2009 Border Rally Championship

Carolan and Smith Crowned HASS Border Rally Champions

Posted: November 25, 2009 5:50 PM

Thomas Carolan and Declan Smith were crowned the 2009 HASS Border Rally Champions at a gala prize-giving night at the Hillgrove Hotel in Monaghan on Friday night. The Co. Meath driver and co-driver beat off the challenges of runners-up Niall Maguire and Enda Sherry and third placed Daniel Conaghan and Trevor Graham to claim the prestigious title in their class 9 Ford Escort Mark II.

Posted: November 25, 2009 5:47 PM

Ken Henderson of Henderson Auto Sport & Spares
congratulates the 2009 HASS Border Rally Champions
Thomas Carolan and Declan Smith at the finish of the Donegal Harvest Rally
Photo: Cathal Doyle

2009 Border Rally Championship Prizegiving - (Fri) 13 Nov 09

Posted: October 21, 2009 12:35 PM

2009 Border Rally Championship Prizegiving - (Fri) 13 Nov 09

Championship Points after Final Round

Posted: October 21, 2009 12:34 PM

Border Rally Championship

Carolan & Smith Claim HASS Border Rally Championship Title

Posted: October 12, 2009 2:21 PM

Thomas Carolan and Declan Smith are the 2009 HASS Border Rally Champions.

The Co. Meath pairing, driving a class 9 Ford Escort Mark 2, clinched the title in dramatic fashion by beating Niall Maguire and Enda Sherry on a tie-break after both crews finished level on points following a nail-biting conclusion to the final round of the championship, the Donegal Harvest Rally.

At the head of the field Maguire and Sherry did all they could to claim the title Niall previously won in 2004, scoring a dominant overall win on the event in their class 8 Subaru Impreza WRC, and taking a maximum ten points on the class based Border series in the process. It meant the pressure was firmly on Carolan and Smith to win class 9 in order to stay in contention with the Monaghan competitors. And with two stages to go, it looked like an uphill battle, the Escort crew trailing class rivals James Grennan and Danny McCloskey by 29 seconds. However a storming time on the penultimate stage put the Meath men back in front by 5 seconds, a lead they were to consolidate on the final stage to win by 18 seconds.

With competitor’s four best scores from the six Border rounds counting towards the championship, it left both crews locked together on 39 points. Therefore it was down to a tie-break based on their next best scores. Not even this could separate the Subaru and Escort rivals, each having scored 9 points on their fifth best event. So ultimately it came down to their results on the sixth and final round, and with Niall Maguire and Enda Sherry having not started the Mourne Rally, the 7 points scored by Thomas Carolan and Declan Smith on that event was enough to ensure they become the HASS Border Rally Champions for 2009.

Earlier, the third of the title contenders going into the final round, Russell Woods and Martin Byrne, had set some very fast times over the early stages and had looked on course to take the class 13 win they needed to win the HASS Border title. However a steering rack failure on the fifth stage meant a disappointing early retirement for the Cavan competitors, and an end to their championship hopes.

Thomas Carolan and Declan Smith join an illustrious roll of honour of previous winners of the Border Rally Championship including such well known champions as Eugene and Charlie Donnelly, Gary McPhillips, Enda Keenan and Niall Maguire. The new champions will be officially crowned at the HASS Border Rally Championship prizegiving which takes place at the Hillgrove Hotel in Monaghan on Friday, November 13th, 2009.

Regulations Available

Posted: March 3, 2009 2:41 PM

Border Rally Championship

Posted: March 3, 2009 2:40 PM

At the launch of the 2009 HASS Border Rally Championship were (left to right):
Andrew Knox, Manus Kelly, Chairman of the Border Rally Championship Patsy McIntyre,
Ken Henderson of HASS,
Daniel Conaghan, Eugene Ferry and Damien Gallagher.
Photo: Brendan Flynn.

New Sponsor For 2009 Border Rally Championship

Posted: February 15, 2009 10:09 AM

The Committee of the Border Rally Championship is delighted to welcome Henderson Auto Sport & Spares (HASS) as title sponsor of the popular clubman’s championship for 2009.

Based in Raphoe in County Donegal, Henderson Auto Sport & Spares specializes in providing spare parts for Mark 1 and Mark 2 Ford Escorts for both road and rally use. As well as offering an extensive range of both new and second-hand performance parts including most popular brands, HASS provides complete fabrication and body-building solutions for road and rally cars from its in-house workshop.

“We are very happy to be able to come on board to sponsor the Border Rally Championship for 2009” says Ken Henderson, owner of HASS. “It is a great opportunity for us to be able to give something back to rally competitors. With the Border Series based around our natural catchment area, and geared firmly towards the clubman competitor, we believe this is the ideal platform to allow us to reach a wider audience”.

Chairman of the Border Rally Championship Patsy McIntyre welcomed HASS as sponsors of the series. “We are delighted that a company with its roots firmly in the sport of rallying is sponsoring the Border Championship, which over the years has proven to be hugely popular with competitors. I believe that together we can expand on that success and make the championship even stronger in 2009. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors for the past two years, McAree Engineering, for their support and dedication in promoting the Championship, and wish them every success in the future”.

The 2009 HASS Border Rally Championship is a class based championship comprising six events in Mayo, Monaghan, Cavan, Newry, Sligo and Donegal. Open to competitors in each of fifteen classes, the best four scores over the six rounds count towards the final championship positions.

Championship Rounds

Posted: February 15, 2009 10:08 AM

1. Mayo Stages Rally - March 8th 2009
2. Monaghan Stages Rally - April 26th 2009
3. Cavan Stages Rally - May 24th 2009
4. Newry and Mourne Rally - June 6th 2009
5. Connacht Sligo Stages Rally - July 12th 2009
6. Donegal Harvest Stages Rally - October 10th 2009