Donegal Harvest Stages Rally - (Sat) 12 Oct 13

Kiernan/Tierney clinch maiden Border title in Donegal

Posted: January 31, 2014 11:14 AM

Cavan's Gary Kiernan & Niall Tierney have won the 2013 Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship. They secured the title in fine style, taking class victory as well as the coveted Sligo Pallets 'Drive of the Day' award on the final round in Donegal. It was an emotional moment for Gary & team after the passing of his brother Paddy only a few months previous. Dermot O'Hagan/Pierce Dohney did all they could on the day but despite a 4th class win in 5 events, they lost out on the championship on a tie-break. The Champions for the last two years, Arthur & Mac Kierans, had to settle for 3rd overall in the series this year.

Going into Donegal, four crews still had a shout of clinching the overall title. With Jonathan Pringle/Martin Byrne non-staring the attention turned to Gary Kiernan/Niall Tierney in class 10, Dermot O'Hagan/Pierce Dohney in class 11F and Arthur Kierans/Mac Kierans in class 12. All three crews needed to win their class and went for it from the word go. The Kierans' came out on top in class 12 after a close battle with James Cassidy/Declan Smith. That put them on 39 points from their best four scores, but with Dermot O'Hagan/Pierce Doheny taking a comfortable class 11F win they surpassed that total with 40 points.Gary Kiernan/Niall Tierney needed to hold on to victory in class 10 to take the title and they did just that finishing over a minute ahead of their opposition. Although level on 40 points with O'Hagan/Doheny, their dropped score of 8 compared to the 1 point of O'Hagan/Doheny proved decisive in deciding the overall champion.

Class 1-8:

Francie McKenna/Sean Craig made it 4 straight class 1 win in their MG, but with limited other competitors it worked against them in the overall scheme of things. Aiden Wray/Kieran McGrath clinched top spot in class 2 although they were foreced to settle for 2nd in class in Donegal. Josh Moffett claimed top spot in class 4 in his Lancer despite his last stage retirement in Donegal. Roger Kennedy/Wendy Blackledge claimed the honours in class 7 in their Peugeot with Declan & Brian Boyle were crowned class 8 champions, despite retiring from the lead on the first loop.

Class 9-20:

Damien O'Reilly/Damien McCabe were victorious in class 9 in both the rally & the championship. New Sligo Pallets Champions, Gary Kiernan/Niall Tierney’s overall position promotes John & Niall Kelly to the class 10 win. David Smyth/Mark Derry are the class 11R champions in their Toyota Corolla while James Cassidy/Declan Smith inherited the class 12 title after Arthur & Mac Kierans promotion. Jonathan Pringle/Martin Byrne were the class 13 champions with Francis Rafferty taking class 14. David Leonard/Darragh Mullen are the class 20 championship with the Sligo Pallets Rally Team fittingly claiming the teams trophy for this year.

Another compelling season in the Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship comes to a close with Cavan's Gary Kiernan/Niall Tierney proving worthy champions. Congratulation to them and all the other prize winners. The prizegiving will take place on Saturday November 2nd and tickets can be purchased from Brenda Flynn.

Video: Full TV Program

Posted: January 30, 2014 2:01 PM

Video Clips

Posted: January 29, 2014 12:12 PM

In Car

Posted: January 29, 2014 12:02 PM

Patrick McHugh & Pauric O'Donnell (Ford Escort Mk II) SS1


Gary McPhillips & Paul Sheridan (Ford Escort MkII) SS2


Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Subaru Impreza WRC) SS3

Results

Posted: January 29, 2014 11:58 AM

1 Gary McPhillips/Paul Sheridan (Escort) 65m 14s,
2 Patrick McHugh/Pauric O’Donnell (Escort) 66m 29s,
3 Patrick Boyle/Donal McCole (Corolla) 66m 35s,
4 Wesley Patterson/Johnny Baird (Escort) 66m 51s,
5 Raymond Conlon/Darren McCague (Corolla) 66m 56s,
6 Martin Doherty/Damien McCauley (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 67m 11s,
7 Daniel Conaghan/Terence Magee (Escort) 67m 29s,
8 Victor Hunter/Paddy McCrudden (Escort) 67m 54s,
9 Trevor Bustard/Fabian McShane (Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 67m 55s,
10 John Ward/Gary McNern (Corolla) 69m 14s.


Juniors: 1 Kevin McLaughlin/Kieran McGinley (Civic) 46m 00s,
2 Kevin Cole/Killian O’Reilly (Escort) 50m 28s,
3 Barry McLaughlin/Barry McBride (Corolla) 50m 29s.

Full Results: results.shannonsportsit.ie (Angus Sealy)

Four way battle for 2013 Sligo Pallets Border Championship title

Posted: October 10, 2013 10:36 PM

The fifth and final round of the 2013 Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship takes place on Saturday 12th October with Donegal Motor Club's Harvest Stages Rally. This year's event will be based in An Cuairt Hotel in Gweedore and will feature some classic stages from past ‘Circuit of Ireland’ and ‘Hills of Donegal’ rallies. COC Danny Gormley has laid out three challenging stages with service located in the town of Dungloe. The event is sure to provide a tough test for both man and machine and should be a fitting finale to Ireland's premier regional championship.

The fight for overall honours in the Championship is between four crews who can clinch the championship in Gweedore. Cavan's Gary Kiernan/Niall Tierney are the current points leaders with three class 10 wins achieved so far this year. Fellow Cavan men, Jonathan Pringle/Martin Byrne have been the crew to beat in class 13 and consistent scoring has brought them into the thick of the championship battle. Arthur Kierans/Mac Kierans have dominated class 12 in the early part of the year, but a rare retirement in Sligo has dented their hopes of a third straight Border title. Dermot O'Hagan/Pierce Dohney Jnr have taken advantage of the new class 11F introduced this year to also be in the fight for overall honours and they are well placed when dropped scores are taken into consideration. There are also several classes up for grabs with classes 4, 8, 9, 11R, 12 and the teams cup still to be decided.

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Paddy Kierans RIP

The rallying community was left in shock after the passing of talented young driver Patrick Kiernan. In just two years competiting , Paddy had already established himself as one of the top Mk2 Escort drivers in the country and a young talent headed for great things in this sport. In his first attempt at the Border Championship, he along with co-driver Darren O'Brien claimed the class 10 title in emphatic style The move to class 13 and new navigator James McCarville was seemless with the pair instantly on the pace of their class rivals, culminating in a brillant class win on Paddy's home round in Cavan. The sport has been robbed of one of their greatest talents. His exploits will live long in the memory of competitors and spectators alike. The Committee of the Border Championship extends its deepest sympathies to Paddy's family and friends.


Other Sympathies

The Border Rally Championship committee also extends its sympathies to Elaine Doherty following the recent passing of her father, John Joe.

Late Entries (9/10/13)

Posted: October 10, 2013 4:29 PM

107 – Seamus Connolly / Gary Mc Crudden Ford Escort Cl. 11
108 – Shane Carr / Ciaran Carr V. Nova Cl. 10
109 Withdrawn
110 – Gary Kiernan / Neil Tierney Ford Escort Cl. 10
111 – Russel Woods / Gary Gallagher Ford Escort Cl. 13
112 – Stanley mc Keown / Mervyn Hathorne Toyota Corolla Cl. 11
113 – Joe Brady / Finbarr Smith Subaru Impreza Cl. 15
114 – Ian Gunning / Fred Homes Ford Escort Cl. 13
115 – Shaun Murphy / Gerard Mc Ginley Ford Escort Cl.13
116 – Brian Quigley / Seamus Mc Tigue Honda Civic Cl. 2
117 – Brendan Friel / Gary Gallagher Toyota Corolla Cl.11
118 – Alister Glenn / John Sweeney Peugeot 206 Cl. 6
119 – Lee Mc Laughlin / Emmet Kelly Honda Civic Cl. 11

Time and Distance Schedule

Posted: October 9, 2013 8:44 AM

Available at:

Donegal Motor Club

AnChúirt, Gweedore Court Hotel Donegal Harvest Stages Rally 2013 Press Release 3

Posted: October 3, 2013 9:44 PM

The Donegal Motor Club this evening have released their seeded Entry List of the 2013 An Chúirt, Gweedore Court Hotel Donegal Harvest Stages Rally. Hosted in the An Chúirt Hotel, the Gweedore based event shows a healthy list of over 100 competitors expected to start ‘the fall’ season event on Saturday 12th of October. Clerk of the Course for the event, Danny Gormley, gave details for the event, at a Press Reception held on the shadow of the iconic Errigal Mountain, in the heart of the beautiful An Gealtach area.

Announcing a strong top 20 for the event, Danny said he was pleased that the Donegal Motor Club was well supported again for this important double Championship event, and wished all the competitors well for a good and safe week-end’s Motorsport.

Danny thanked An Chúirt Gweedore Hotel for their generous sponsorship, announced a further deal that the rally would be televised on TG4, showcasing the event, and the area to a wider TV audience. Through a new deal, the TG4 programme, MotorSport Ireland, will highlight action from the Harvest Rally, in a new TV slot on a Wednesday night, assisting the promotion of one of Ireland’s top fan bases, here in the North-West of the island.

Danny spoke about the rally committee and the organisation assist bring the event to this stage.
“I must thank the support we received locally, the An Chuirt Gweedore Hotel and the stage sponsors, the residents along the route, An Garda Siochana, Donegal County Council, the Press and all the officials and marshals who assist before during and after the event is over. And I want to pay tribute to the competitors who support Donegal Motor Club and this Harvest Rally with your entries. Without the input from these people the rally could not take place.”
Danny continued, “The event will consist of 3 challenging stages, part of which were used in previous Harvest Rallies, the once popular Hills of Donegal Rallies and part of the old Circuit of Ireland stages. They will be run 3 times, giving 9 stages in total, with a centralised service park in Dungloe. The rally begins at 3PM on Friday the 11th of October with scrutineering at the Industrial Estate in Gweedore, followed by documentation at rally HQ. On Saturday morning (12th) the rally will start at 9:45am and the cars will begin the first of 9 tests. Spectator access is fantastic on these stages and we urge everyone to come out and enjoy this great days craic, from a safe vantage point. Always obey the safety marshals and view from safe locations. There are good spectator access points that include some great viewing points over many of the stages. The event will finish around 4:45pm at the An Chúirt, Gweedore Court Hotel, so everyone can join in on the celebrations following a conclusion of the event.”

Top seed is Fermanagh man Gary Jennings with local man Rory Kennedy guiding the WRC Subaru through the stages. Close behind is Declan Boyle, in an equally impressive S12 Subaru, and leading points scorer in his class in the Sligo Pallets Border Championship, looking for a win on home soil and a chance at the Championship title. Both drivers are on winning streaks, so there is a lot to prove on this October outing. But with names like McPhillips, Doherty, Gallagher, Bradley, Patterson and McGee (and many more) in close proximity, there will be a strong challenge to the leaderboard and points across the board, on this the final round of the 2013 Sligo Pallets Border Championship.

Many other drivers and co-drivers of repute are present on this list, and it is good to see so many supporting the Donegal Motor Club and the County before the end of the season of Motorsport.

JUNIOR RALLY
Also included on the Seeded entry list is the Junior Section of the Rally, who are going to compete over 6 of the 9 Special Stages on the day of the event. These young drivers will be honing their skills of driving over closed roads, and for many this is the first rung of a long career in the field of MotorSport. Most of the competitors are from Co. Donegal but a few are visiting from other counties in the Republic.

Seeded Entry List

Posted: October 3, 2013 9:43 PM

Donegal Harvest Stages Rally - (Sat) 12 Oct 13 - SEEDED ENTRY LIST

Rally Launch - (Wed) 2 Oct 13

Posted: September 30, 2013 8:54 PM

An Chuirt Hotel Donegal Harvest Stages Rally 2013
Press launch to be held on Wednesday 2nd October @ 8.30pm at An Chuirt Hotel.
All Welcome

Press Release 2

Posted: September 27, 2013 9:14 AM

With entries building up for the 2013 An Chúirt, Gweedore Court Hotel Harvest Rally, organisers have just announced that the event will be televised by TG4 network as part of the sponsorship package for the event. Full details of the package will be announced at the Press Reception in An Chúirt, Gweedore Court Hotel on Wednesday 2nd October at 8.30pm.

Clerk of the Course, Danny Gormley said,
“Everyone will be welcome to An Chúirt, Gweedore Court Hotel, next Wednesday night to hear about the details of this rally and some of the new features the organising committee have worked so hard to put in place for competitors and Motorsport enthusiasts in early October.”

With the main event planned to take place on Saturday 12th October 2013, the route has been compiled to keep road mileage to a minimum with short distances between all but one of the stages, simplifying tyre choices for competitors.

Press Officer for the event, John McCay said,
“The competitors will find the stages interesting, with some 30% of the stages using new territory. One of the routes was a classic Circuit of Ireland special stage, with a portion of it last used in a Harvest Rally from the mid 90's.” John explained, “However, the organisers are aware of budgets and have worked hard to keep the road sections short, which will suit competitors and give value for money in this current climate. The Rally HQ, An Chuirt, Hotel, sponsor of the Gaoth Dobhair based event, is just 5 km’s from one of the three stages, to be used in week-end. It’s a feature the organisers intended when planning the route, as competitors may attend the main reconnaissance week-end on the previous Sunday, 6th October, again helping to reduce the cost a little – by keeping the area to be covered to a minimum. We hope every little helps!”

This Donegal Motor Club event, will also be counting rounds of the 2013 Sligo Pallets Border Championship, and DMC’s own Bassett’s Plumbing & Heating Club Championship. As with any Championship, there still remain many points to be gained or lost, and this will place many competitors in a strong position as the 2013 year draws to a close.

Event Poster

Posted: September 13, 2013 11:34 AM

AnChúirt, Gweedore Court Hotel Donegal Harvest Stages Rally 2013 Press Release 1

Posted: September 13, 2013 11:29 AM

The Donegal Motor Club are proud to announce that the An Chúirt, Gweedore Court Hotel will this year be sponsoring and hosting the Donegal Harvest Stages Rally, with headquarters in Gweedore and stages centred around Dungloe.

Clerk of the Course for the event, Danny Gormley, gave details for the 2013 event, planned for Saturday 12th October 2013.

Danny is a well-known senior official within Donegal Motor Club having been Clerk of the Course for Ireland’s premier Motorsport Rally, the Donegal International Rally from 2006 until 2011, and assisting at events all over Ireland for three decades.

Giving more details of the forthcoming An Chúirt, Gweedore Court Hotel Harvest Stages Rally, Danny said,
“The event will consist of 3 challenging stages, part of which were used in previous Harvest Rallies, the once popular Hills of Donegal Rallies and part of the old Circuit of Ireland stages. They will be run 3 times, giving 9 stages in total, with a centralised service park in Dungloe.”

Danny continued, “The event kicks off at 3PM on Friday the 11th of October with scrutineering at the Industrial Estate in Gweedore. Spectators can gather at the industrial estate to view the line-up of machinery which will tackle the fast, flowing and technical stages the following day. The cars will then proceed to rally headquarters for Parc Ferme where they will remain overnight.”

Danny also gave outline details of the main programme for the event. “On Saturday morning the rally will start at 9:45am and the cars will begin the first of 9 gruelling tests. Spectator access is fantastic on these stages and we urge everyone to come out and enjoy this great days craic, from a safe vantage point. Always obey the safety marshals and view from safe locations. There are good spectator access points that include some great viewing points over many of the stages. The event will finish around 4:45pm at the An Chúirt, Gweedore Court Hotel, so everyone can join in on the celebrations following a conclusion of the event.”

Danny also comment there will be a Junior and Historic section to the event. He explained, “Juniors and Historic will get 6 stages each, with great driving involved for each”.

An Chúirt, Gweedore Court HotelHarvest Stages Rally will also be counting rounds of the 2013 Sligo Pallets Border Championship, DMC’s own Bassett’s Plumbing & Heating Club Championship, so there will be many important points to be gained after the conclusion of the event on Saturday 12th October 2013.

Members of the organising team will also have a stand at Rally School Ireland next weekend (15th September), were they are attempting to break the world record for most rally cars gathered in one venue.

The An Chúirt, Gweedore Court Hotel Harvest Rally team will be there to answer any questions about the event and with more developments about the event be announced on the day. Regulations, Entry forms and up to date information will be available to download from the Donegal Motor Club website, link below:

Regulations / Club Website

Posted: September 11, 2013 11:07 AM

Donegal Motor Club