (Ford Escort) [1]
78 Gareth Black/Gary McCrudden (Toyota Starlet) [6]
79 Philip White/Brian Rowan (Nissan Micra) [3]
80 Stephen Whitford/Derek Crossen (Nissan Micra) [3]
81 Stephen Jess/John Magilton (Vauxhall Nova) [3]
82 Gary Rodgers/Steven Dowds (Nissan Micra) [3]
83 Raymond Mason/Jody Patterson (Nissan Micra) [3]
84 Barry Meeke/Marc Nugent (Nissan Micra) [4]
85 Angus Johnson/George McMillan (Vauxhall Corsa) [3]
86 Sean Foy/Chris McSherry (Nissan Micra) [3]
87 Jody McManus/Jon Armstrong (Ford Fiesta R2) [4]
88 Paul Hone/Jordan Hone (Nissan Micra) [3]
89 Ian Duff/Ian Hull (Proton Compact) [4]
90 Nigel Simpson/David Young (BMW E46) [7]
91 Seamus Goodfellow/Joel McFarland (Vauxhall Corsa) [3]
92 Shane Quinn/Ian McCord (Ford Fiesta R2T) [4]
93 Conor Gillespie/Ethan McColgan (Ford Escort Mk2) [5]
94 Jack Cairns/Martin Brady (Ford Fiesta) [4]
95 David Christie/Alastair McComb (Ford Escort) [5]
96 Adam Hall/Michael Hall (Ford Escort) [5]
97 Roger Kennedy/Wendy Blackledge (PEUGEOT 306 S16) [6]
98 Paidi Hamill/Martin Harte (Ford Escort) [6]
99 Ronnie McConnell/Rachel McConnell (Honda Civic) [2]
100 Joel Eakin/Sean Doherty (Honda Civic) [2]
101 Malcolm Pedlow/Billy Regan (BMW 2002 tii) [1]
R102 Andrew Andrew Bustard/Martin Harte (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [8]
R103 Stephen Peoples/Kieran Burke (Ford Escort) [6]
R104 Jonny Morrow/Adam Semple (Toyota Corolla) [6]
R105 Richard O'Lone/Marc Nugent (Ford Fiesta) [4]
R106 Brendan Cunningham/Ciaran Harte (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [9]
R107 Cal McCarthy/Derek O'Brien (Citroen DS3 R5) [10]
R108 Conor McCrossan/TBA (Honda Civic) [4]
R109 Jack McKenna/Ronan Comerford (Honda Civic) [4]
R110 Phillip Allen/Ian Dickson (Hyundai i20 R5) [10]
R111 David Armstrong/Ashley Trimble (Ford Escort RS1800) [1]
R112 William McClurkin/TBA (Ford Escort) [6]
R113 Sean Moran/Donal Balfe (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
R114 Gareth Irwin/Justin McCauley (Ford Escort) [6]
R115 David Riddles/TBA (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
R116 Sarah Purcell/TBA (Honda Civic) [4]
R117 Aoife Raftery/Dylan Doonan (Ford Fiesta R2) [4]
R118 Derek McGeehan/Mark McGeehan (MINI WRC) [10]
Final Instructions on club website, link below:
Regulations
Posted: May 29, 2021 6:11 AM
2021 N.I. Rally Championship Gets the Green Light!
Posted: May 29, 2021 6:04 AM
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