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Connacht Sligo Stages Rally - 10 Jul 05

Posted: July 14, 2005 11:54 AM - 18022 Hits

TOM HUNT MOTORS / SLIGO PARK HOTEL SLIGO STAGES RALLY 2005 Sunday July 10th

Round 6 - 2005 Dunlop National Rally Championship
Round 5 - 2005 Border Rally Championship

  • Ferodo Bonus Scheme
  • BREEN WINS AGAIN TO EXTEND LEAD IN DUNLOP CHAMPIONSHIP
    (Report courtesy of Irish Dunlop – sponsors of the Irish National Rally Championship)
  • Results
  • Photos

Posted: July 14, 2005 11:54 AM

Ferodo Bonus Scheme
The Connacht Stages rally saw us entering the second half of the season, and theres still all to play for in the race for the 10000Eur prize fund. Ray Breen led the scheme going into the rally, having overhauled longtime leader Willie Fannin in Ravens Rock. Ray was on the lookout for his 2nd win in a row, and he duly delivered…

It was a mightly tussle all day between Jim Harrison and Ray Breen. The drivers traded secinds over the first 4 stages, with Harrison having a slender 2second advantage at the halfway point. As in Ravens Rock though, Ray piled on the pressure over the 2nd half of the rally, just grabbing a second or two back on each of the last 4 stages, to take a 3 second win. Ray now has a 2 point Bonus Scheme lead over Alan Ring, with Harrison in 5th, although Jim has already dropped 2 scores. Kevin Barret had an excellent rally, finishing 4th overall, and is now 4th overall in the national championship. Indeed Ferodo runners are 1,2,3 and 4 in the National Championship!

Alan Ring took maximum Ferodo points in class 4, ahead of Gabriel Martin. Usual front-runner Willie Fannin had his first non-finish of the year, retiring on stage 3. This drops Willie down to 3rd place, albeit 10 points clear of 4th place Ed Power.

Power took 2nd place points in class 6, behind class winner Shane Feely in the Peugeot 106. Shane has taken maximum points on every appearance in the scheme, so he could certainly be a contender for overall prizes if he contests a few more rounds. Dominic Naughton , in another 106 took 3rd place points, and this puts him in an excellent 6th overall.

Of the other prize contenders, some had days to forget. Charlie Donnelly made the long trip overnight from the Jim Clark rally, and then he retired on stage 1 when his turbo failed! Regular class 2 competitor Enda Hallinan led after stage 2, but he didn’t make it back to second service either, dropping him to 9th in the scheme. He is currently level on points with fellow class 2 runner Seamus Gorman.

As well as the end-of-year points prizes, there is a draw for registered Ferodo competitors starting each rally. Winner of the 100euro in the Ferodo Bonus Draw for the Ravens Rock Rally is Mark 2 man Michael Conlon. Congratulations!

BREEN WINS AGAIN TO EXTEND LEAD IN DUNLOP CHAMPIONSHIP
(Report courtesy of Irish Dunlop – sponsors of the Irish National Rally Championship)

For the second time in as many events, Ray Breen and co-driver, Andrew Purcell in the Dunlop shod Ford Focus WRC have won a round of the Dunlop National Rally Championship. Their latest success came on the Sligo Rally, the sixth round of the series following an exciting contest with Dunlop rivals, Jim Harrison/Harvey Bell. At the end of the eight stage rally, one of which was cancelled, Breen/Purcell had a narrow victory, they finished a mere three seconds ahead of the Subaru WRC of Jim Harrison/Harvey Bell). The principal retirements were Charlie Donnelly, who retired on S.S. 1 with a blown turbo; while the loss of power steering ended Patrick Elliott’s challenge. Non-starters included Kevin Lynch and Noel Redmond.
In Group N, Michael Curran/Fabian McShane (Mitsubishi) led from the start and took a deserved victory in the showroom class.

It was a customary start by Jim Harrison, who took a four second lead on the opening stage with Ray Breen slotting into second spot. Dunlop Championship contender, Charlie Donnelly retired his Toyota Corolla with a blown turbo.
Breen set the pace on the second stage to narrow the deficit to three seconds. The top duo had already managed to break free of the opposition with reigning champion, Niall Maguire (Subaru) some 39 seconds in arrears. Patrick Elliott had power steering difficulties and had to be content with fourth behind defending Dunlop champion, Niall Maguire.
One of the sensations of the opening stages was Michael Curran, his Mitsubishi held fifth overall and a 22 second lead in the showroom category.

Sean Gallagher, who got a call from the reserve list, slotted his Subaru into sixth place followed by the Subaru of Kevin Barrett, who had gearbox problems.
Ian Barrett made a good start, his Mitsubishi occupying eighth place with Frank Wray (Mitsubishi) and Ivan Stewart (Escort Cosworth) filling the final places in the top ten.
Willie Fannin put his Subaru off the road on S.S. 1 and fuel problems forced Jack Sleator (Skoda Fabia) into retirement.

By the third stage, Harrison was seven seconds ahead of Breen, who experienced an overshoot while Maguire fell further behind. Sean Gallagher with a strong performance on S.S. 3, moved into fourth at the expense of Elliott, who lost further time with the power steering and dropped to sixth behind Barrett, who had a new gearbox fitted by the McKinstry Motorsport mechanics. Curran continued to set the pace in Group N where Alan Ring was his nearest challenger – 37 seconds adrift. Championship leader in the showroom category, Willie Fannin crashed out and the stage interruption rule was applied to the remainder of the competitors.

Stages four and five were a repeat of the opening two stages and on S.S. 5, Breen moved into the lead albeit by a second with Harrison remarking that a sore shoulder was hampering his cause. Maguire was trouble free but over a minute behind in third. The Subaru WRC’s of Sean Gallagher and Kevin Barrett were next followed by Group N leader, Michael Curran. Patrick Elliott retired from ninth spot due to power steering failure. Elsewhere, Alan Ring was concerned about a vibration that emanated from his Subaru. Special Stage 6 was cancelled; on Stage 7, Breen was quickest by a mere second and similarly on the final stage to win by just three seconds and extend his lead in the Dunlop series.

Curran took an important victory in Group N where Frank Wray retired on the penultimate stage with a mechanical fault. That promoted James Cairns but a broken driveshaft dropped him down the leader board. The top two wheel drive performance came from Anthony O’Halloran/Conor Foley (Opel Manta).

Gp N Winners - Mike Curran/Fabian McShane
Photo: www.roydempster.com


Results
1 Ray Breen/Andrew Purcell (Ford Focus WRC) 62m 22s
2 Jim Harrison/Harvey Bell (Subaru Impreza WRC) 62m 25s
3 Sean Gallagher/Enda Sherry (Subaru Impreza WRC) 64m 40s
4 Kevin Barrett/Barry Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC) 65m 30s
6 Niall Maguire/Paul McLaughlin (Subaru Impreza WRC) 66m 04s
7 Ian Barrett/Eoin O'Flaherty (Mit Lancer Evo 8) GpN 66m 21S
8 Alan Ring/Derek Brannigan (Subaru Impreza N11) GpN 66m 42s
9 Joe McHugh/Declan Gallagher (Escort RS Cosworth) 66m 59s
10 Gabriel Martin/Donal Lennon (Subaru Impreza N11) GpN 67m 47s

Class winners:
Tadhg Buckley/Peter O’Toole (Swift),
Paddy Walker/Oran Walker (Civic),
Brendan Cumiskey/Ronan O’Kane (Civic),
Mike Curran/Fabian McShane,
Colin Flanagan/Oliver O’Grady (Puma),
Shane Feely/Jim McGrath (Peugeot 106),
Tomas O’Rourke/John McGrath (Astra),
Kevin Barrett/Barry Goodman,
Colin Currid/Raymond Currid (Nova),
Adrian Fox/Philip Tobin (Escort),
Raymond Conlon/James O’Reilly (Corolla),
Gary McPhillips/Mark Tierney (Escort),
Anthony O’Halloran/Conor Foley,
Maurice Moffett/Jason McKenna (Starlet),
Joe McHugh/Declan Gallagher.

JUNIOR RALLY:
1 Columba Heena/Damien Gallagher (Corolla),
2 Simon McElhinney/Kelvin McElhinney (Civic),
3 John McHugh/Glenn Gallagher (Corolla).

Leader SS1-4 Jim Harrison/Harvey Bell (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS5-8 Ray Breen/Andrew Purcell (Ford Focus WRC)

Stage Winners
SS1 Jim Harrison/Harvey Bell (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS2 Ray Breen/Andrew Purcell (Ford Focus WRC)
SS3 Jim Harrison/Harvey Bell (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS4 Ray Breen/Andrew Purcell (Ford Focus WRC)
SS5 Ray Breen/Andrew Purcell (Ford Focus WRC)
SS6 Cancelled
SS7 Ray Breen/Andrew Purcell (Ford Focus WRC)
SS8 Ray Breen/Andrew Purcell (Ford Focus WRC)

Top 2WD - Anthony O’Halloran/Conor Foley (Opel Manta 2.0)
PRE EVENT NEWS
  • Preview
  • Entry List available
  • Rally Programmes
  • Border Championship Preview - Tight battle for Overall lead
  • Latest Event News / Timetable
  • Photos from rally Launch
  • Junior Class
  • Regulations available
  • Event Details

Dennis McGuinness, Sligo Park Hotel with COC of the Sligo Stages Rally, Joe Corcoran
Photo: James Burke


The Organising Committee of the TOM HUNT MOTORS – SLIGO PARK HOTEL – SLIGO STAGES RALLY 2005 are delighted to announce the bumper field of starters for their forthcoming rally scheduled to take place on Sunday July 10th .

Leading the field of 131 crews away from Sligo Park Hotel seeded at No 1 are Derry crew Kevin Lynch and Gordon Noble who were joint leaders in the National Championship entering round 5 last weekend but crashing out dropped them down to fourth place on the Dunlop table. Running second on the road will be the Cheshire crew of James Harrison and Harvey Bell in a WRC Impreza ,who last year had to drop out of the Sligo event at the last minute, as Harrison had to dash home for the birth of his son.

Seeded number three are Kilkenny crew Ray Breen and Andrew Purcell in the WRC Focus , and following their outright win at Ravens Rock at the weekend they will be coming to Sligo to defend their 13 point lead in the National series.

Starting at No 4 spot will be Charlie Donnelly with Paddy Toner on the notes in a WRC Corolla , Charlie a familiar face in Sligo in the Yellow Manta but this year focused on the National Championship and is currently lying second after finishing second on last weekends National round. Carrying No 5 on the door will be the Cavan Building Developer , Patrick Elliott with David Moynihan on notes , fourth on the previous national round has elevated their standing on the Dunlop table to third only two points behind Donnelly.

Having a disappointing year this season , last years winner of Sligo Stages , Niall Maguire and Paul Mc Loughlin start at sixth but having won the event on three occasions in the past , a fourth may be still a possibility.

The class based Border championship has also a particular local interest as currently the lead is being shared by Boyle crew Shane Feely and Jim Mc Grath in the class 6 , Peugeot 106 . To date the lads have picked up firsts in their Group A class on each of the four Border rounds to date , ahead on every occasion their class rival , last years Billy Coleman Award winner , Eamon Mc Elavaney, and places them in a relatively comfortable position to take the title . Their shared lead and only opposition for the title comes from Monaghan’s Adrian Fox and Phillip Tobin who have mirrored their results in their class 10 Escort and also have four class wins to their credit entering Sligo so a class win by both crews on this round it would require the penultimate round in Donegal to determine an outcome.

With almost fifty local crews among the starting lie up much interest will also concentrate on individual standings within the sixteen classes



Top 20
1 Kevin Lynch/Gordon Noble (Subaru Impreza WRC) [8]
2 James Harrison/Harvey Bell (Subaru Impreza WRC) [8]
3 Ray Breen/Andrew Purcell (Ford Focus WRC) [8]
4 Charlie Donnelly/Paddy Toner (Toyota Corolla WRC) [8]
5 Patrick Elliott/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza WRC) [8]
6 Niall Maguire/Paul McLoughlin (Subaru Impreza WRC) [8]
7 Kevin Barrett/Barry Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC) [8]
8 Noel Redmond/Diarmuid Falvey (Subaru Impreza WRC) [8]
9 Adrian McElvaney/Paul Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC) [8]
10 Sean Devine/James McKee (Subaru Impreza WRC) [8]
11 Willie Fannin/Mick Courtney (Subaru Impreza N9) [4]
12 Alan Ring/Derek Brannigan (Subaru Impreza N11) [4]
14 Mike Curran/Fabian McShane (Mit. Lancer Evo 7) [4]
15 James O'Sullivan/Adrian Deasy (Mit. Lancer Evo 7) [4]
16 Frank Wray/Joe McNulty (Mit. Lancer Evo 6) [4]
17 Enda Keenan/Paul Garry (Escort Mk II) [14]
18 Maurice Moffett/Jason McKenna (Toyota Starlet RWD) [14]
19 Domnic McLoughlin/Cyril Donnellan (Peugeot 205 RWD) [13]
20 Robbie Peoples/Keith Stewart (Escort 2.0) [13]
21 Paddy Boyle/Marty Sherlock (Escort 2.0) [13]

Junior Entry list available from Tuesday 28th of June
Rally Programmes

Rally Programmes will be on sale at the Rally Headquarters and Petrol stations in Sligo

Programme includes, Maps, Timetable etc.
20/06/05
Border Championship Preview - Tight battle for Overall lead
The two dominant crews in their classes Shane Feely / Jim Mc Grath in Class 6 and Adrian Fox /Phillip Tobin in Class 10 , continue to match points and following Newry bring to four maximum scores they each have accrued in the Quinn Group Border Rally Championship at this early stage with a further two rounds still remaining. Round 4 on June 11th last , a Saturday event did experience a few class absentees but those registered making the trip made it worthwhile and in the championship leaders cases , it consolidated their positions both , with the Rockcorry men controlling class 10 from start to finish while the crew from Boyle set fastest in class 6 on all but three stages , matched times on a further two with the reigning Billy Coleman Award winner , Eamon Mc Elvaney. As we approach round 5 , home event of Feely and Mc Grath , the Sligo Stages , both them and Fox /Tobin will have disappointing memories of 2004 when both of our current championship leaders had early retirements.

With amalgamation of classes one , two and three , in Newry , little changes occurred on the points table , the only exception being the elevation of young Colin Duffy to top the Navigator table in Class 3 and even with a substantial entry in the showroom class 4, little impacted on the leading field.Leadsership in classes one and two remained static with both table leaders , Brendan Gormonly/ Aidan Gannon and Jarlath Barry/ Kieran Carroll heading into round 5 on familiar territory defending their positions.

Back in the Puma after being without it in Cavan , Andrew Mullen on this occasion without Elaine on board once again took the class to maintain that gap on the Donegal man Eamon Mc Cafferty while his navigator Toney Walsh capitalized on Elaine’s absence to move to the top of the class five table. Class seven was also unaffected , but one the top seeds in class eight and eventual overall winner of the Newry & Mourne event , Kevin Lynch now leads the class with two wins to date in the Quinn Group Championship.Thomas Carolan and Navigator David Smith from Kells widened the gap in class nine to a comfortable almost secure margin ,on their nearest class contenders Ronan Cox and Barry Mc Nulty suffering a further retirement.

Raymond Conlon and James O Reilly put another ten pointer on the championship table widening their lead in class eleven .As usual Class 12 was one of the tightest fought classes of the day between , Lancashire , Armstrong and Mc Phillips and only for a bad time set by Trevor on SS4 and Brian on SS5 results may have differed but on this occasion it was Gary Mc Phillips who took the class which tightens the gap in the championship with a point separating each of the top three , Lancashire and Hall topping the table and each of the three drivers having a retirement to use as a dropped round, all destined for a showdown in Sligo in July. The pace in the 2 litre 16valve class was extremely fast , reflected with class winner on this outing , Norman Armstrong finishing at seventh overall, but a six points captured by Gordon Rodgers / Phillip Mc Entee toppled Paddy Boyle’s earlier lead.The Monaghan battle still pertains in class 14 between the sporting rivals Enda Keenan / Paul Garry and Maurice Moffitt/Jason Mc Kenna , on paper holding matched scores but taking Keenan’s two dropped rounds against Moffits two retirements in Cavan and Monaghan, the Tydavnet has a two point edge , so it will take the remaining two rounds determine that class.

A finish at 27th overall allotted Brian Corey, unfortunately due to the declining class 15 entries ,only seven points on the table but he still remains with a comfortable lead on David Mc Nulty even taking into account a dropped round.
18/06/05
Latest Event News
With entries closing on Friday June 17th last numbers have well exceeded the two hundred mark , it looks that once again the Sligo Park Hotel /Tom Hunt Motors Sligo Stages Rally will start a 131 strong bumper field on Sunday July 10th. Being a counting round of both the Border and National Championship has been instrumental in attracting what will be very competitive element across all fifteen classes and with also the provision for class 16 , the juniors category , also attracting its own element of interest with the provision to start a further 20 at stage five .

Joe Corcoran , Clerk of the Course has carefully selected what will be generally accepted as varied , compact loop of three stages , each with its own individuality , with the capacity to present challenges across the whole class spectrum.

Ballybofey Autofactors Stage 1, over eleven miles long, is predominantly an open stage for the “not so faint hearted “ and will provide quite a challenge as the early opener of the day and if dry be an opportunity to set a formidable pace.

The Fallon Oils & Chemicals sponsored stage 2 is something of a contrast , containing a series of junctions along the ten miler of good grippy tar , encompassing some open fast sections.
The 8.5 mile stage 3 sponsored by Gusclad of mostly new territory and contains a multitude of variable junctions and tighter sections’’ a real drivers stage,’’maybe shortest in mileage but not in effort require of driver and navigator.
With also the accommodation for a further 20 crews to join the event at stage five , in accordance with Class 16 regulations, the Sligo Motorcycle and Lawnmower Centre sponsored category will give a further opportunity for young drivers secure an entry at a reduced entry fee and gain some valuable experience over the shorter stage milage .

At the recent launch of the Tom Hunt Motors/Sligo Park Hotel – Sligo Stages Rally , Joe Corcoran , Clerk of the Course ‘ thanked all the sponsors , the residents on route and his support committee and looked forward to a great competitive event on Sunday July 10th’ ‘.


Timetable
Pace Note Sign on –
Friday July 8th 20.00 – 22.00 hrs
Saturday July 9th 9.00 – 12.00 hrs

Pace Note Making -
Saturday July 9th 9.30 - 17.00 hrs

Mechanical Scrutiny -
Saturday July 9th 15.00 - 21.30 hrs

First Car Away – Sligo Park Hotel –
Sunday July 10th – 10.15

First Car Back - Sligo Park Hotel -
Sunday July 10th – 17.41

06/06/05
Junior Class
Messsage from Connacht Motor Club
It has come to our attention that the terms of entry for the Junior Class of the Sligo Stages Rally on the 10th of July are not quite clear.

For information the following are the main terms of the entry criteria.
1. Class 16 as per regulations
2. Drivers must be under 27 years of age on the 27th January
3. Appendix n 3.1 (2) refers
4. Entrants will join the Rally at Stage 5
5. Entry fee € 275

Please Note.
(A.) To date no entries have been received for this class and the club can start 20 such entries.
(B.) If competitors that have entices in already for the full rally would like to transfer to this class, please call Event Secretary Christina on 087 2415082 to discuss the details.

26/05/05
Entries open Monday 30th May 2005
Rally HQ, Sligo Park Hotel, Sligo
Format 3x3
Compact Loop - 80 Stage Miles - 65 Road Miles
Central Service Aera
Mechanical Scrutiny will take place on Saturday 09th July 2005, between 15.00 and 21.30 hrs, at Henderson Motors, Bundoran Rd., Sligo,
First Car Away Sunday 10th July 2005, 10.15
First Car Back Sunday 10th July 2005, 17.41

Topics: Sligo Stages Rally 

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