Mourne Rally - 10 Jun 06

Posted: July 13, 2006 7:58 AM

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Armstrong & McFarlane Put One Hand On Border Title At Mourne Rally
The 4th round of the Hankook Border Championship took place on Saturday June 10th last on the mountain stages surrounding Newry Co. Down. Although relatively short mileage compared to other rounds the technical nature of the Tarmac stages on Camlough and Slieve Gullion require a mix of bravery and skill to feature among the prizewinners. The rally was won by Kevin Lynch and Martin McNicholl making a return to the stages after a long layoff, once to owner of two Subaru S9 WRC’s the Derry driver hired his winning example off Stan Harper. They finished 47 seconds ahead of Glenn Allen and Damien Connolly in a Corolla WRC with Mike Curran and Fabian Mc Shane 42 seconds further adrift in third driving a Mitsubishi Evo 9. The first two-wheel drive car was the Mk2 escort of Camillus Bradley and Danny O’Neill in 5th place.

In terms of the Hankook Border Championship Brian Armstrong and Duncan McFarlane took their 4th maximum points haul with a class 12 win in as many starts and now have one hand firmly on the title with 2 rounds to go. The remainder of the Championship classes are starting to show some evidence of the final result with Phillip Harte and James McDermott dominating Class 1, Tommy Doyle and Andrew Donohue have ownership of Class 2 although none of the registered competitors in Class 2 contested Round 4. David Roe and Larry Hand have remained unchallenged in class 3 throughout the season but a non-start in Round 4 has allowed Uel Montgomery into 2nd in Class. In Championship terms, Class 5 was another class with no starters in Newry, but with Eamonn McCafferty and Toney Walsh 24 points clear of the nearest challenger they can afford to rest the Micra for one event.

Even though there are leaders emerging in some of the classes the remainder look like going all the way to the wire. In Class 4 Michael Curran and Fabian McShane had a very useful Mourne Rally with a maximum score to draw level with the non-starting Willie Fannin and Mick Courtney. In Class 6 Keith Power is maintaining a 9-point advantage over Tadgh Buckley with Andrew Mullen making ground in the others absence in Newry to hold joint 2nd with Tadgh. In Class 7, neither Andre Roberts nor Trevor Graham made an appearance in Newry so the Status Quo remains with Andre leading Trevor by 7 points. In Class 8 Glen Allen’s podium finish in Newry has lifted him and Damien Connelly 4 points clear of Charlie Donnelly and Paddy Toner, no other Class 8 competitor competed in Newry & Mourne.

The battle of the Currid’s continues in Class 9 with Jason 10 points clear of Colin after 4 Rounds heading for home country in Sligo for Round 5, Round 1 Class winners Simon Evans and Barry Faul occupy 3rd in class. In Class 10 Michael Conlon and Aiden Boyle continued to live a charmed life as they survived half shaft failure to finish 2nd in class 10 increasing their lead to 11 points. Russell Woods and Martin Byrne continue their dominance of Class 11 recording another top 20 finish with 16th overall in Newry &Mourne to lead the Championship Class by 4 points. If it hadn’t been for a broken wheel in Mayo the Hankook Border Championship could be much more of a two horse race.

Going to Newry & Mourne looking to consolidate a championship lead is a daunting task for any driver except if your name is Brian Armstrong and you know the Slieve Gullion and Camlough Mountain stages like the back of your hand. After 4 maximum scores from 4 rounds Brian and navigator Duncan McFarlane have a 7 point class lead over his cousin Steven and his navigator Dominic “Bart” McArdle who are poised to take the class when Brian and Duncan move into the overall positions. In Class 13 Gerard McAleer made gains to take him into 2nd in Class as he was the only registered driver to start in Mourne, he is now 2 points behind class leader Drew Hunter while Gerard’s navigator Frank Conville leads Class 13.

Trevor Lancashire who finished 9th overall and won class 14 in Newry has narrowed the gap to Championship Class leader Maurice Moffett to 1 point with 2 rounds remaining. Peter Rodgers got a starters point in Newry and this lifts him above Enda Keenan into third in Class. With no starters in Class 15 in Newry the points table remains the same as after Cavan, Ollie McPhillips has a 7 point lead over David McNulty who is recovering from a road accident and is undecided whether he will appear in Sligo.

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Dungiven's Kevin Lynch clinches Mourne Rally victory!
Michael Curran wins Group N
Martin Elliott moves to top of production category standings
Camillus Bradley takes two wheel drive honours

Kevin Lynch and Martin McNicholl took an emphatic victory at Saturday's MT Waste and id Graphics NI sponsored Mourne Rally, round four of the Pacenotes MSA Northern Ireland Stage Rally Championship. In his first competitive outing since March's Bishopscourt Stages, the Dungiven pilot set fastest or equal fastest times on 11 of 12 stages in the hired Subaru to take victory by an impressive 47 seconds!  

"It has been a year since I was last out on a tarmac road," Lynch said after the event. "Anyone can drive around race circuit but a tarmac road is a different thing altogether. I needed to get a run before Donegal and it took a while to get settled again but we got there!"  

Earlier this year, Lynch cited business commitments as a reason for taking a sabbatical from the sport but this failed to stop him from winning the opening two rounds of the series. Now with a third win under his belt, rumours are rife that the Subaru pilot will keep pushing for a third N.I. championship title, although he insists he has no plans at present.  

Finishing in second position, Cookstown's Glenn Allen bolstered his chances of lifting his maiden rally championship title with another healthy points haul. With Damien Connolly on the notes, the crew had a troubled rally with turbo boost problems but his solid result leaves him with a 12 point lead in the Pacenotes backed series.  

"We had trouble all day with the turbo boost," Allen said after the event. "I'm mystified with the turbo boost problem but hopefully the boys will have it sorted soon. The Mourne is always one of my favourite events and it was definitely a good rally this year!"  

Allen battled with Enniskillen's Raymond Johnston and Richard Bell for much of the event and at one point admitted to being 'a bit concerned' with the Subaru pilot's progress. The pressure eased on stage eight, 'Wee Gullion', when Johnston put his car off the road within sight of the finish.  

"We got it wrong on the left-hander before the final corner," Johnston said. "A back wheel just caught the grass and she spun off backwards through the bushes. She was up on two wheels at one point and I was just waiting for the bang but we were lucky to get away with it! The back bumper was cracked and we lost about 50 seconds so it could have been worse!"  

The incident dropped Johnston down to fourth position, behind leading Group N crew, Michael Curran and Fabian McShane. Curran, who hails from Bangor, was debuting his new Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 and with four stages remaining, had the production category victory in the bag. While Johnston was forced to settle for fourth after his grass cutting exercise, Curran came home in a fine third position.  

"The new car is brilliant!" Curran enthused. "It was a good rally to get used to the dog box. It was very tight and twisty which really suited it and the handling was superb. I was really pleased with our times, especially over the last loop of stages!"  

Antrim's Martin Elliott and Brian Crawford took second in Group N and a maximum Group N points haul for the Pacenotes backed series. Curran isn't registered for the series, allowing Elliott to move to the top of the Group N tables after early category leader Richard Hogg had other commitments and failed to make the start.  

"We had a really good, steady run," Elliott said. "I really didn't want to get involved with Michael Curran because I knew he was going to be very fast! So we decided to go for points and it worked out for the best. We had a bit of a moment on one stage after a shower of rain. We came over a crest and started braking for a hairpin but the ground was still wet and we slid straight on between two trees! Luckily, we didn't hit anything!"  

Superdrive sponsored two wheel drive category
  The hotly contested Superdrive sponsored two wheel drive category saw Draperstown's Camillus Bradley shroud his fellow competitors in dust. The Mark 2 preparation expert is no slow coach behind the wheel and with Danny O'Neill calling the notes, he mastered the stages to take victory over his fellow two wheel drive pilots. While both Norman Armstrong and Pat Donegan were forced to the sidelines, Bradley set fastest times on almost every stage to record fifth overall and top two wheel drive award.  

"Everything went well and we weren't pushing wild hard," Bradley said at the finish. "We had a couple of unexpected slides but managed to get out of them! It isn't the place where you want to go off. I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was a good test for Donegal!"  

Alistair Cochrane and Pamela Norris finished eighth overall, half a minute behind Bradley while Trevor Lancashire and Gary Hall were third. Lancashire isn't registered for the Pacenotes series, and neither is Brian Armstrong, so Martin McCormack and Paddy Toner took third prize in the Superdrive sponsored category.

 

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Cool FM DJ Sonya Mac Conquers the Mournes!
Cool FM DJ Sonya Mac and Superdrive’s Safron Thomas successfully finished the thrilling MT Waste and ID Graphics Mourne Rally last Saturday 10th June in the newly purchased pink and silver Ford Ka.

After a gruelling 12 stages through twisty, tarmac forest roads and over the top of the infamous ‘Big Gullion’ stage, the pair finished 10th in Class and 69th Overall from 95 starters.

Sonya made her rally debut in the Superdrive Motorsports Centre Nissan Micra at the Tour of the Sperrins just three weeks ago finishing the event ninth in class.

Sonya Said,
“The Mourne Rally was an absolutely fantastic event. I was only just getting the hang of those scary mountain stages when the rally was over! I was ready to do another run. Maybe the Newry and District Motor club could do some night stages next year!

“I’m really enjoying the rallying and I can’t wait until the Dogleap Rally in Limavady in August.” She said.

Sonya and Safron’s sponsors are Adelaide & Roadwise, Pirelli, Mascott Construction, Velocity Paintball@Superdrive, McCance Steel, Signlines, Superdrive and Cool FM

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Results
1 Kevin Lynch/Martin McNicholl (Subaru Impreza WRC) 38.22
2 Glenn Allen/Damien Connolly (Toyota Corolla WRC) 39.09
3 Mike Curran/Fabian McShane (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 39.51
4 Raymond Johnston/Richard Bell (Subaru Impreza WRC) 40.26
5 Camillus Bradley/Danny O'Neill (Ford Escort MK II) 40.42
6 Martin Elliott/Brian Crawford (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6) 41.11
7 Alistair Cochrane/Pam Norris (Ford Escort) 41.13
8 George Robinson/Tommy Speers (Ford Escort WRC) 41.23
9 Trevor Lancashire/Gary Hall (Ford Escort MK II) 41.57
10 Eddie Donaghy/Charlie Donaghy (Subaru Impreza WRC) 42.03

Leaders After
SS1 Kevin Lynch/Martin McNicholl (Subaru Impreza WRC)
& Glenn Allen/Damien Connolly (Toyota Corolla WRC)

SS2 Glenn Allen/Damien Connolly (Toyota Corolla WRC)

SS3-12 Kevin Lynch/Martin McNicholl (Subaru Impreza WRC)

Stage Winners
SS1 Kevin Lynch/Martin McNicholl (Subaru Impreza WRC)
& Glenn Allen/Damien Connolly (Toyota Corolla WRC)

SS2 Glenn Allen/Damien Connolly (Toyota Corolla WRC)
& Raymond Johnston/Richard Bell (Subaru Impreza WRC)

SS3 Kevin Lynch/Martin McNicholl (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS4 Kevin Lynch/Martin McNicholl (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS5 Kevin Lynch/Martin McNicholl (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS6 Kevin Lynch/Martin McNicholl (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS7 Kevin Lynch/Martin McNicholl (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS8 Kevin Lynch/Martin McNicholl (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS9 Kevin Lynch/Martin McNicholl (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS10 Kevin Lynch/Martin McNicholl (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS11 Kevin Lynch/Martin McNicholl (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS12 Kevin Lynch/Martin McNicholl (Subaru Impreza WRC)

• Download Results and Stagetimes in Word Format

Photos:
RMS - www.reallymeansounds.com
Motorsport Photography by Anthony Hunter Roy Dempster Photos
rallypics.org
neillpics.co.uk

Newry and District Motor Club

• 2006 Northern Ireland Rally Championship
• 2006 Border Rally Championship

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PRE EVENT NEWS

• Cool FM DJ Sonya Mac Geared up for Super-Fast Mourne Rally
• Mountain excitement as crews rev up for Mourne Rally - Rally Preview
• Entry list
• Border Championship Preview - Brian Armstrong & Duncan McFarlane take the lead in Hankook Series
• Regulations and Entry Form on Line

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09/06/06
Cool FM DJ Sonya Mac Geared up for Super-Fast Mourne Rally


Cool FM DJ Sonya Mac will drive her newly purchased ex-Martin Lavery Ford Ka in this Saturday’s MT Waste and ID Graphics Mourne Rally.

Sonya made her rally debut in the Superdrive Motorsports Centre Nissan Micra at the Tour of the Sperrins just three weeks ago finishing the event ninth in class.

Sonya Said,
“I enjoyed the Tour of the Sperrins so much that I decided I really had to keep going, so I took delivery of the silver Ford Ka last week and hope to do the rest of the Pacenotes NI Championship Rounds.

“After spending two days at Signlines in Comber the Ka is now more pink than silver so you can’t really miss it which come in especially handy if we end up in a hedge somewhere!” she said.

Superdrive Manager Safron Thomas will make her co-driving debut for Sonya this weekend.
“I’ve spent a few years encouraging everyone else to go rallying through Superdrive and when Sonya asked me to co-drive for her I thought why not!”

“I have full confidence in Sonya’s driving and I’m looking forward to the tight and twisty mountain stages on Saturday.” She said.

Sonya and Safron’s sponsors for the Mourne Rally are Adelaide & Roadwise, Pirelli, Mascott Construction, Velocity Paintball@Superdrive, McCance Steel, Signlines, Superdrive and Cool FM.

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07/06/05
Mountain excitement as crews rev up for Mourne Rally
The final tarmac tussle of this year’s Pacenotes MSA Northern Ireland Rally Championship gets underway this Saturday with the MT Waste and ID Graphics NI sponsored Mourne Rally. Based just outside Newry at the Carrickdale Hotel, four loops of three stages are on the agenda with Camlough, Wee Gullion and Big Gullion set to test the cream of Northern Ireland’s rally talent!

No less than 108 entries have been received to date but there could be a few surprises in store as Newry and District Motor Club have decided to accept last minute entries. As a result, a top ten entry has yet to be finalised but there is already a mouth-watering array of high-powered rally cars.

Championship leader, Glenn Allen, is still in the hunt for his first victory this year and the Cookstown driver is aiming to take his Toyota Corolla WRC to the top of the Mourne Rally podium. Consistent points finishes have seen him surge to the top of the tables, 12 points clear of production category leader Richard Hogg. But Allen could face stiff opposition from Dungiven’s Kevin Lynch.

After selling both of his Subarus, it looked as though Lynch was set to take a sabbatical from the sport, instead decided to concentrate on his business. The KPL man is the current champion and won the opening two rounds of this year’s series but he missed the Tour of the Sperrins, dropping him to third in the standings. That could change after this Saturday’s event though, as he aims to take a hat-trick of Mourne Rally victories if he can seal a deal to hire a car.

"I’m trying to pull a deal together to hire an S9 spec Subaru," Lynch said. "It would be a good test before going to Donegal the following weekend. I’m hopeful that it will all work out but nothing is definite yet!"

Enniskillen’s Raymond Johnston is also back in action with his Subaru while Strabane’s Sean Devine is hoping his luck will change for the better. An accident at round three put the brakes on his challenge and the construction company owner must keep it together on Saturday to keep his championship hopes alive.

Adding some variety to the field, Sean McArdle will take his SEAT Cordoba WRC, the only one in the country, onto the stages while Armagh’s Maurice Gass will be looking for a good result in his Skoda Fabia WRC.

Further down the order, the production category battle sees James Cullen make a return to the series. The Letterkenny man will face stiff opposition from current category leader, Richard Hogg, while Bangor’s Michael Curran will debut his new Evo 9 Lancer.

"I’m really looking forward to getting back behind the wheel," the current Group N National Champion said. "The new car is superb and this weekend will let me get to grips with it before going to Donegal."

The Superdrive sponsored two wheel drive category has also attracted a top class entry. This year’s event is also a counting round of the Border Championship and many southern two wheel men will join the fray including Pat Donegan and Mickey Curran.

Fresh from her maiden rally, Cool FM DJ Sonya Mac enjoyed herself so much, she decided to buy a Ford Ka! She has also entered this Saturday’s rally and will be navigated by Superdrive’s Safron Thomas.

With 12 action packed stages, this Saturday’s event will be a thriller! The first stage kicks off at 10am and after 45 miles of demanding tarmac stages, the winner will be crowned at the Carrickdale Hotel at 5pm. More details are available from championship website, www.nirally.com, or go to Newry and District Motor Club’s website at www.nadmc.net.

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• Download Entry List in PDF Format

Newry and District Motor Club

• 2006 Northern Ireland Rally Championship
• 2006 Border Rally Championship

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06/06/06
Border Championship Preview - Brian Armstrong & Duncan McFarlane take the lead in Hankook Series
Despite a comparatively slow start at the Hotel Kilmore Cavan Stages Rally Newtownhamilton’s Brian Armstrong and his navigator Duncan McFarlane took another maximum score to move into the lead of the Hankook Border Championship with three class wins from three starts. On home ground in Newry & Mourne, the Class 12 crew are strong favourites for another class win to bring their tally to four successive victories.

Phillip Harte and James McDermott continue to set the Class 1 pace. The arrival of Alan Whyte in Cavan has pushed the non-starting Kenneth McHale down to 3rd in the Class, while Kenneth’s navigator Derek McCarthy still occupies 2nd in the Navigators Championship. Despite 9 Class 2 crews registering in Mayo only Tommy Doyle and Andrew O’Donoghue have contested every round. The Longford crew now have a 12-point lead in the class, picking up 7 points for finishing 2nd to Patrick Higgins who hasn’t registered for Border points.

There were no finishers in Class 3 in Cavan but David Roe and Larry Hand did increase their lead in Class 3 to 17 points with a starters point. In Class 4, the class got a bit of a shake up as Mike Curran failed to start and P.J. McGrath had a non-finish dropping him back to third in class. Willie Fannin’s home win lifted him into the class lead, while Ian Barrett ascends into 2nd 3 points adrift of leaders Fannin and Courtney.

Eamonn McCafferty and Tony Walsh are racing away into the distance in Class 5 with 26 points and out of 4 registered starters they were the only Class 5 finisher in Cavan. Keith Power repeated his Monaghan Class 6 win in Cavan to move 9 points ahead of Tadg Buckley who was 3rd in class in Cavan. David Delaney’s non-start in Monaghan is hampering his Championship progress despite a 2nd in Class in Cavan and he occupies third. Shane Buckley leads the navigator’s class in Class 6 as Jonathon McGrath did not start Monaghan and has to be content with 2nd while Paul Roche occupies third.

In Class 7 Andre Roberts has come off second best to John Agnew in Monaghan & Cavan but since John is not registered for the Hankook Border Championship Andre receives the maximum points available. Trevor Graham and Carmel Cunningham occupy a distant 2nd in class. The fact that Glenn Allen didn’t start Cavan has opened up Class 8 with Mayo and Cavan overall winner Charlie Donnelly moving into a 5 point lead. Glenn Allen maintains second place ahead of Niall Maguire and Aaron MacHale who tie for third.

In Class 9 Jason and Colin Currid couldn’t be separated over the first 2 rounds but a non-finish for Colin in Cavan has allowed Jason into a 5 point lead. Simon Evans and Barry Fahl occupy 3rd in the Championship class despite winning the class in Mayo. Michael Conlon retains his Class 10 lead despite an eventful Cavan Stages, he and Aiden Boyle have a 7 point lead over John Walsh and Sam Clarke. Two good scores for Adrian Foley see him occupy 3rd in class

Three second in class finishes has Raymond Conlon leading Class 11 by 6 points. Russell Woods has been the pace setter over the last 2 rounds as Mark Alcorn failed to finish both Cavan and Monaghan. The young Virginia driver has been using Hankook Tyres on the way to top 20 finishes in Monaghan and Cavan. Jim McKenna is 7 points adrift of Woods in 3rd place.

A third clean sheet for Brian Armstrong & Duncan McFarlane in class 12 means that they start their home event the clear leaders of the Hankook Border Championship. In second place Steven Armstrong and Bart McArdle have been consistent over the 3 rounds and are well placed to take the class win if Brian and Duncan ascend into the overall placings. A troubled year sees Daniel Conaghan and Liam McLoughlin occupy 3rd place in the Championship.

Drew Hunter was joint leader of the Hankook Border Championship going into Cavan, but when you have the first two-wheel drive car in your class coupled to a visit to the Cavan scenery things are not looking good. He and Victor do retain the class lead 8 points ahead of Ollie O’Rielly with Gerard McAleer third 2 points further back.

Maurice Moffett and Jason McKenna have a healthy class lead in Class 14 as the Monaghan crew recorded their first finish in Cavan since to got their Toyota Starlet, it wasn’t without incident as they shaved the bark off a tree on stage 9 damaging a quarter panel. It is a three way tie behind them as Enda Keenan, Trevor Lancashire, and Peter Rodgers all on 10 points after 3 rounds. Ollie McPhillips & David McNulty were closely matched over rounds 1& 2 but David non-starting in Cavan has allowed Ollie into a 7 point lead with Brian Corey not registering any finishes in third.

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09/05/06

• Download Regulations
• Download Entry Form

Newry and District Motor Club

• 2006 Northern Ireland Rally Championship
• 2006 Border Rally Championship