The McKinstry steamroller express continued at last weekend's C. Bradley Motorsport Tour of the Sperrins Rally, as Banbridge rally preparation expert, Kenny McKinstry, secured his fourth Hankook MSA Northern Ireland Rally Championship victory on the trot!
Navigated by Kenny Hull, McKinstry made it four wins from four events at the Magherafelt & District Motor Club event, which was Northern Ireland's first carbon neutral rally.
However, McKinstry didn't have it all his own way. In fact, it was only after stage five of the seven stage event that the Subaru Impreza WRC pilot moved to the head of the field.
During the early stages, it was Donagh Kelly and Kevin Flanagan who set the pace in their production category Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9. On the opening 15-mile Slieve Gallion stage, Kelly was fastest by 5.5 seconds from the Skoda Fabia S2000 belonging to Jonny Greer and Dai Roberts, while McKinstry held third.
On stage two, it was Seamus Heron and Gerry McVeigh who set the pace in their Corolla WRC, while McKinstry was second fastest to promote him into second position. It looked as though he was about to pounce on leader Kelly, but a problem on stage three saw him lose eight seconds to the leaders.
Donagh Kelly continued to lead the event, but Seamus Heron was just five seconds adrift in second position. Jonny Greer and Dai Roberts had moved up to third, while Kenny McKinstry and Kenny Hull held fourth ahead of reigning champions, Stuart Biggerstaff and Anthony Nestor.
Seamus Heron hit trouble on stage four, dropping him well out of contention. Meanwhile, Kenny McKinstry went on a charge, promoting him to second overall. One stage later, he moved into the rally lead, and stayed there until crossing the finish ramp.
In the end, McKinstry and Hull won the rally by just 17 seconds from Donagh Kelly and Kevin Flanagan, who topped the Sunoco Fuels Group N tree. Johnny Greer and Dai Roberts brought their beautiful Skoda Fabia S2000 home in third position, with George Robinson and Tommy Speers fourth ahead of Stuart Biggerstaff and Anthony Nestor.
In the two-wheel-drive category, there was a titanic battle between Adrian Hetherington and Camillus Bradley. Less than one second separated the two crews going into the final stage, but it was Bradley who emerged victorious in the end.
Bradley, with navigator Crawford Henderson, also sealed sixth overall in their Escort, 11.4 seconds ahead of Adrian Hetherington and Gary Nolan. Mark Donnelly and Martin Brady completed the top eight in their Mitsubishi Lancer.
Magherafelt & District Motor Club Ltd have taken the decision not to increase our entry fee for late entries.
COC James McKeefry stated “In the current economic environment, we have decided to maintain the early fee of £299.00 until the closing date 28th May. We would much rather have more entries than have the increased price put competitors off”.
At this stage we have 65 entries and we have the ability to run 120 entries. Due to time constraints, the closing date of 28th May will have to be the last date for entries.
70 stage miles on good quality tarmac, 55 road miles for the still low entry of £299.00, don’t miss out, get your entries in soon.
MADMC announce C Bradley Motorsport for The Tour of the sperrins 2011
Posted: March 29, 2011 2:29 PM
Magherafelt and District Motor Club are delighted to announce Draperstown based motorsport engineering company C Bradley Motorsport as title sponsor for the 2011 Tour of the sperrins rally.
Known to many as a keen competitor and supporter of the club Camillus Bradley and his team have grown an international reputation for their skills in building and preparation of cars for motorsport. Entry forms and regulations are now available for the 7th May spectacular and with Camillus and the team on board MADMC are looking forward to a lightning fast Tour of the Sperrins rally 2011.
Rally Launch - Sunday 17th April 2011
Posted: March 29, 2011 2:29 PM
Tour of the Sperrins Rally Launch is Sunday 17th April 2011 in the Maghera leisure centre. From 2:30 – 4:30
MADMC announce the first details of the Tour of the Sperrins 2011
Posted: March 1, 2011 11:07 AM
Magherafelt and District Motor Club are pleased to host Round 4 of the Hankook Northern Ireland Championship -the Tour of the Sperrins Rally on Saturday 7th May 2011. Again this tarmac rally, with over 70 stage miles and only 45 road miles should once more prove to be a very popular round of the Championship. The event has some exciting new stages clocking up these 70 miles; there are 3 separate stages, two done twice and one done three times. Stage Commanders are already hard at work preparing the roads and are reporting that the stages will be fast and challenging whilst offering good spectator vantage points. The event will start at Walsh’s Hotel in Maghera where proprietor Kieran Bradley states that he and his staff look forward to welcoming rally enthusiasts to the Mid Ulster town with special rally packages for accommodation and food.
The event will again have the very convenient, centralised service area on the Tobermore Road, Maghera which proved such a hit with competitors last year. Feedback from those who took part, complimented the spacious, well-laid out, gravelled car park as being ideal for larger service vehicles and crew parking.
M.A.D.M.C. realise that the 70+ tarmac stage miles will be a big draw for this event but in addition they have lowered the entry fee to £299 for early entrants! Competition secretary Bridget Averall stated that M.A.D.M.C. will offer early entrants this very low price because of their commitment to being “the clubman’s club”. Bridget added that in these times of economic downturn to encourage local drivers to take part, the decision had been taken to not cash entrants’ cheques until Thursday 28th April (Friday 29th being a Bank Holiday for the Royal Wedding). Recce for the event will be on Sunday 1st May. The Club hope that this will enable rally entusiasts to get their entry in early without fear of any penalty due to forced withdrawal. In recent years entrants have tended not to put in their entry early often waiting to the last minute to ensure that their car was ready and the event was running. However, to enable the smooth running and strategic planning of the event M.A.D.M.C. are hoping that entries come in early and often!
Entries for the Tour of the Sperrins open on Thursday 17th March 2011. Early entries close on Wednesday 20th April 2011 priced at only £299. Late entries close on Thursday 28th April 2011 priced at £350. Get your entry in early to avail of the £51 discount! The official launch of the Tour of the Sperrins will take place in April and again promises to be a fun-filled day for all the family.
C.O.C. James Mc Keefry says that “I am delighted that the Tour of the Sperrins has stepped up another gear. We have increased the stage mileage by 75% and yet the cost has only gone up by a tenner! The organising committee are doing everything in their power to make this another exceptional tarmac event. I wish to thank all the residents who live on the stages for their co-operation and to all our sponsors who continue to support us in these challenging times.” James has hinted that there are a number of surprises surrounding this year’s event which he has yet to divulge, so watch this space.......
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