Jenning/Moynihan dominate Sean Conlon Rally in Mitchelstown
Posted: July 13, 2012 10:46 AM
Valvoline Forest rally Championship round 5 was held last Sunday in Mitchelstown. Formally known as the Sean Conlon Memorial rally, it was hosted as usual by the Tipperary M.C. Fermanagh’s Garry Jennings (Impreza GpA) emerged as winner 18 seconds ahead of Vincent Mc Aree(Evo9).Reigning champion Owen Murphy (Evo9) was third just 2 seconds behind Mc Aree, and the 2010 champion Pat O’Connell (Evo9) emerged fourth after a delay on the last stage. The 2WD segment was captured by Shay Power (Escort Mk2) and Dean Raftery (Civic) won the junior class.
Jennings was in the mix of a scrap with Mc Aree and O’Connell right from the start, after three stages there was just one second between the three drivers. However on stage four Jennings stamped his authority on the event with a great time and he arrived in service with an eight second lead. In the remaining four stages he gradually pulled away to finish 18 seconds ahead of the field. This win puts Jennings into a strong second place in the Valvoline series- a point behind Stephen Wright-and with the championship heading northwards to Omagh and Mid Antrim, it would be difficult to bet against the man from Kesh. Remarkably Jennings is also second in the Tarmac rally Championship which also has two rallies remaining.
Vincent Mc Aree had a good day in the office with second overall, which puts him into joint third in the series. McAree was fastest on the first stage and he shared the lead with Jennings after ss3. Thereafter Mc Aree was in a day long dogfight with O’Connell who had a one second margin going into the last stage but his clutch gave up, losing the Cashel man thirty seconds and dropping him to fourth.
Reigning champion Owen Murphy had a challenging day. The Corkman drove very well but he felt his car was underpowered. Always a few seconds off Mc Aree and O’ Connell, Murphy inherited third when O’ Connell was delayed on the final test. Murphy is now sixth in the series, 22 points adrift of Wright and retaining his crown is now an uphill task.
Fifth place was claimed by Stephen Wright (Evo) who is the new championship leader and he finished one place ahead of fellow Monaghan man Josh Moffett (Evo9) who has making his Valvoline Championship debut. Josh’s brother Sam (Evo9) also entered and the brothers recorded the identical time on the first stage, but Sam’s car succumbed to fuel problems on stage 2. Sam is the current holder of the Billy Coleman award.
Josh had a rally long scrap with Cork’s Ger Lucey (Evo8) who was in command until stage 5 when the more modern Evo9 took over. Moffett claimed sixth by twelve seconds at the finish. Lucey finished ahead of the WRC’s of Martin Cairns (Impreza S12), John Reid (Corolla) and Kevin Barrett (Impreza S11) while Charlie Drake (Evo9) returned from Australia to finish eleventh.
The 2WD segment was a ding dong battle between the Escorts Mk2’s of Shay Power and Paul Fitzgerald and little separated them all day. At the end Power had the advantage by six seconds and it strengthens his hand in the 2WD championship. Power and Fitzgerald were 12 and 13 o/a and not surprisingly a trio of juniors were next home
Dean Raftery registered his third junior win in a row ahead of Ian Downey and Daniel Cronin. Raftery now leads this prestigious class with 57 points,Downey is second with 48 points, four ahead of Daniel Cronin with 44. Remarkably Raftery and Downey also lead the 2WD segment with Cronin sixth.
Retirements in Mitchelstown included Colin Britton (Evo9) who succumbed on the first stage with transmission issues. The Tyrone man was series leader was championship leader at the start of the day but now he is joint third with Mc Aree. Shane McGirr (Starlet RWD) was another Tyrone man to succumb on stage one with engine maladies. Stage three accounted for Andrew Fanning, when the drive shaft of the Valvoline Puma broke. Mick Nevin also retired after off and clutch problems.
Results
Posted: July 13, 2012 10:35 AM
1 Garry Jennings/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza 555) 35m 30s,
2 Vincent McAree/J P McAree (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 35m 48s,
3 Owen Murphy/James O’Brien (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 35m 50s,
4 Pat O’Connell/Mark Wiley (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 36m 18s,
5 Stephen Wright/Suzanne Wright (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) 36m 49s,
6 Josh Moffett/John Rowan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 37m 17s,
7 Gerard Lucey/James Lucey (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 Gp N) 37m 29s,
8 Martin Cairns/Gary Monteith (Subaru Impreza WRC) 37m 42s,
9 John Reid/Enda Shiels (Toyota Corolla WRC) 37m 54s,
10 Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally (Subaru Impreza WRC) 37m 57s.
JUNIOR CLASS:
1 Dean Raftery/Aileen Kelly (Civic) 39m 27s,
2 Ian Downey/Sean Brunton (Corsa) 39m 38s,
3 Daniel Cronin/Sean Duggan (Peugeot 206) 40m 40s.
Leaders After:
SS1 Vincent McAree/J P McAree (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N)
SS2 Garry Jennings/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza 555)
SS3 Vincent McAree/J P McAree (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N)
& Garry Jennings/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza 555)
SS4-8 Garry Jennings/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza 555)
Stage Winners:
SS1 Vincent McAree/J P McAree (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N)
SS2 Garry Jennings/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza 555)
SS3 Pat O’Connell/Mark Wiley (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N)
SS4 Garry Jennings/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza 555)
SS5 Garry Jennings/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza 555)
SS6 Garry Jennings/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza 555)
& Pat O’Connell/Mark Wiley (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N)
SS7 Garry Jennings/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza 555)
& Vincent McAree/J P McAree (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N)
SS8 Vincent McAree/J P McAree (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Gp N)
Tension mounts as Valvoline Championship moves from Mallow to Mitchelstown.
Posted: July 4, 2012 1:51 PM
The Valvoline Forest Championship moves from Mallow-which hosted round four-to Mitchelstown for Sunday’s Sean Conlon Memorial Forestry Rally, round five of the 2012 Valvoline Forest Rally Championship
Not a huge distance by road but for the championship contenders the series is now really hotting up with just ten points covering the top three drivers on the leaderboard. And the last two rallies experienced nail biting finishes. The Moonraker was round three and just 21 seconds covered winner Owen Murphy to Colin Britton who was fifth. In the middle of that sandwich- Gary Jennings Vincent Mc Aree and Pat O’Connell were separated by just two seconds!!! The Mallow based Cork forestry rally was round four and that was another installation of high drama when Owen Murphy triumphed on home soil for the first time. The Corkman won by six seconds ahead of Colin Britton with Pat O’ Connell a mere second behind to claim third. It is not squeaky bum time yet, but we are most definitely at the business end of the season. The close racing and tight leaderboard scenario has brought unprecedented excitement to the special stages.
The leaderboard now reads Colin Britton (Evo9) 71 points, Stephen Wright (Evo6) 62 and Gary Jennings (Impreza GpA) 61.Vincent Mc Aree (Evo9) is fourth with 53 and the last years champion Owen Murphy (Evo9) is seventh with 43 points, just ahead of 2010 champ Pat O’ Connell (Evo9) with 37 points. Murphy and O’ Connell had a terrible start to the year and neither driver finished the two opening rounds in Donegal and Carrick-on-Suir. It is all to play for, and the Mitchelstown rally will have a significant effect on the outcome of the title.
The event is hosted by the Tipperary Motor Club, with Martin O’Keeffe as Clerk of the Course. The action gets underway at 0900 with eight stages on the menu with visits to Glaneskin and Coolfree repeated in the morning loop The afternoon stages are based at An Óige, which are repeated with the first car on the victory ramp at 1700. Service will be held in the old Galtee Meats Complex, Mitchelstown. The Rally is also round five of the South East Stages Rally Championship.
SS 1+3 Glenseskin - Hanleys garage Kilworth village at 7am
SS 2+4 Coolfree - O Sullivans Centra Kildorrery village at 8am
SS 5+7 An Oige - Esso service station Clonmel rd in Cahir town at 11:30
SS 6+8 Glengarra - Texaco service station old Cork rd in Cahir town at 12:15
Mitchelstown’s Forests to Burst Into Life!!
Posted: July 3, 2012 10:18 AM
2012 Seán Conlon Memorial Forestry Rally taking place this Sunday will see Tipperary Motor Club, led by Martin O’Keeffe and his hard working team, play host to Round 5 of the Motorsport Ireland, Valvoline supported, Irish Forestry Championship. This event is also Round 5 of the Triton Showers South East Stages Rally Championship. Clerk of the Course Martin O’Keeffe has picked four very challenging and ultra-smooth stages in Mitchelstown’s surrounding woodlands. The Sunday morning loop which consists of two stages which are repeated twice, SS1 and SS3, Glanseskin and SS2 and SS4, Coolfree. The action will switch to some equally tough tests for the afternoon loop which take in stages in the south Tipperary area, SS5 and SS7 An Óige, SS6 and SS8 Glengarra.
With three different winners from the first four rounds it will be very hard to pick a winner from this high quality entry. But with no less than 5 WRC cars now entered ranging from Subaru Imprezas to Toyota Corollas it is sure to be an event to remember. Round 1 winner Garry Jennings will definitely be the pace setter in his Group A Subaru. Ballincollig’s Owen Murphy who picked up maximum Championship points in rounds 3 and 4 will be out to make it a hat trick of wins in this year’s Valvoline series. Colin Britton has set some very competitive times this year and with a bit of luck on his side we could see the Omagh driver pick up his first outright win in Tipp. Pat O’ Connell, the 2010 Champion will be looking to pick up his second Seán Conlon Rally win.
Monaghan man Vincent McAree will be looking for his luck to change in the Tipp forests after an early set back on round 4. Stephen Wright, who figures high in this year’s Championship, will also be looking for another strong finish. Cork man Gerard Lucey, in his Lancer, should also show well on the leader board come Sunday evening. The Subaru WRC drivers, Kevin Barrett and Martin Cairns, could also spring a surprise as both get used to their powerful WRC’s on gravel. Entries have also been received from Monaghan brothers Sam and Josh Moffett, both forest novices, but expect both to set top times when they dial their Lancers into the Tipp gravel roads. The two wheel drive battle will be equally tough with some very quick drivers entered; Tyrone’s Shane McGirr will be looking to keep his Starlet ahead of the rapid Escort men which include Shay Power, James Coleman, Dave Dunne, Paul Fitzgerald, Jimmy Deane and Cahir man Andrew Fanning in his high revving Ford Puma.
Galway’s Dean Rafferty(Civic) heads the Junior Class away with Ian Downey(Corsa) and Cashel’s Mike Ryan(Civic) in hot pursuit. Local drivers/navigators taking part in the event are 2010 Champions Pat O’ Connell (Cashel) and Mark Wiley (Mitchelstown) in their EVO 9. Next up in their ex-AlistiarMcRea MK II is Kildorrery’s Dave Dunne with Mitchelstown’s Mike Feeney on the notes. Cahir’s Andrew Fanning, a forest regular, will also line up in his S1600 Puma with Derek Gibbs navigating. The only all Mitchelstown crew of Kieran Roche and Jamie Howard will compete in their pristine MKII. Kildorrery’s Diarmuid Dannagher will be preforming 00 car duties in his trusty Ford Escort with Fermoy’s John Broderick in the hot seat.
Service for the event, which allows the public get close to the cars and drivers, will be held in the old Galtee Meats Complex, Mitchelstown after SS2,4 and 6. Clerk of the Course Martin O’Keeffe is very grateful to joint event sponsors, The Firgrove Hotel and Myers Maxol Mitchelstown and would ask all spectators and crews alike to support all our sponsors generously over the weekend. Tipperary Motor Club work hand in hand with the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and would ask all attending the event to “keep the race in its place”and drive in a safe and responsible manner. It is also very important at all times to obey officials and marshals in order to ensure the safe running of the event.
Programmes will be available throughout Mitchelstown and surrounding areas on Saturday morning.
AUDIO: Interview with Martin O'Keefe Clerk Of The Course
Posted: June 26, 2012 11:01 PM
Trevor Payne talks to Martin O'Keefe Clerk Of The Course for the Tipperary Sean Conlon Memorial Forestry Rally the 8th of July
Latest Update
Posted: June 25, 2012 12:07 PM
Photo: Michael Sullivan
Fantastic interest being shown in this years Sean Conlon Memorial Forestry Rally. The word is spreading fast about the hard work which the organisers have put into making this the best rally of the year, with quality stages on offer to the competitors. With the championship so tight, this event may turn out to be a very important round of the championship. We have received many calls from competitors asking when the regs and entry form will be out.
They are now up on our website at www.tipperarymotorclub.com and the entries have started to come in already. We have already an entry from a team in Australia who have hired a WRC car in Ireland to do the event. So, get your entry in for the event as soon as you can.
Tarmac regular Kevin Barrett is just one of the competitors we are looking forward to seeing on the stages in his S11 Impreza, also competing is his son Paul in an Evo 6. Local driver Dave Dunne will debut his new 2.5 Millington MKII. and Forestry regulars Gerard Lucy and James Lucy will be out in their Evo to name but a few.
More news to follow soon.
Rally Launch - (Mon) 11 Jun 12
Posted: June 10, 2012 7:10 PM
Rally launch on Monday 11th June at 7.30pm in the Firgrove, Mitchelstown.
All Welcome.
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