Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship Round 6 Preview
Posted: August 31, 2018 3:11 AM
The sixth and penultimate round of the Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship takes place this coming Saturday (1st September) in the shape of the Enniskillen based Trailer Parts & Spares Lakeland Stages Rally. Enniskillen Motor Club who organise the event have laid out a six stage route using classic tests and have been rewarded with a stunning entry of over 100 cars.
The overall championship is currently being led by Barry McKenna who has shown stunning pace all year in his Ford Fiesta and scoring either top or second placed points on all rounds to date has also indicated remarkable consistency. Second placed Stephen McCann who upgraded to a Fiesta R5 on the last two rounds in Cork has also scored well on all rounds, despite not being as familiar with loose surface events. The biggest threat to McKenna comes from Josh Moffett in third place who is top seed for Enniskillen having won the event last year, and Andrew Purcell whose forest pedigree is well known. Both of these Ford Fiesta R5 drivers have had problems during the year but when dropped scored are taken into account are right in the hunt.
Adrian Hetherington was unfortunate not to finish in Cork when the Corolla WRCs turbo let go, but on home territory he will certainly be pushing hard. Cathan McCourt went very well in Cork on his first outing in a Fiesta R5 and that will give him the confidence to upset the leading contenders. Vivian Hamill is another in a Fiesta R5 after an excellent run on the Cork Forestry stages and he will be in the running for overall honours.
The 2WD category is as always very competitive and David Crossen who could do no wrong in 2017 is having a very trying year with mechanical issues spoiling his season. Having retired from Cork he will be looking to bounce back and finish off the year on a high note on the remaining rounds. Shane McGirr by contrast has had a fine season in both a Toyota Starlet and an Escort and it’s the latter which will be on display this weekend. Shane has seen off rivals on previous rounds so will be confident heading to the Lakelands. John Gordon, Tommy O’Connell & David Condell have all shown flashes of speed over the season, with niggling problems hampering both Gordon and O’Connell on the rounds to date. The championship contenders will also be facing Frank Kelly and Oran Donnelly in their Escorts which will provide excellent entertainment and no little competition on the event.
The junior championship is as competitive as always with a strong cast present. Although not championship registered Callum Devine fresh from his JWRC exploits will be the benchmark in his Ford Fiesta R2T. Jordan Hone has really come alight in the past few months and will be a strong contender in his Opel Adam, but with Marty Gallagher and Billy Coleman Award nominees James Wilson & Derek Mackarel in close attendance it would be a brave person to bet on a winner here. M. O’Brien Plant Hire J1000 champion for the past two years Jason Murphy is moving to the R2 class for this event as a prize for winning the series. He will use a Fiesta R2 and it will be a good learning curve as he takes on the R2 regulars.
The rally starts from the former Grosvenor Barracks site in Enniskillen at 10:30am Saturday morning where three stages will be tackled at Lough Navar, Big Dog and Ballintempo. Service will take place at 12:40pm before the same three stages will be repeated in the afternoon. The first car is due back at the finish ramp at approximately 4pm.
J1000 Champion Jason Murphy to Drive Fiesta R2 on Lakelands Stages
Posted: August 27, 2018 3:51 PM
One of the big success stories of Irish Motorsport over the past couple years has been the implementation of a J1000 category in the Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forestry Championship. This is a unique and exclusive initiative in Irish Rallying to assist in developing future stars of the sport from the age of 15 years by giving them experience of competing on forestry stage rallies.
Jason Murphy from Co. Mayo who won the M.O’Brien Plant Hire J1000 championship for the second year in succession will make the leap into the bigger league in the upcoming Enniskillen based Lakeland Stages Rally on 2nd September. He will be taking up the prize from winning last year’s championship which is a funded drive in a Ford Fiesta R2 courtesy of M.O’Brien Plant Hire for the Lakeland Stages. Thanks to the continued support of M.O’Brien Plant Hire, the J1000 championship is flourishing and it offers the younger driver a great opportunity to start out in a more cost effective environment. Long standing supporters of the Forestry Championship Kumho Tyres will provide the tyres for the R2 car which gives Jason the chance to test his pace against the R2 championship regulars. The Championship organisers are grateful to Clonakilty Blackpudding for helping to source a car for the prize drive.
Jason is delighted with the prize drive and said “getting a drive means a lot as it would be difficult to afford to rally an R2 at present, and I’m really looking forward to it. The forestry championship is a brilliant championship and hopefully more drivers will come on board for the J1000’s 2019. It’s a very cost effective way to go rallying and with all cars equal, the competition is great. This year’s series was much tougher with Peter, Rory and Aoife pushing all the way, but the experience of competing on last year’s championship was of huge benefit to me. I’d like to thank the various sponsors for helping to make the drive on the Lakelands happen, and something like this is a great incentive for any young driver starting out.”
Quality Entry for Lakeland Stages Rally!
Posted: August 27, 2018 3:45 PM
An impressive high-quality entry of more than 100 crews has been received for this Saturday's Trailer Parts & Spares Lakeland Stages Rally, round five of the McGrady Insurance N.I. Rally Championship!
Based from the former Grosvenor Barracks site in Enniskillen, the stunning line-up of high-powered crews are set to commence battle over some of County Fermanagh's finest forestry stages in what is the first gravel event of the season for the N.I. Championship contenders.
Organised by Enniskillen Motor Club, the event is also a counting round of the Valvoline Irish Forestry series and such is the quality of entry that the N.I Championship leaders, Derek McGarrity and Paddy Robinson, are seeded at number four in a Ford Focus WRC.
"It's a different car to the one we used at the Down Rally but it's the same specification," McGarrity explained. "It's an ex-works 2007 Focus that was originally used by Toni Gardemeister."
A strong result on the event could potentially see McGarrity secure an eighth McGrady Insurance N.I. Rally Championship title with two rounds to spare.
"I'm looking forward to the event," he added. "It'll be my first gravel rally in a year and there's a fantastic entry!"
That fantastic entry includes last year's Lakeland Stages Rally winners, Josh Moffett and Stephen Thornton. They start at number one ahead of New York based Barry McKenna and Leon Jordan.
Despite residing in America, McKenna has been keeping match fit and recently won Scotland's Granite City Rally before jetting back across the Atlantic. He's due to catch another transatlantic flight this week ahead of the Lakeland Stages where he hopes to take another step towards the Irish Forestry title.
However, not only will Josh Moffett be planning to stop him in his tracks but so will number three seeds Andrew Purcell and Mark Wiley. All three crews are in Ford Fiestas and are embroiled in a battle for the Irish Forestry Championship spoils.
In fact, in terms of the McGrady Insurance N.I. Championship crews, you have to look down the entry list to number 14 to find Derek McGarrity's main rivals, Alan Carmichael and Ivor Lamont. They currently hold second in the series standings in their Mini WRC.
Retirement at round two followed by Carmichael opting to miss round three really put their challenge on the back foot. However, there's still a mathematical chance for the crew to mount a comeback in the latter half of the season but the Lakeland could prove to be a key event.
Other notable entries include Adrian Hetherington (Corolla WRC), Cathan McCourt (Ford Fiesta), Stephen McCann (Ford Fiesta), Patrick O'Brien (Mitsubishi Lancer) and former N.I. Champion, Kenny McKinstry, who submitted a late entry in his Subaru Impreza WRC.
The rally could also prove to be pivotal in the tussle for the N.I. Championship two-wheel drive spoils. James Kennedy, Barry Morris and Oran Donnelly will be among the main contenders as they rub shoulders with the Irish Forestry regulars. And for the N.I. Championship Junior crews, the winner of a free entry to the World Rally Championship's Wales Rally GB (4-7 October) will be decided this weekend.
The first crew will leave the start ramp at the former Grosvenor Barracks site in Enniskillen shortly after 10.30am on Saturday. A total of six stages are on the agenda with competitors tackling three tests before returning to service from approximately 12.40pm.
Another three stages will be completed in the afternoon and the leading crews will return to the rally base shortly before 4pm. Log on to www.nirallychampionship.com or fb.com/nirallying for updates throughout the event.
Seeded Entry List
Posted: August 24, 2018 12:31 PM
1 Josh Moffett/Stephen Thornton (Ford Fiesta R5+) [8]
2 Barry McKenna/Leon Jordan (Ford Fiesta R5) [9]
3 Andrew Purcell/Mark Wiley (Ford Fiesta R5) [9]
4 Derek McGarrity/Paddy Robinson (Ford Focus WRC) [9]
5 Adrian Hetherington/Gary Nolan (Toyota Corolla WRC) [9]
6 Cathan McCourt/Barry McNulty (Ford Fiesta R5) [9]
7 Stephen McCann/Kaine Treanor (Ford Fiesta R5) [9]
8 Patrick O’Brien/Stephen O’Brien (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [8]
9 Vivian Hamill/Andrew Grennan (Ford Fiesta R5) [9]
10 Alan Smyth/MacKierans (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) [8]
11 Martin Cairns/Peter Ward (Ford Fiesta WRC) [9]
12 Niall Henry/Damien Duffin (Citroen DS3 R5) [9]
14 Alan Carmichael/Ivor Lamont (Mini WRC) [9]
15 Matthew Cathcart/Humphrey Plunkett (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) [8]
16 Pauric Sheridan/Sean Brunton (Ford Fiesta Proto) [8]
17 Conor McCourt/Caolan McKenna (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
18 Niall Devine/Crawford Henderson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [2]
19 Marty McKenna/Aaron Johnston (Ford Fiesta WRC) [9]
20 Michael Carbin/Conor Mohan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4) [8]
21 David Crossen/Aileen Kelly (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
22 Frank Kelly/Sean Ferris (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
23 Shane McGirr/Liam McIntyre (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
24 Michael Conlon/Ciaran McPhillips (Ford Escort) [7]
25 John Gordon/Thomas Wedlock (Ford Escort) [6]
26 Oran Donnelly/Mo Downey (Ford Escort) [6]
27 Tommy O'Connell/Denver Rafferty (Ford Escort MK2) [6]
28 David Condell/Michael Coady (Ford Escort) [7]
29 Ashley Dickson/James Lowry (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [8]
30 Joe Hegarty/David Turkington (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [8]
31 Mark Murphy/Anthony O'Sullivan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) [8]
32 Patsy Keenan/Martin Brady (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [2]
33 Niall McGonigle/Paddy McCrudden (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
34 Liam Regan/Gary McElhinney (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [2]
35 Stephen Dickson/Tommy Hayes (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
36 Jonny Morrow/Simon Morrow (Mitsubishi Mirage RS) [8]
37 Callum Devine/Brian Hoy (Ford Fiesta R2) [4]
38 Jordan Hone/Paul Hone (Opel Adam R2) [4]
39 James Wilson/Gavin Doherty (Peugeot 208 R2) [4]
40 Marty Gallagher/Dean O'Sullivan (Peugeot 208 R2) [4]
41 Derek Mackarel/Muireann Hayes (Vauxhall Nova) [4]
42 Robert McKelvey/Jordan Murphy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) [2]
43 Steven Corey/Vinnie Boyd (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [8]
44 Andrew Bustard/Stephen Griffith (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [8]
45 Colm McFall/Matthew McKenna (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
47 Paul McCann/Paddy Plunkett (Skoda Fabia S2500) [9]
48 Damien McGauran/Michaela McGinn (BMW 320) [6]
49 Barry Morris/Declan Campbell (Ford Escort MK2) [6]
50 Ruari McCaffrey/Lauren Kelly (Ford Escort) [5]
51 Drexel Gillespie/Graham Henderson (Ford Escort) [10]
52 James Kennedy/Heather Kennedy (Ford Escort MK2) [6]
53 James McCarville/Dara Kelly (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
54 Owen McMackin/Barry Ferris (Ford Escort) [6]
55 Chris McGurk/George Tinsley (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) [2]
56 Stewart McClean/Jonny Holdsworth (Vauxhall Nova) [4]
57 Daryl McCanny/Cathain Colten (Vauxhall Corsa) [4]
58 Karl Fallis/Ben Fallis (Ford Fiesta R2) [4]
59 Ruairi Maguire/Grace O'Brien (Vauxhall Corsa) [4]
60 Stephen Bawn/Damien Fleming (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
61 Declan Campbell/Joanne Campbell (Ford Escort) [5]
62 Andy Magee/Michael Johnston (Ford Escort MK2) [6]
63 Tony McKenna/Eathan McColgan (Ford Escort MK2) [5]
64 Rodney Donaldson/Colin Kane (Ford Escort) [5]
65 Geoffrey Nevin/Paul Nevin (Ford Escort MK2) [5]
66 Jason Dickson/Alistair Wylie (Ford Fiesta R2) [4]
67 Ian Dickson/Darragh Mullen (Ford Fiesta R2) [4]
68 Gareth Deazley/. . (Honda Civic EK4) [1]
69 Cal McCarthy/Gavin Sheehan (Citroen C2R2) [4]
70 Seamus Goodfellow/. . (Subaru Impreza) [8]
71 Patrick Malanaphy/Adrian Malanaphy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [1]
72 Austin Snow/Ryan McCloskey (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
73 Raymond Doyle/Jarlath Kelly (Toyota Corolla) [4]
74 Aaron Cunningham/. . (Ford Escort) [6]
75 Brian Little/Paul Sexton (Ford Escort G3) [5]
76 Dominic Leonard/Martin Baxter (Honda Civic) [4]
77 Conor Gillespie/Martin Harte (Ford Escort) [5]
78 Bill Arbuthnot/Jason McGuckin (Subaru Impreza) [8]
79 Drew Chambers/Wendy Blackledge (Talbot Samba) [3]
80 Glen Irwin/Martin Gallogley (Vauxhall Nova) [3]
81 Mervyn Wilson/Benedikt Bastian (Ford Escort) [3]
82 Dean Humphrey/Nigel Brennan (Vauxhall Corsa) [3]
83 Colin Currid/Paul Gallagher (Ford Escort) [3]
84 Nollag O'Lapain/Seamus Cooke (Ford Escort MK2) [3]
85 Leroy Mills/Steven Stafford (Peugeot 206) [4]
86 Ryan O'Kane/James Duffin (Honda Civic) [1]
87 Patricia Denning/Joe Downey (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [8]
88 Jenna McCann/John McCabe (Ford Fiesta R2) [4]
89 Jason Murphy/Matthew Murphy (Ford Fiesta R2) [4]
90 Keelan Maguire/Steven Monaghan (Honda Civic) [4]
91 Gerard Neeson/Michael Murray (Peugeot 106 GTI) [4]
92 Derek Robinson/David Forde (Toyota Corolla) [1]
93 William Graham/Darragh Sheridan (Vauxhall Corsa) [3]
94 Darren McGrath/Tony McGovern (Honda Civic) [1]
95 Jonny McAleer/Mark McAleer (Vauxhall Corsa) [4]
96 Peter Curran/Willie Hamilton (Ford Escort) [6]
97 Liam McQuaid/Mervyn Galbraith (Ford Escort MK2) [6]
98 Darren Connelly/. . (Vauxhall Nova) [3]
99 Ryan Brennan/Mickey Brennan (Peugeot 205) [3]
100 Mark Stewart/Chris Hobson (Mazda MX5) [4]
101 Travis Humphrey/Damien Conlin (Peugeot 205 GTI) [3]
102 Anthony Masterson/Tommy Clinton (Ford Escort) [7]
103 Niall Turley/Andrew Wedlock (Subaru Impreza) [2]
104 Martin Collins/Mikaela Woods (Peugeot 106) [1]
105 Donall Sweeney/Stephen O'Hanlon (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [8]
106 Adrian Beattie/Declan Ryan (Honda Civic EG6) [4]
Entries Received
Posted: August 23, 2018 2:07 PM
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