There is real excitement building as the Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship roars back into life with a bumper field ready to take on the Carrick-on-Suir Motorclub’s Willie Loughman Forest Rally, the second round of the 2024 series.
To be contested over six high sped Forest stages north of the event’s Waterford docks base, this years event has attracted a massive entry which is testament to the appetite for loose-surface rallying in Ireland and the real buzz surrounding the 2024 Championship.
Leading the field away are Jordan Hone & Paul Hone, the due brought their Ford Fiesta R5 to a well-deserved victory on the season opening Killarney Forest Rally, the first time the pair ever reached the top of the podium and fine reward for what was a commanding drive that saw them take maximum points. With some title rivals electing to skip this weekend’s event, Hone will have an eye firmly on building his Championship tally.
Following the Hones on the entry list are a trio of similar Ford Fiesta R5’s with Derek Mackarel & Eamonn Creedon aiming to make a real statement from number 2, former Forest Champion Pat O’Connell & Mark Wiley start at 3 while the ever hard-charging Stephn McCann & John McCabe will be aiming to build on a fourth-place finish on the season opener.
Home crowds will be cheering for local star and former Willie Loughman Rally winner Andrew Purcell who will have Liam Brennan alongside in a VW Polo GTi R5 as they make amends for a disappointing Killarney where they retired from third place, while fellow local crew David Condell & Michael Coady will look forward to stages they excelled on last year to claim a fine podium finish.
In the 2WD section, minds may be cast back to the 2023 Willie Loughman Carrick Forest when a trio of front-wheel-drive machines claimed the podium spots in the hands of a new breed of young rally stars, and this year its Ryan McHugh & Karl Egan who lead the charge in a Ford Fiesta Rally4 off the back of some great results on tarmac.
Behind McHugh is last years 2WD winners Keelan Grogan & Ayrton Sherlock, the pair had a frustrating day in their Peugeot 208 Rally4 in Killarney but will be out to kickstart their season, while Cian Caldwell & Liam Egan will have a similar machine beneath them before we see a host of young stars in Fords with Craig Rahill & Conor Smith, Dylan Eves & Ryan Farrell, Mossie Costello & Megan Costello and Tommy Moffett & Domhnall Lennon all in similar Rally4 Fiesta’s.
While the young stars will be aiming to make their mark, the 2WD field is led away by the hugely experienced trio of Shane McGirr & Denver Rafferty, Mickey Conlon & James McEneaney and Hugh McQuaid & Declan Casey, but eyes will also be firmly on the real rising star of rear-wheel-drive once more as Sam Stewart & Alan Johnston continue to set remarkable times in their Ford Escort.
The largest single class battle of the event once more will be in J1000, with twenty-five crews set to leave the Rhu Glenn Hote on Sunday morning to tackle the 65.98km route that lies in store over the six special stages. Leading the monster field away are Danny Brady & Darren O’Brien, winners last timeout in Killarney in their VW Up, but right on their heels will be the experienced pair of Tommy Cronin & Derek Butler and Ryan Caldwell & Darren Caldwell who will be aiming to add valuable Championship points.
The times in Killarney were looking really strong for David Travers & Andy Purser before they retired late on, while Oisin McShane & Fabian McShanes remarkable performance winning five stages in Killarney sees them seeded right behind Ross Ryan & Peter Keohane.
The action kicks off early Sunday morning, with the first of the J1000 crews leaving Waterford at 8.30am, with the prize presentations scheduled for 5pm outside the Rhu Glenn, so make sure and get to the South East this weekend for what’s set to be another enthralling stop for the 2024 Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship.
MIJRS returns to the woods for Carrick Forest Rally
Posted: April 12, 2024 1:41 PM
The knobbly tyres are back on this weekend as the third stop of the 2024 Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series (MIJRS) calendar sees crews head into the Forests of the South-East with the eagerly anticipated Willie Loughman Carrick-on-Suir Forest Rally, the second loose surface battle of the season.
Contested on both loose and sealed surfaces across both the Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship and the Triton Nation Rally Championship, the MIJRS is Ireland’s sole national Dual Surface series designed to develop the brightest young talent in Irish Rallying.
The prizes on offer to competitors in the series are remarkable, with prize packages totalling over €70,000 offered through Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy supports as well as an additional €12,000 prize fund sponsored by Race&Rally for crews competing in Classes 2 & 2A in Stellantis vehicles.
Heading into the six-stage Forest event and the third round of the year, the Class 2 series is led by Dylan Eves who claimed a hugely important victory on the recent Mayo Stages Rally, the tarmac opener, and he now holds a three point advantage over Craig Rahill in a similar Ford Fiesta Rally4, with both set to do battle once more this weekend.
Last year’s J1000 champion Tommy Moffett has taken no time showing his incredible talent in the step up to Class 2 and he lies third heading back to the much more familiar gravel stages in Carrick, and similar to Mossie Costello the opportunity to continue learning in their Ford Fiesta’s is a massive development aim.
In a pair of Peugeot 208 Rally4’s, both Cian Caldwell and Keelan Grogan will be aiming to make a mark and kickstart what has been a disappointing season so far with both failing to finish on the season opening Killarney Forest Rally.
In Class 2A, the opening two rounds have been dominated by Jack Harris in his Ford Fiesta R2T, but once more there is set to be a great battle in store between our MIJRS trio as Jack Kennedy & Ciara Duggan continue to show incredible progression stage-by-stage in their Ford Fiesta R2’s.
The largest battle of all will be in J1000 yet again, with 26 registered drivers looking forward to the high-speed 62km battle in the forests. The field is led away by Killarney winner Danny Brady, but predicting a winner from the entry list is impossible when there is talent such as Tommy Cronin, Ryan Caldwell, David Travers, Ross Ryan, Oisin McShane or Tommy Furlong right at the sharp end.
For some drivers such as Ger Hartigan, Cameron Crozier, Conor Ryan & Charlie Browne, the experience of these stages last season will be a massive advantage as they continue to show progression and aim to implement skills learned at the recent MI Academy Tuition Day in Tynagh.
For other drivers though, this weekend is a second or even first ever rally, and we wish them all the very best as these youngsters make their very first steps in our sport, ad the MIJRS J1000 series is a remarkable place to come and learn amongst what is the single biggest class battle in Irish rallying at present.
The action kicks off early Sunday morning, with the first of the J1000 crews leaving Waterford at 8.30am, with the prize presentations scheduled for 5pm outside the Rhu Glenn Hotel.
Full championship information and registration details can be found at www.MIJRS.ie
Seeded Entry List
Posted: April 9, 2024 1:06 PM
1 Jordan Hone/Paul Hone (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
2 Derek Mackarel/Eamonn Creedon (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
3 Pat O Connell/Mark Wiley (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
4 Stephen McCann/John McCabe (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
5 Andrew Purcell/Liam Brennan (VW Polo GTI R5) [5]
6 Darragh Cairns/Mark Preston (Skoda Fabia R5) [5]
7 Gareth Mimnagh/J Barry McCarney (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
8 David Condell/Michael Coady (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
9 Gerard Lucey/TBA (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
10 Daragh O'Riordan/Sean McCarthy (Ford Fiesta S2000) [20]
11 James Dunphy/Alan McCormack (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
12 James Boland/John McCay (Ford Fiesta Rally3) [4]
14 Martin O'Brien/James Cotter (Ford Fiesta Rally2) [5]
15 Marty Mckenna/Martin Brady (Ford Fiesta Rally2) [5]
16 Paul McCann/Mark Murphy (Ford Fiesta R5) [5]
17 Lukasz Czapnik/Piotr Szadkowski (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
18 John Carroll/Ray Fitzpatrick (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [15]
19 Barry Murphy/Conal Doherty (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [20]
20 James Lowry/Shaun Forde (Subaru Impreza N12) [4]
21 Larry Doyle/TBA (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [15]
22 Mikie Morahan/Anne Morahan (Subaru Impreza) [15]
23 David Fitzsimons/TBA (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3) [15]
201 Shane McGirr/Denver Raffery (Lada VFTS) [14]
202 Michael Conlon/James McEneaney (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
203 Hugh McQuaid/Declan Casey (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
204 Sam Stewart/Alan Johnston (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
205 Ryan McHugh/Karl Egan (Ford Fiesta Rally4) [2]
206 Keelan Grogan/Ayrton Sherlock (Peugeot 208 Rally4) [2]
207 Cian Caldwell/Liam Egan (Peugeot 208 Rally4) [2]
208 Craig Rahill/Conor Smith (Ford Fiesta Rally4) [2]
209 Dylan Eves/Ryan Farrell (Ford Fiesta Rally4) [2]
210 Mossie Costello/Megan Costello (Ford Fiesta Rally4) [2]
211 Tommy Moffett/Domhnall Lennon (Ford Fiesta Rally4) [2]
212 Donal Connolly/Danny McLaughlin (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
213 Alan Commins/Richard Cleary (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
214 Little Brian/Jennings Henry (Ford Escort G3) [12]
215 Ciaran McCullagh/Cormac Noonan (Honda Civic) [11F]
216 Ian McCarthy/Patrick O'Sullivan (Honda Civic) [11F]
217 Derry Long/Aaron Browne (Honda Civic) [11F]
218 Colin O'Toole/Keith Power (Ford Fiesta R2) [2A]
219 Jack Harris/Aaron O'Regan (Ford Fiesta R2) [2A]
220 Jack Kennedy/Eoghan Doherty (Ford Fiesta R2) [2A]
221 John Ward/Brian Martyn (Ford Fiesta R2) [2A]
222 Gary Fitzpatrick/Darragh Smyth (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
223 Christy Butler/Ann Hutchinson (Honda Civic) [11F]
224 Eamon O'Connell/Paul Bruton (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
225 Damien Brophy/Gerard Buckley (Toyota Starlet RWD) [11R]
226 Paul O'Connell/Brian Quinlan (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
227 Mark Stewart/Chris Hobson (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
228 Sean Benskin/Angiee Michniewicz (Ford Escort) [12]
229 Hal Lewis/Paddy McDonnell (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
230 Raymond Jnr Benski/Nicky Hegarty (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
231 Seamus O'Grady/Kieran Rafter (Ford Fiesta ST) [13]
232 Steven Corey/Conor McGurren (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
233 Kenneally Tom/Johnny Burke (BMW M3) [14]
234 Colin Neligan/Bernard McSweeney (Ford Fiesta) [11F]
235 Daniel Oleary/Katelyn O'Leary (Honda Civic EK4) [11F]
236 Walter Burke/Bobby Cooper (Ford Escort) [18]
237 Ciara Duggan/Dylan Harrington (Ford Fiesta) [2A]
238 Eugene Ward/Patrick Heaney (Ford Fiesta) [11F]
239 Frank Rafferty/Darragh Mullins (Peugeot 205 GTi) [10]
240 Mike Garahy/Iarla McCarthy (Ford Escort Mk2) [10]
241 Paul Cullen/Brian Rowan (Opel Corsa) [10]
242 Aaron Doyle/Anthony McDonald (Honda Civic 1.6VTI) [TBA]
243 Liam O'Sullivan/Cal McCarthy (Ford Fiesta R2) [2A]
244 Kevin Dempsey/Gallagher Ian (Peugeot 206 Cup Car) [2A]
245 Graham Kelly/Pauline Kelly (Citroen C2) [2B]
246 John McDermott/Denis Murphy (VW Lupo) [9]
247 Francis Kelly/Charlotte Egan (Peugeot 206 Cup Car) [9]
248 Gerard Walshe/Jack Osullivan (Ford Fiesta) [9]
249 Quinn Damien/Karl Smyth (Ford Fiesta) [TBA]
301 Danny Brady/Darren O'Brien (VW UP) [21]
302 Tommy Cronin/Derek Butler (Toyota Aygo) [21]
303 Ryan Caldwell/Darren Caldwell (Skoda Citigo) [21]
304 David Travers/Andy Purser (Peugeot 107) [21]
305 Ross Ryan/Peter Keohane (Peugeot 107) [21]
306 Oisin McShane/Fabian McShane (VW UP) [21]
307 Tommy Furlong/Niall Furlong (Skoda Citigo) [21]
308 Finn Gardiner/Adrian Hynes (Peugeot 107) [21]
309 PJ McDermott/Johnny Baird (Toyota Aygo) [21]
310 Conor Ryan/Conor Hade (Skoda Citigo) [21]
311 Ger Hartigan/Conor Kelly (Citroen C1) [21]
312 Rhys McElhinney/TBA (Peugeot 107) [21]
313 Daniel Ormond/Paddy King (Peugeot 107) [21]
314 Aaron Hughes/Des Sherlock (Citroen C1) [21]
315 Sean White/Sean Nolan (Peugeot 107) [21]
316 Cameron Crozier/Geraldine McBride (Citroen C1) [21]
317 Jack Cullinane/Robert O'Regan (Peugeot 107) [21]
318 Morgan Moore/James Obrien (Skoda Citigo) [21]
319 David Slattery/Ger Somers (Hyundai I10) [21]
320 Ronan Adam/Culliney Robert (Peugeot 106) [21]
321 Gemma Hallinan/Dean Raftery (Toyota Aygo) [21]
322 Daithi Marsh/Sean Marsh (Nissan Micra) [21]
323 Gareth McGettrick/TBA (Nissan Micra) [21]
324 Darragh McEnroe/Reilly Mark (VW UP) [21]
325 Frank Wharton/Cyril Wharton (Toyota Aygo) [21]
Suirway Group South East Stages Rally Championship kicks off in Carrick on Suir
Posted: April 3, 2024 2:15 PM
The Suirway Group South East Stages Rally Championship kicks off on the 14th of April with the opening round of the series, the Carrick-On-Suir Motor Club Willie Loughman forestry rally.
For this year, the championship is heading into it’s 39th year and consists of nine rounds, with a competitor’s best six scores to count, with the two-day Wexford Volkswagen stages rally hosing a double-header in September.
To qualify for an award, a competitor must start at least three rounds of the championship and all award winners will receive a free ticket to our awards night.
The championship is unique in that the rounds are spread across sealed, loose and mixed surfaces.
The championship is a true clubman-based championship, with the points scoring based on class results as opposed to overall. The championship has been strongly supported in recent years and it is hoped that this will grow even further in 2024, with the Suirway Group once again supporting the series. Last year saw the winning trophy stay in the South-East with Niall Fitzpatrick and Matthew Reade taking the championship honours in their gorgeous Ford Escort Mk1.
Registration is now open for this year’s championship.
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