Rally Crews Rev Up for NI Championship Opener at Kirkistown!
Posted: February 15, 2022 1:23 PM
Motorsport bursts back into action at Kirkistown Race Circuit this Saturday 19 February for round one of the McGrady Insurance Northern Ireland Rally Championship, the Orchard Motorsport Kirkistown Stages Rally!
Organised by North Armagh Motor Club Ltd, Stephen Wright and Ger Conway head a high-quality entry list for the six-stage event, which is open for spectators to attend, but two-times event winner Wright will have his work cut out as he bids to take his third consecutive victory at Kirkistown.
A host of former champions and event winners will be eyeing up the crown, including reigning champion, Jonny Greer, in his Citroen C3. Navigated on this occasion by Darragh Mullen, it was Greer who claimed his second N.I. Championship title last year. The Carryduff driver is back to defend his crown at what will be the first of five championship rounds that will take place between February and July.
Also in a Citroen C3 will be Darren Gass and James McCarville. Markethill’s Gass has enjoyed some sporadic outings in recent years and finished runner-up at Kirkistown in 2019.
Derek McGarrity is an eight-time N.I. champion, with successes that span a 20-year period after his maiden crown was secured in 2002. He and Graham Henderson will be in the Orchard Motorsport mix with their Skoda Fabia while Aaron McLaughlin and Kenny McKinstry have a pair of Fiesta WRCs at their disposal.
Others to keep an eye on include Philip Allen (Fiesta R5), Scottish visitor Nigel Feeney (Fiesta WRC), plus another quartet of Fiesta R5 crews that include Emma McKinstry, Joe McGonigle, Mark Massey and Kieron Graffin.
The two-wheel-drive category adds to the wonderful array of machinery with James Kennedy (Escort MkII), Jamie Grant (Starlet), Niall Carey (BMW) and Championship sponsor, Fintan McGrady, in a brand new historic specification Escort.
McGrady Insurance’s sponsorship of this year’s series marks the Downpatrick based firm’s 30th year of support for motorsport in Northern Ireland.
McGrady Insurance Director, Fintan McGrady, said:
“The motorsport community in Northern Ireland is a tight-knit and loyal band of enthusiasts which I have had the pleasure of being supported by in both sport and business. I am delighted to support the N.I. Rally Championship as a way of giving back to the community that has made such an important contribution to McGrady Insurance over the years.”
McGrady Insurance’s sponsorship will cover the five main championship events as well as the three-event Forest Challenge that runs separately from the Northern Ireland series.
Timetable
The rally starts at 9.15am with all six stages held within Kirkistown Race Circuit. Admission to the event is £10 per person. Event sponsor, Orchard Motorsport, will be on-site with a display of scale models and clothing.
Seeded Entry List
Posted: February 15, 2022 1:20 PM
No Driver/Co-Driver (Car) [Class]
1 Stephen Wright /Ger Conway (Ford Fiesta R5) [11]
2 Jonathan Greer /Darragh Mullen (Citroen C3 Rally 2) [10]
3 Darren Gass /James McCarville (Citroen C3 R5) [10]
4 Derek McGarrity /Graham Henderson (Skoda Fabia R5+) [11]
5 Aaron McLaughlin /Darren Curran (Ford Fiesta WRC) [11]
6 Kenny McKinstry /Tba Tba (Ford Fiesta R5) [11]
7 Phillip Allen /Tbc Tbc (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
8 Nigel Feeney /Charley Sayer-Payne (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) [10]
9 Emma McKinstry /Kenny Hull (Ford Fiesta R5) [11]
10 Joseph McGonigle /Ciaran Geaney (Ford Fiesta R5) [11]
11 Mark Massey /Alistair Wyllie (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
12 Alan Carmichael /Lewis Carmichael (Subaru Impreza WRC S14) [10]
14 Cal McCarthy /Derek O Brien (Citroen DS3 R5) [10]
15 Kieron Graffin /Amy Graffin (Ford Fiesta R5) [11]
16 Michael McGarrity /Damian Garvey (Citron C3 R5) [11]
17 James Kennedy /Heather Kennedy (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
18 Jamie Grant /Jonny Chambers (Toyota Starlet) [6]
19 Ian Dickson /John McCafferty (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
20 Chris McGurk /Conor Duffy (Ford Fiesta R5) [11]
21 Michael McCollum /Michael Pearson (Ford Fiesta R5) [11]
22 Shane O Hagan /Damian O Hagan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [11]
23 Shane Murray /Gary Hade (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
24 Niall Carey /Ciaran Carey (BMW Compact) [7]
25 Liam McFall /Ivor Lamont (Ford Fiesta R5+) [9]
26 Nicky Caughey /Graeme Stewart (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [9]
27 Terry Donnelly /Gareth Donnelly (Skoda Fabia S2000) [9]
28 Paul McKenna /Niall McKenna (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [8]
29 Kevin Wilson /Martin Farren (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [8]
30 Lee McLaughlin /Aaron McCarron (Honda Civic) [4]
31 Seamus Branniff /Barry Savage (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [8]
32 Alan Smyth /Gary McCrudden (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
33 Simon Gordon /John Henderson (Vauxhall Astra) [6]
34 Andrew Bustard /Mo Downey (Ford Escort Mk2) [5]
35 Sam Adams /Michael Johnston (Ford Escort Mk2) [5]
36 Andrew White /Paul Hughes (Ford Escort Mk1) [7]
37 Joe Kelly /Jonny Kellyb (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
38 Fintan McGrady /Stephen Jess (Ford Escort Mk2) [1]
39 Conor Lavery /Brian Little (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
40 Adrian Grant /Olivia Chambers (Ford Escort Mk2) [5]
41 Justin McCauley /Tba Tba (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
43 Philip White /Brian Rowan (Nissan Micra) [3]
44 Gary Rodgers /Brian Crawford (Nissan Micra Kit Car) [3]
45 Christy McLaughlin /Garth Neill (Honda Civic) [4]
46 Roy Haslett /Jim McSherry (Ford Escort F2) [6]
47 Colin Price /Ben Teggart (Toyota Starlet) [6]
48 Scott Singleton /Dessie Wilson (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
49 Ruairi McGarrity /Martin McGarrity (Citroen DS3 R3T) [6]
50 James Wylie /Linda Wylie (Ford Escort Mk2) [5]
51 Harry White /Aedan McAleese (Peugeot 205 RWD) [6]
52 Darragh Kelly /Eoin Kelly (Peugeot 208 R2) [4]
53 Dara Leonard /Dermot McCaffrey (Ford Fiesta R2) [4]
54 Gareth Deazley /Ashley Boulton (Ford Fiesta) [4]
55 Peter Dowds /Steven Dowds (Nissan Micra Kit Car) [3]
56 Stephen Whitford /Derek Crossen (Nissan Micra Kit Car) [3]
57 Jude McLaughlin /Rian McLaughlin (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
58 Marshall Kennedy /Davy Young (Peugeot 306 GTI6) [2]
59 David Porter /Jordan Murphy (Subaru Imperza) [8]
60 Tommy Maxwell /Sam McMullan (Ford Focus RWD) [7]
61 Derek Robinson /Darren Flanagan (Talbot Sunbeam) [6]
62 Robert Erwin /Neil Ervine (Toyota MR2) [6]
63 Roger Kennedy /Wendy Blackledge (Peugeot 306 S16) [6]
64 Kevin Quinn /Chris Corr (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
65 Thomas Lowry /Harry Johnston (Talbot Sunbeam) [6]
66 Declan Campbell /Kevin Creighan (Ford Escort Mk2) [5]
67 Craig Alcorn /Adrian McGowan (Honda Civic) [4]
68 John Adams /Noel Watt (Ford Escort Mk2) [1]
69 Derek Gurney /Alan Conor (Ford Sierra RS Sosworth) [6]
70 Jimmy Mills /Joanna Alexander (Ford Escort Mk2) [1]
71 Stephen McKay /Hugh McNamara (Ford Fiesta) [6]
72 Andrew McGaffin /Tbc Tbc (Ford Escort Mk1) [5]
73 Barry Fitzsimons /Patrick McMullan (Subaru Imperza) [8]
74 Conor Wilson /Matthew Wilson (Ford Fiesta Rally4) [4]
75 Jack Cairns /Andrew Gillispie (Ford Fiesta R2) [4]
76 Conor McKeown /Cahir Loftus (Honda Civic) [4]
77 Philip Gault /Jim Ayre (Vauxhall Nova) [4]
78 Michelle Morelli /Nathan Quin (Honda Civic) [4]
79 Ronan Greene /Mark McAleer (Vauxhall Nova) [3]
80 Martin Taylor /Marc Taylor (Proton Satria) [4]
81 Mark Moore /Dion Coyle (Nissan Micra) [3]
82 Neil Somerville /Raymond Knox (Vauxhall Chevette) [3]
83 Declan McGarrity /Damian Campbell (Vauxhall Nova) [3]
84 Seamus Goodfellow /Joel McFarland (Honda Civic) [2]
85 Gareth Dick /Jane Collins (Honda Civic) [2]
86 Sean Scanlon /Lauren Crozier (Peugeot 206) [2]
Entries Received / On Line Entry / Details
Posted: January 27, 2022 2:40 PM
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