023 Tiles Southern 4 Championship 2002

Posted: February 22, 2002 8:28 AM

The counting rounds for the 2002 championship are West Cork, 16-17 March, Rally of the Lakes on 4-5 May, the first new round to the championship is the Circuit of Munster based in Limerick on 2 June. The 4th round will be the Cork 20 rally, which will take place over the weekend of October 5-6 with the final round being the Fastnet Rally on 27 Oct.

With 4 of the five rounds taking place on Bank holiday weekends, the social side of the championship is a huge "incentive" to take part or even watch!

The class structure for 2002 023 Tiles Southern 4 Championship will follow the new class structure introduced by Motorsport Ireland in 2001. This will see the 1600 & 2ltr modified classes split for 8 and 16 valves, and all other classes remaining as per the previous running of the championship.

Within days of the news of the championship going through the "rally grapevine" a huge number of drivers have expressed their interest in the championship: Current champions, Johnny O Sullivan and Pat Cashman will be defending their title in the Escort WRC. Liam Davis and Barry Coleman both driving Subaru Imprezas will be chasing the Killarney/Cork pair, and Frank O'Mahony in the Metro expects to take in most if not all of the rounds. Having sold his World Rally Car Escort to Glen Allen, Tommy Graham will be using a new car for the championship, details of which the Kildare man is keeping very much to himself for the time being!

The championship has always attracted strong competitors from the UK, like Gwyn Thomas who is planning to use his unique Ford Puma 4x4 for his assault on the championship. New to this year will be the 2WD award, which is expected to pitch the "modified" RWD brigade against the front wheel drive Formula 2 cars. Some who will be battling for class awards will include Kieran O'Neill and John Stangle in class 13 , Mark Nagle, John Tully, Tim O'Donovan & Kieran O'Callaghan in class 11, with James O'Sullivan and Fintan Canty just 2 of the many drivers who are expected to do battle in the ultra

The irishmobiles.com West Cork rally will again be the opening round of the Southern 4 Championship. "Paddy's" bank holiday weekend in Clonakilty is now legendary, the "Ring" stage a more than perfect start to the championship. The points what are scored over the 2 days of rallying in Killarney on the May Bank-holiday will hard earned over stages like Molls Gap and Caragh Lake.
Based in Adare Co. Limerick, the Circuit of Munster on the June Bank holiday weekend is a new round to the championship. Having the recce, rally and "recovery" in the one bank holiday weekend should certainly appeal to many before the summer break! The final 2 rounds will be both in Co. Cork, at the beginning and end of October. Based in heart of the City, the demanding long stages of the Cork 20 rally run to the North and East of the City are a true test of Driver, Co-Driver and Machine! The October bank Holiday weekend in small village of Glandore is probably the worst kept secret in Rallying, everybody seems to turn up! It's still unknown how many make it out of Glandore to see the stages, but for those who do take part, the rally has a knack of bring out the best in drivers.

023 Tiles Southern 4 Championship 2002
1.      West Cork, 16-17 March
2.      Rally of the Lakes, 4-5 May
3.      Circuit of Munster (Limerick)- 2 June
4.      Cork 20 - October 5-6
5.      Fastnet Rally (Skibbereen) - 27 Oct

Regulations and Entry form will available during Sign on at the first 3 rounds.
E-mail dugganb@irish-rallying.com