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Brendan Kelly Rallying - Disappointment in Ulster but Determination for Clare

Posted: September 17, 2002 7:40 AM - 3467 Hits

The latest round of the Ford of Ireland Focus Challenge was the Ulster Rally on 7th and 8th of September , which saw crews competing in the Toshiba Tarmac Championship meet up again with the Pirelli British Rally Championship regulars over the twisty roads of Co. Down.

Unfortunately it turned out to be a tale of woe for the Midland Crew of Brendan Kelly and Cathal Shanahan when they were forced to retire from the event.

Posted: September 17, 2002 7:40 AM

The Event:

After spending many nights and days planning for the event, the look of disappointment on Brendan and Cathal's faces was obvious when they had to retire their Ford Focus from the Ulster International following the first road section.

The cause of the problem, a slipping clutch, appeared on the long road section to the first competitive stage and was traced to an oil leak from the gearbox onto the clutch following a precautionary change of drive shafts. Following this disappointment Brendan appeared glum when he said " This has come as a major blow to both us, our sponsors and the team but that is rallying, when things appear to be going well it bites back with a vengeance. Following this non-finish we feel our championship win hopes have all but gone but we will continue to fight all the way on the following rounds. If the drive shafts were not changed who knows.... what the result might have been ...or we could have suffered the same faith as poor Colm", meaning Colm Murphy who suffered a drive shaft failure while leading the event.

All Brendan and Cathal can do is put the disappointment down to experience and have started to give the car a good check and shakedown in preparation for the classic Clare stages such as Maurice's Mills, the Village of Ruan and O'Brien's Castle where it is guaranteed the Midland team will be committed to driving at 110%.

Next Event:

The next event for the team is the third round of the Focus Challenge, the Clare Stages Rally, and takes place on September 22nd in Ennis. The event which is based in the West County Hotel comprises of three stages, which are repeated three times with centralized service area in the Gort Industrial Estate on the N18.First car is away from the start ramp at Mangans Cash & Carry at 11.15am and will finish back at the Post Office on Bindon Street at 18.30pm on Sunday evening.

This year the event is Round 9 of the Dunlop National Championship, Round 4 of the West Coast Rally Championship, as well as round 3 of the Focus Challenge and the eight crews will be joined by a 9th, David Delaney from Tipperary.

As always Brendan and Cathal are grateful to the help of their sponsors who include :


Griffiths Ford Dealers Mullingar
Static Vision Specialists     
Tullamore Court Hotel    
Irish Metal Refineries                             
Crossan Electrical Longford             
Luigis Fast Food                  
IPT Ltd                           
Tubbercurry Engineering                  
Edward J Valentines Bar and Lounge
Barry Express

Longford Tiles and Bathrooms     
Riverside Design Furniture Portarlington            
Signs N Systems Ballinasloe

Keep up to date at www.brendankellyrallying.com

Topics: Ford Focus Championship