Moffett's Family Tie on Lakeland Stages Rally! - Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Championship Round Five
Posted: October 4, 2016 6:27 AM
Whilst many predicted a close race on the Lakeland Stages Rally- round five of the 2016 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship, noboby anticipated a tie on time after the eight fabulous forestry stages laid on by the Enniskillen Motor Club, or that it would be between two brothers, Sam Moffett in his Fiesta WRC, and Josh in his Fiesta R5. Indeed the tie-break was decided in Sam's favour. "I was quite nervous on the last stage and he took four back off me" said Sam at the finish whilst Josh who took maximum Valvoline points for second place was happy. "A tie on time- I'll take that over just coming second!". The Moffett brother's pace had been impressive all day, reporting no problems and finishing ahead of third placed Mark Donnelly who had challenged them over the first two tests, before picking up two punctures on the next two stages.
Desi Henry's drive to fourth didn't tell the full story, as it was a great come-back drive. "We hit a jump hard on stage three- she landed on her nose and the turbo pipe was dislodged" The incident had dropped him from third to twelfth, but he climbed back to fourth, taking an important second place in the Valvoline points. Series leader after four rounds was Monaghan's Michael Carbin in his Mitsubishi Evo 4, whose aim was to try to keep ahead of Patrick O'Brien and by first service that was the case as O'Brien slid his Evo 9 off the road after a crest on stage four. "We actually stopped to see if they were ok" said Carbin "but thankfully all was ok. We are struggling ourselves a little on the fast bumps on the long third stage." Carbin lay eighth, and set to scoop the points, until he himself fell victim of the Fermanagh forests, sliding off on a slow corner on the penultimate stage. And he wasn't alone as Adrian Hetherington lying an impressive fourth in the Corolla WRC slid off and got stuck on the final corner of that stage, whilst the other Mark Donnelly back in his Fiesta Super 2000 broke a shock and retired after the stage.
Niall McCullagh took fifth in his hired S14 Impreza, ahead of Martin Cairns who initially found his Fiesta WRC difficult to handle on the stages. For Jonny Leonard and Jackie Elliott in the Evo 6, seventh place brought the added bonus of third placed Valvoline points, and they were the top local crew despite a few niggly problems. "We had a misfire which cost time on the Ballintempo stage, but we really enjoyed the rally- the stages were great" said Jonny. Kenny McKinstry took eighth after initial throttle problems, but for Ger Lucey to put his Evo 8 into ninth was an achievement that puts him at the top of the points table. Against the odds the Macroom driver made it home after running into serious clutch trouble by the first service. The car arrived at the finish rattling, which made the result all the more creditable. "I think the springs have come out of the clutch plate now. We had to get a push off the start of the last stage, costing us some time. We are so relieved that we got here!"
The Valvoline two-wheel drive race again was interesting. Shane McGirr and Martin McGarrity came out the winners
in the Starlet but the Fivemiletown driver had pressure from Micky Conlon and was in considerable pain with a back injury incurred the previous day at work. "I'm having to take it a bit easier over the bumps" said Shane. "But a bit of deep heat at service and an attack got us here. It wasn't an easy win, as Micky was going very well until he got his puncture." Indeed Micky Conlon entered service just two seconds behind Shane, having scored a fabulous time on the long Ballintempo stage. "We had a good run in there" said Micky " and Shane had that sore back. It's like chasing a wounded fox today!" But Micky's luck ended on stage five when he broke a wheel and took a stage maximum, dropping him to forty-first at the finish. Second two-wheel drive was David Condell despite a few problems. "We have had a bad misfire all day, we think caused by a crank sensor and we punctured on stage seven, but really enjoyed the rally." Just ten seconds behind John Gordon took his faithful four door MK2 Escort to third, and first in class. "Delighted again, happy with that result with the Pinto, and we may have tied up the class in the championship also" said John. David Crossen was expected to challenge but he got his MK2 Escort stuck in a ditch after a chicane on stage one, whilst local driver Damien McGuaran was experimenting with a newly built BMW 320 to replace his trusty rear wheel drive Toyota Corolla.
Winner of the rallytrader.ie/ Kumho tyres Junior category, collecting two tyres from Ears Motorsport Ireland was
once again Stephen Dickson with co-driver Tommy Hayes in the R2 Fiesta. "Its been a very enjoyable rally. We had two slight over-shoots on the last two stages, but it didn't effect the Junior result, so it's all good."Derek Mackarel didn't retire his Nova this time but arrived at the finish with a rear wheel bearing failed and having stopped for over a minute to fix a loose coil lead. Shane Kenneally in his MK2 Escort was a retirement on the second loop, whilst James Driver put the Ford KA off into the undergrowth on stage three.
Other important class winners included Ruari Maguire in his Vauxhall Corsa, and Conor McCourt taking Group N, from David Dennison and Stephen Cullen who clocked up maximum Valvoline points. Next up for the Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship is the the Limerick Forest Rally on 16th October. The Limerick Motor Club have been hard at work assembling six classic forest stages over sixty kilometres, as the event makes a return to the championship. Indeed it's returning to classic format last used back in 2000, as this rally replaces the Mayo Mini Forest Rally in the championship.
Class Winners
Class 1: Connor Woods /Chrissy Corry (Honda Civic)
Class 2: Conor McCourt/Caolan McKenna (Mitsubishi Evo 9)
Class 3: Ruairi Maguire/Declan McGarrity (Vauxhall Corsa)
Class 4: Barry Mahon/Ultan McGowan (Honda Civic EG6)
Class 5: John Gordon /Thomas Wedlock (Ford Escort)
Class 6: Shane McGirr/Martin McGarrity (Toyota Starlet)
Class 7: David Condell /Eugene McGrath (Ford Escort)
Class 8: Jonny Leonard/Jackie Elliott (Mitsubishi Evo 6)
Class 9: Sam Moffett/James Fulton (Ford Fiesta WRC)
Class 10: Josh Moffett/Jason McKenna (Ford Fiesta R5)
Class 12: Raymond Johnston/Marc Johnston (Ford Escort RS1800)
Fermanagh Forest Feast Ahead! Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Championship Round Five
Posted: September 3, 2016 2:26 AM
Round five of the 2016 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship, heads to County Fermanagh for the Lakeland Stages Rally, run by the Enniskillen Motor Club. Clerk of the Course Gerry Cavanagh and his team have assembled eight stages over some of the famous Lakeland forest roads for the crews on Saturday. The rally which starts at 10.00am from Grovesnor Barracks in Enniskillen has attracted a bumper entry.
Valvoline series leader after four rounds is Monaghan’s Michael Carbin in his Mitsubishi Evo 4. With co-driver Darragh Kelly, in what is very much a clubman car, with a relatively standard engine, they lead the crews in more modern machinery. Michael is realistic about his chances on Saturday. “We will keep pushing hard, but when dropped scores come into play I think Desi is a couple of points ahead and we would be joint second with Patrick O’Brien. I think we just have to let Desi go and do his own thing, and my main aim would be to try and finish ahead of Patrick.” Nevertheless Michael epitomises the spirit of clubman rallying and the older Evo 4 cannot be discounted. “We’ve had a brilliant year to date, and it’s a brilliant championship. With the spread of events now around the country it helps us compete in it- fair dos to all involved. The car has been reliable so hopefully that continues, and we made some progress lately by tweaking the spring rates which has helped the car a lot.”
Moonraker and Jim Walsh Cork Rally winner- Desi Henry in the Skoda Fabia R5 will be looking to repeat his success, but the County Antrim driver’s task won’t be easy. Adrian Hetherington, who took a podium in Cork, now loves his Corolla WRC, and is experienced in the Fermanagh forests. Josh Moffett returns and he was second on the Lakeland last year behind his brother Sam. Omagh’s Mark Donnelly in his Impreza WRC is another rapid forest driver to look out for whilst his name-sake is returning in his Super 2000 Fiesta. Macroom’s Ger Lucey is second in the points table in his Evo 8 and he loved his first taste of the Fermanagh forests last year, whilst young Patrick O’Brien is beginning to recover from problems in rounds two and three in his Evo 9. Add into the mix Martin Cairns- Fiesta WRC, Niall McCullagh- S14 Impreza WRC, Conor and Cathan McCourt in Evo’s, Robert Moffett- Fiesta WRC, Hugh McQuaid- Mitsubishi Evo and Niall Henry’s Evo 10, then there is some serious four wheel driven machinery set for the Fermanagh forests.
The Valvoline two-wheel drive race is hotting up with last year’s champion Micky Conlon in his MK2 Escort heading the point’s race, after consistent finishes. John Gordon is next up despite a poor score due to a tyre coming off on round four, whilst David Crossen from Comber is now a real threat as he proved with a close second place to Shane McGirr in Cork. McGirr is on home ground this weekend however, and he was second to Frank Kelly last year, so has the pace in these forests with the little Toyota Starlet. David Condell relatively new to the forests, is another MK2 Escort man to feature strongly this season and is on equal points with Crossen as he gets faster with every forestry mile.
In the rallytrader.ie/ Kumho tyres Junior category, where the round winner collects two tyres from Ears Motorsport Ireland Shane Kenneally leads on points in his MK2 Escort, with James Driver second in the Ford Ka. Winner of the last round Stephen Dickson in the R2 Fiesta is third heading into his home rally, whilst Derek Mackarel in his Nova and Sperrin’s Junior winner Adam Bustard in his R2T Fiesta, will be trying to turn around their recent bad fortune.
Round five of the 2016 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship promises to be one of the most interesting of the season, at what now is a pivotal point in the title quest, this being one of only three points scoring opportunities left.
If you go down to the woods.... This weekend!!
Posted: August 31, 2016 6:29 AM
All systems are go for this weekend’s Tuffmac Trailers Lakeland Stages Rally. Gerry Cavanagh Clerk of the Course for the rally is over the moon with the level of interest; “We are delighted to welcome the Valvoline Irish Forestry Championship to Fermanagh for round five of this highly exciting championship” Gerry went on to say “the main contenders for the overall and many of the class battles are due here on Saturday, this should mean that the pace will be flat out from the word go”.
Trying to pick an overall winner is a near impossible mission with the range of talent due to grace our forest tracks. Josh Moffett is reigning Forestry champion and must be considered one of the hot favourites, Desi Henry has shown great pace in his Skoda Fabia R5, the Co. Antrim driver is building up some very useful points in this year’s title battle, Patrick O’Brien took maximum points at the first round of the championship and he continues to show amazing pace the 21 year old from Omagh is definitely a star on the rise. Martin Cairns (Fiesta WRC), Mark Donnelly (Subaru S10), Mick O’Brien (Fiesta WRC) and Niall McCullagh (Subaru S14) all will no doubt be trying to put their claim on the top step of the podium. Event sponsor Hugh McQuaid off Tuffmac Trailers has stepped up from his usual Ford Escort MKII to GpA Mitsubishi Evo and will be looking to shine on the rally. Also local ace Jonny Leonard has had a quiet year by his standards but over the last few weeks his sights have been set on increasing his seat time and pace with the aim of pushing for the podium on Saturday. In the two wheel drive battle Fivemiletown Oil Merchant Shane McGirr must start as favourite, in his highly effective Toyota Starlet. Looking to deny him the laurels will be Mickey Conlon and David Condell in their MKII Escorts.
Action starts from the former Grosvenor Barracks at 10am with eight stages in the Derrygonnelly-Belcoo area returning to the former Grosvenor Barracks at approximately 4.40pm. More information available on www.enniskillenmotorclub.com or Facebook/Tuffmac-Trailers-Lakeland-Stages.
Seeded Entry List
Posted: August 31, 2016 6:17 AM
1 Sam Moffett/James Fulton (Ford Fiesta WRC) [9]
2 Josh Moffett/Jason McKenna (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
3 Michael O'Brien/Liam Brennan (Ford Fiesta WRC) [9]
4 Mark Donnelly/Barry McNulty (Subaru Impreza WRC S9) [9]
5 Desi Henry/Liam Moynihan (Skoda Fabia R5) [10]
6 Adrian Hetherington/Gary Nolan (Toyota Corolla WRC) [9]
7 Martin Cairns/Gary McElhinney (Ford Fiesta WRC) [9]
8 Kenny McKinstry/James O'Reilly (Subaru Impreza WRC S14) [9]
9 Mark Donnelly/Stephen O Hanlon (Ford Fiesta S2000) [10]
10 Patrick O'Brien/Aine McGuigan (MitsubishI Lancer Evo 9) [8]
11 Michael Carbin/Darragh Kelly (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV) [8]
12 Jonny Leonard/Jackie Elliott (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [8]
14 Niall McCullagh/Ryan McCloskey (Subaru Impreza WRC S14) [9]
15 Cathan McCourt/Brian Hoy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [8]
16 Gerard Lucey/JJ Cremin (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) [8]
17 Niall Henry/John Rowan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10) [8]
18 Darren McKelvey/Graham Henderson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) [8]
19 Vivian Hamill/Andrew Grennan (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
20 Shane McGirr/Martin McGarrity (Toyota Starlet) [6]
21 David Crossen/Chris McSherry (Ford Escort) [6]
22 Mickey McGillin/Paddy Crudden (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [8]
23 Phil Pickard/Simon Pickard (Subaru Impreza) [8]
24 Michael Conlon/Ciaran McPhillips (Ford Escort MK2) [6]
25 John Gordon /Thomas Wedlock (Ford Escort) [5]
26 David Condell /Eugene McGrath (Ford Escort ) [7]
27 Damien McGauran/Michaela McGinn (BMW 320) [6]
28 Patsy Keenan/Martin Brady (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [2]
29 Ashley Dickson/To Be Confirmed (Mitsibushi Evo 9) [2]
30 Dermot O'Hagan/Pierce Doheny Jnr. (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [8]
31 Hugh McQuaid/Chris Melly (Mitsubishi Evo 6) [8]
32 Paul McErlean/Niall McKenna (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
33 Robert McKelvey/TBA (Mitsubishi Evo) [2]
34 Conor McCourt/Caolan McKenna (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [2]
35 Stephen Cullen/Seamus O Grady (Subaru Impreza) [2]
36 William Herron/Geoff Patterson (Mitsubishi Evo) [2]
37 Raymond Johnston/Marc Johnston (Ford Escort RS1800) [12]
38 Paul McCann/Paddy Plunkett (Ford Escort Cosworth ) [9]
39 Jonni McDaid/Kieran McGrath (Mitsubushi Evo 9) [2]
40 Connor Woods /Chrissy Corry (Mitsubishi Evo 6 ) [8]
41 Ian Graham /TBA (Mitsubishi Evo 9 ) [8]
42 Adam Bustard/Aaron Johnston (Ford Fiesta R2T) [4]
43 Neil Harron/Stephen Griffith (Ford Fiesta R2) [4]
44 Brian Tolan/Colin Irwin (Mitsubishi Evo 4) [2]
45 Stephen Baxter/Fearghal McDonald (Ford Escort) [6]
46 Declan Campbell/Geraldine Leonard (Ford Escort Mk 2) [6]
47 Tony McKenna/Johnny Dinsmore (Ford Escort Mk 2) [5]
48 Fergal McGuinness/Sean Duncan (Ford Escort Mk2) [4]
49 Stephen Dickson/Tommy Hayes (Ford Fiesta R2) [4]
50 Shane Kenneally/Jer Connors (Ford Escort) [4]
51 Owen McMackin/Barry Ferris (Ford Escort Mk11) [6]
52 Sean W Benskin/Nicky Hegarty (Ford Escort Mk2) [5]
53 Mark Murphy/Aoife Murphy (Mitsubishi Evo 8) [8]
54 Michael McDaid /Daire Maguire (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [2]
55 Ed Muldoon/Mark Byrne (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [2]
56 Derek Mackarel/Daire Hayes (Vauxhall Nova) [3]
57 Ruairi Maguire/Grace O'Brien (Vauxhall Corsa) [3]
58 Adam Lyons/David Turkington (Mitsubishi Evo) [2]
59 Nigel Hodgins/Niall McGrath (Subaru Impreza ) [2]
60 David Dennison/Gareth Lewthwaite (Mitsubishi Evo) [2]
61 Rodney Donaldson/Chrystal Culkeen (Ford Escort) [4]
62 Stewart McClean/Jonny Holdsworth (Vauxhall Nova WRC) [4]
63 Mervyn Wilson/Benedikt Bastian (Ford Escort) [3]
64 Drew Chambers/Wendy Blackledge (Talbot Samba) [3]
65 James McGovern/TBA (Toyota Corolla GT) [1]
66 Barry Mahon/Ultan McGowan (Honda Civic EG6) [4]
67 Ian Dickson/Steven Monaghan (Ford Fiesta ST) [1]
68 Jody McManus/TBA (Ford Fiesta) [1]
69 Jason Dickson/Vinne Boyd (Ford Fiesta ST) [1]
70 Neil Monaghan/Jamie Monaghan (Ford Fiesta ST) [1]
71 Brian Little/Johnny McAleer (Ford Mk2 Escort) [3]
72 Ashley Rutledge/Brian Robinson (Honda Civic) [1]
73 Niall O'Sullivan/TBA (Citroen C2) [3]
74 John Quill/Patricia Hogan (Peugeot 206) [4]
75 Darren Connelly/Sean McLaughlin (Vauxhall Nova) [3]
76 Gerard Hyland/Niall McGahern (Ford Escort) [3]
77 Colm Kearns/Terence McCabe (Ford Escort) [3]
78 Hugh Kelly/Aodhan Gallagher (Ford Escort) [4]
79 Adrian Beattie/Declan Ryan (Honda Civic) [4]
80 Michael Fitzgibbon/Tom Ryan (Honda Civic) [4]
81 Simon Mooney/Jonathan Macdonald (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 2) [8]
82 Damien McVey/Timothy Duggan (Ford Escort) [4]
83 Anthony Masterson/TBC (Ford Escort Mk2) [3]
84 Gareth Deazley/John James Duffin (Peugeot 106) [4]
85 William Graham/TBA (Vauxhall Corsa) [3]
86 James Driver/Megan Conway (Ford Ka) [4]
Entries Received / On Line Entries / Regulations / Club Website
News Stories
Classifieds
Shop
TV Guide
Links
Upcoming 
Most