DUNLOP HIGH FIVE IN CLARE - Preview courtesy of Dunlop Proud Sponsors of the National Rally Championship 2014
Posted: September 20, 2014 11:05 PM
THE quest to win the Dunlop National Rally Championship moves a step closer with the penultimate round of the series, the Oakwood Arms Hotel Clare Rally on Sunday next where the five contenders bid to crank up their title bid. In one of the most intriguing seasons since Dunlop began their sponsorship association in 2000 the destination of the Vard Memorial Trophy, one of the most prestigious pieces of silverware in Irish motorsport, remains very unpredictable.
Donegal have their hopes pinned on Declan Boyle while Ulster’s other representative Paddy McVeigh will fly the Tyrone colours, Roy White could land the title for Tipperary while Hugh Hunter and Steve Wood harbour thoughts of taking the silverware across to Wales for the second time in four seasons.
Reigning Dunlop champion, Declan Boyle (Subaru WRC) is the top seed in Clare and having taken victory in Galway last time out, this is another title cruncher in Clare where he needs a victory to remain on course for back to back titles. It’s a similar case for Welsh ace Hugh Hunter (Subaru), who took second placed points in Galway, he has the lowest score of the quintet.
The challenge of Clonmel’s Roy White has almost gone unnoticed, interestingly, he could win the title with two second place finishes and that even if Boyle were to win both remaining rounds. The only one of the five not driving a World Rally Car it remains a possibility, however, a third place finish in Clare would significantly dent his title hopes. Dunlop leader Steve Wood is the only driver to have scored in all six rounds to date and there is every chance that the chasing quartet will cut the deficit on Sunday as he will have to “drop” his lowest score.
Tyrone’s Paddy McVeigh (Subaru WRC) has failed to finish the last two rounds in Galway and Clonmel and is currently in equal third with Declan Boyle. Meanwhile, Maynooth’s Kevin Barrett (Subaru WRC) has finished those two events and the Dunlop regular has climbed to equal seventh on the leaderboard.
Former triple Dunlop champion Niall Maguire makes a welcome return to the Dunlop series after a lengthy absence following a leg injury and current Irish Forest champion Michael O'Brien (Ford Focus WRC) makes the trip across the Irish Sea to continue his build up for the 2015 series.
The Clare top ten is completed by the Group N duo of Josh Moffett and Shane Maguire, both in Mitsubishi EvoIX’s. Maguire has a six point lead in the Motorsport Safety Group N category and both can count their scores from the remaining two rounds – Clare and Donegal. The title is decided on the highest points tally in overall classification from the best six events.
Tyrone’s Frank Kelly, who has local co-driver Charlie McEnery calling the notes, could actually clinch the Dunlop Mk.2 Challenge Trophy in Clare. The Escort brigade also features Pat Donegan, Ed O'Callaghan, Calum Duffy, Mike Quinn and Monaghan’s Sam Moffett, who won the Circuit of Munster earlier in the season in his Ford Fiesta WRC.
Moffett and Cavan’s Gary Kiernan have agreed to swap cars for this event with the latter campaigning Moffett’s Mitsubishi EvoIX.
Other entries are Frank Wray (Subaru WRC), local Clare driver Alan O'Callaghan (Subaru WRC), Chris Armstrong (Ford Escort), Michael Carbin (Mitsubishi), Frank Sweeney (Ford Escort) and Richard Moffett (Toyota Starlet).
Last round winner of the Dunlop “Drive of the Day” award Limerick’s Sean Liston (BMW E30) is also competing as is Galway’s Dean Raftery (Ford Fiesta), who finished third overall in the British Rally championship last weekend. Ruane’s Anthony O'Halloran (Opel Manta 400) is another on the entry list.
The Dunlop Junior Championship, that is decided on the best four events from the eight rounds, could be decided in Clare with a mere four points cover the top four drivers - Clare’s Niall O'Sullivan (Citroen C2), Roscommon’s Cormac Phelan (Citroen C2 R2), Limerick’s Ger Lyons and Cavan’s Damian O'Reilly, all of whom are competing in Clare.
Andrew Slattery Pre Clare Stages
Posted: September 20, 2014 11:01 PM
The Peugeot 208 R2 crew of Andrew Slattery and Andrew Browne head to Clare this weekend for a high-speed victory parade. The pair recently wrapped up class 6 in the Dunlop Irish National Rally Championship on the Galway Summer Rally last month and even with the title sewn up, Andrew has decided to enter the next round of the championship, the Clare Stages Rally.
Speaking ahead of this weekend Andrew said; “The 1.6 engined 186bhp pocket rocket 208 R2 has proved to be the car to contend with on the Irish stages this year. Our goal at the start of the season was to be at the top of the R2 class & be challenging for the win, which we have done. The reliability of the car has been faultless and I must give a huge thanks to Dan and the team for preparing a perfect car all season. It’s a great feeling to have secured the class 6 title in the championship. The pressure is off now so I plan to really enjoy the Clare Stages in the Peugeot 208 R2. Even with title wrapped up it’s important to me to continue to try get as much coverage for my sponsors as possible, without them I couldn’t do this.”
Andrew’s Clare adventure will start
this Sunday with the first car leaving Parc Ferme
at the Skycourt Shopping Centre on Sunday morning at 8.25am before returning to the final control at the Oakwood Arms Hotel at 5.06pm.
In fact Andrew’s Peugeot 208 R2 will be getting even more exposure after the Clare Stages where it will be one of the main attractions on the Peugeot stand at the 2014 National Ploughing Championships where over 200,000 people are expected to attend. As ever, Andrew would like to thank all of his sponsors and you can follow the exploits of the team throughout the season by liking the Peugeot Total Ireland Rally Team Page on
Facebook or by following Andrew on Twitter @andyslattery86.
Time and Distance Schedule
Posted: September 13, 2014 12:17 PM
Seeded Entry List
Posted: September 13, 2014 12:08 PM
1 Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Subaru Impreza WRC S12B) [8]
2 Hugh Hunter/Andy Marchbank (Subaru Impreza WRC S11) [8]
3 Roy White/James O'Brien (MG ZR) [20]
4 Steve Wood/Keith Moriarty (Subaru Impreza WRC S10) [8]
5 Paddy McVeigh/Gary McElhinney (Subaru Impreza WRC S10) [8]
6 Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally (Subaru Impreza WRC S14) [8]
7 Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry (Subaru Impreza WRC S11) [8]
8 Michael O'Brien/Mark Glennerster (Ford Focus WRC) [8]
9 Josh Moffett/John Rowan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
10 Shane Maguire/Stephen Thornton (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
11 Frank Kelly/Charlie McEnery (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
12 Pat Donegan/Alan Keena (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
14 ED O'Callaghan/Noel McMahon (Ford Escort RS Mk2) [13]
15 Calum Duffy/Iain Duffy (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
16 Mike Quinn/Donal Balfe (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
17 Sam Moffett/James O'Reilly (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
18 Frank Wray/Joe McNulty (Subaru Impreza S9 WRC) [8]
19 Alan O'Callaghan/Cathal McGrath (Subaru Impreza WRC S11) [8]
20 Chris Armstrong/James Fulton (Ford Escort MkII) [13]
21 Gary Kiernan/Niall Tierney (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [1]
22 Michael Carbin/Emmet McCooey (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4) [20]
23 Frank Sweeney/Jane Cogan (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
24 Cal McCarthy/Eamonn Dullea (Honda Civic) [11F]
25 Richard Moffett/Martin Connolly (Toyota Starlet RWD) [13]
26 Stephen Greaney/Kieran Feeney (Ford Escort) [13]
27 Kevin Bradley/Graham Henderson (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
28 Sean Liston/Katrina Walsh Liston (BMW E30) [13]
29 Eoin Woods/TBA (Ford Escort) [13]
30 Jason Costello/TBA (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
31 Eddie Power/Mark Bowens (Toyota Corolla) [15]
32 Dean Raftery/Aileen Kelly (Ford Fiesta) [6]
33 Enda McLoughlin/Duffy Colin (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
34 Anthony O'Halloran/Ciara O'Connell (Opel Manta 400) [14]
35 Neil Tohill/Gerard Tohill (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
36 Michael Fitzgibbon/Keith Tierney (Honda Civic) [11F]
37 Paul Clarke/Philip McEntee (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
38 Maurice Greaney/Keith McHugh (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [4]
39 Gus Kearney/Eddie O'Neill (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [4]
40 Paul Kiely/MC Sharry Pat (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
41 Justin Comer/Adrian Comer (Mitsubishi Evo 5) [15]
42 Declan McBrearty/Declan Gallagher (Toyota Corolla Twincam) [11R]
43 John Bonner/Leon Jordan (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
44 Eamonn McGuigan/Michael Moran (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
45 Richard Whelan/Sarah Whelan (Honda Civic) [11F]
46 William Cavanagh/Olivia Coen (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
47 Liam Higgins/Paul Cummins (Mitsubishi Evo 7) [15]
48 Lloyd Hutchinson/Willie Fitzpatrick (Austin Mini Cooper S) [9]
49 Paul McDevitt/John Young (Toyota Corolla) [11R]
50 William Kenneally/Finbarr Fogarty (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
51 Tom Relihan/Maurice McElligott (Ford Escort Mk1) [13]
52 Darren Young/Sean Walsh (Honda Civic) [11F]
53 Loughran Ryan/TBA (Ford Escort) [11R]
54 Derek Butler/Aaron O'Regan (Honda SIR Vtec) [11F]
55 Andrew Slattery/Andrew Browne (Peugeot 208 R2) [6]
56 Declan Willmot/Anthony Nestor (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
57 Gary Cairns/TBA (Mitsubishi Evo 8.5) [4]
58 Colin Flanagan/Patrick Brides (Mitsubishi Evo 7) [15]
59 Jason Tuthill/Ben Teggart (Ford Escort Mk1) [11R]
60 Ken Lyons/Paddy McDonnell (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
61 Kenneth Ryan/Keith McCarthy (Ford Escort Mk2) [9]
62 Eamonn Barrett/Ken Kenneally (Ford Escort Mk2) [9]
63 Michael Walsh/TBA (Ford Escort) [12]
64 PA Malone/Gareth Quin (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
65 Fergal Keane/TBA (Mitsubishi Evo 7) [20]
66 James Cassidy/Karen Kelly (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
67 John O'Sullivan/TBA (Citroen C2) [14]
68 Tom Ryan/Carrie Moroney (Opel Corsa) [11F]
69 Anthony Breen/Eoin Breen (Subaru Impreza N12) [20]
70 Pa Horan/Johnny O'Connor (Honda Civic) [11F]
71 ED Twomey/William Lynch (Ford Fiesta) [6]
72 Eamon Lee/Enda Oleary (Ford Escort) [13]
73 Shane Buckley/John Lynch (Honda Civic EK4) [13]
74 Aidan Mulcahy/Des Flynn (Honda Civic) [11F]
75 Ross Marshall/Robson Dave (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
76 Donal O'Brien/Stephen Quin (Ford Escort) [13]
77 Gearoid O'Regan/Tony McCarthy (Citroen C2 R2) [6]
78 Mike Dolan/Derek Flynn (Honda Civic 1.6VTI) [11F]
79 Frank Byrnes/Dave Ray (Peugeot 206 Cup Car) [11F]
80 Garry McCourt/Tony McHugh (Ford Escort) [12]
81 David Quinn/Alan Quinn (BMW E30) [14]
82 Roland Doherty/Ray McKenna (Opel Corsa) [9]
83 John Duffy/John Egan (Honda Integra Type R) [7]
84 Declan O'Regan/Joe Dunne (Peugeot 205 GTi) [10]
85 Eoghain McMahon/Cathal Nolan (Toyota Corolla GTi) [11F]
86 Brian Hassett/PA Lyons (Toyota Corolla GTi) [11F]
87 Brian Liddy/Conor O'Neill (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R]
88 Eddie Cogan/Shane McMahon (Peugeot 205 RWD) [12]
89 Francis Kelly/Sinead O'Donavan (Honda Civic EK4) [2]
90 Martin O'Halloran/TBA (Ford Escort) [11R]
91 Denis O'Brien/Ryan O'Brien (Opel Corsa) [10]
92 Patrick Baker/Chris Horan (Honda Civic) [11F]
93 Con Mulcahy/Jonathan Keane (Vauxhall Nova) [10]
94 Alan Dineen/Tony Dineen (Vauxhall Corsa B) [11F]
95 Jason Roycroft/Nicole O'Shea (Honda Civic EK4) [2]
96 Anthony Keating/Kevin Enright (Ford Escort G4) [9]
97 Kenith Hogan/Patrick Curley (Honda Civic 1.6VTI) [2]
98 John Coughlan/Mark Parsons (Ford Escort Mk1) [12]
99 Declan Courtney/Tara Courtney (Citroen C2) [9]
100 Joe McCarthy/Jason O'Brien (Honda Civic Type R) [3]
101 Anthony Masterson/Tommy Clinton (Ford Escort RS1600) [10]
102 Kieran Donohue/Sharon Egan (Subaru Impreza) [15]
103 Gerard Dineen/Donal Dineen (Toyota Starlet RWD) [12]
104 Gerard Hodgins/TBA (Opel Manta) [13]
105 Hazel O'Callaghan/TBA (Peugeot 106 Cup Car) [6]
106 Keith Naughton/Thomas Ryan (Subaru Impreza STI) [20]
107 Adrian Hynes/Dermot Ryan (Ford Escort Mk2) [10]
108 Tonya Fortune/Damian Lawlor (Honda Civic Type R) [3]
109 Jarlath Conneely/Michael Hynes (Honda Civic EK4) [2]
110 Mark O'Looney/Christopher Talty (Honda Civic) [11F]
111 Joachin Buckley/James Foley (Peugeot 306) [7]
112 Simon Monaghan/TBA (Honda Civic EK4) [2]
113 Marcin Mleczko/Tomasz Bachor (Opel Corsa) [9]
114 Ronan Keys/Patrick Nash (Peugeot 106) [9]
115 Stephen O'Shea/Anthony Roche (Toyota Starlet) [11F]
116 Robert Behan/Brendan Behan (BMW Mini Cooper S) [11F]
Juniors
1 Niall O'Sullivan/Sean O'Crowley (Citroen C2) [16]
2 Cormac Phelan/Katja Auhl (Citroen C2 R2) [16]
3 Ger Lyons/Steve O'Brien (Honda Civic) [16]
4 Damian O'Reilly/Damien McCabe (TBA TBA) [16]
5 Andrew Ryan/Tommy Hayes (Honda Civic) [16]
7 Andrew Sheehan/Cian Corbett (Honda Civic eg6) [16]
6 Paul Considine/Alan Lane (Honda Civic) [16]
8 Ian Ryan/Christopher O'Callaghan (Honda EG6) [16]
9 Shane O'Sullivan/Paul O'Sullivan (Citroen C2) [16]
10 Cathal Keane/Laura Mulrooney (Honda Civic) [16]
11 Sean Brady/Padraic Murtagh (Honda Civic EK4) [16]
12 Patrick Lawlor/Kevin Rohan (Honda Civic) [16]
14 Trisha Greavy/Derek Butler (Honda Civic) [16]
Event Flyer
Posted: August 24, 2014 6:07 PM
THE OAKWOOD ARMS HOTEL CLARE STAGES RALLY 2014
Posted: August 24, 2014 5:57 PM
Photo: Aidan Sweeney Photography
Clare Motor Club are delighted to announce The Oakwood Arms Hotel, Shannon as the title sponsor of the 2014 Clare Stages Rally.
Clerk of the Course Dermot Kelleher said
“The Clare Motor Club are delighted to welcome on board for the second year “The Oakwood Arms Hotel” Shannon as the main sponsor for the “2014 Clare Stages Rally”.
The management and staff of the Hotel along with the Club's Organising Committee have been working together over the last couple of months to make the rally one of the most popular and friendly rounds of both the Dunlop National and the Top Part Rally Championships.
The event will bring a vital boost to the local economy of Shannon and this would not be possible without their support”.?
The organising team would also like to thank the stage sponsors Charlie McEnery Motor Services, Limerick Motor Centre Hyundai, and Cummins Car Centre Toyota along with CCS Race and Rally and all the programme advertisers for their valuable assistance.
The rally takes place on the weekend of September 20th. and 21st. and is the 7th. Round of the Dunlop National Rally Championship and the 5th.Round of “The Top Part West Coast Rally Championship”.
The organising team is offering competitors a friendly very compact event featuring three very challenging stages west of Ennis on good quality tarmac which will be repeated three times. The overall length of the event is 309.70km. of which 128.70km are stages.
Pace note making takes place on Saturday 20th of September. Mechanical Scrutiny will take place between 14.00 to 20.00 at Mid West Tyres, Smithstown, Shannon, while the first car will leave Parc Ferme at the Skycourt Shopping Centre on Sunday Morning 21st. September at 8.25am., returning to the final control at the Oakwood Arms Hotel at 5.06pm.
Centralised servicing will take place at the Gort Road Business Park in Ennis.
As Safety is a big issue in running this event the organisers are appealing for as much help as possible. Wheather you are an organiser, rally official or a marshall we are appealing to everybody for assistance in order to make make this years Clare Stages Rally a super safe event. We need in the region of 150 marshalls and anybody interested in helping out can contact any of the organising committee or contact our chief marshall on 087-2808159 / +353 87-2808159
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