Enniskillen Lakelands Stages Rally - (Sat) 8 Sep 07

Posted: September 20, 2007 2:27 PM

---

Fiestas - Fisher lands the Lakeland…
Local driver and FST championship leader Alastair Fisher, 19 from Enniskillen, took the sixth and penultimate round of the Fiesta SportingTrophy Ireland, the Lakeland Rally.

Fisher, with co(driver Barry McNulty, took victory after a day long battle with 18(year(old Jonathan Greer, from Carryduff, over the nine gravel stages in the spectacular scenery of County Fermanagh.

With the day dawning overcast but dry, drivers in the BF Goodrich supported FST Ireland series started the event from the grounds of event sponsors Fisher Engineering in Ballinamallard in confident mood. The sixth round of the FST Ireland series was the second event in the championship on a gravel surface helping the drivers with more experience on this type of condition.

In comparison with the previous round of the championship, this event was an out and out sprint with just 43 miles of stages available – an early advantage would prove invaluable. With the first special stage cancelled after an accident, crews where left to commence battle on the nine mile ‘Carrigans’ stage. Fisher opened his account on this event with fastest time, 3s up on second placed driver Greer, who was once again co(driven by Jonny Hart.

In trouble on the first stages was 18(year(old Dromore man Kyle Orr and co(driver Peter O’Toole. After a promising run to third on the previous round of the championship Orr, former junior rallycross champion, was hopeful of a good result. However, this was not to be as the crew were caught out early into the stage, leaving the road and becoming beached on a log pile, with no damage to the car but forced to retire on the spot.

The third stage, ‘Big Dog’, saw drama for Greer. A puncture close to the start of the 2.3 mile stage meant that Fisher was able to extend his lead by another 16s. Second on the stage for 22(year(old Letterkenny man Conor Harvey emphasised how he has improved his gravel pace since the Cork Forestry event. Harvey, with new co(driver Kenny Bustard, was able to hold third position overall and keep his championship challenge very much alive. In trouble on this stage was FST IE round one winner Tadhg Buckley, 25 from Ballyhaunis Co. Mayo, with younger brother and co(driver Shane. The pair suffered a front puncture and dropped 48s to their rivals to plummet them to last in the FST rankings.

Stage four, the 2.3 miles of Connagher, saw Greer take his first fastest time of the day and claw back 3s of Fisher's advantage to enter service in the town of Garrison, on the banks of the beautiful Lough Melvin, 16s down on his rival with Harvey in third. Jonathan Greer’s older brother Barry Greer, 20 from Carryduff, and co(driver John Lemon held fourth. Series returnee Paul Quinn was competing from the first time since Killarney and his first time on gravel since the Pirelli Rally in May. Quinn, from Dungannon, was able to use some of his local knowledge to maintain fifth position.

The second loop of stages were a repeat of the morning’s schedule. The fifth stage, Ballintempo, fell to Greer who completed the 4.6 mile test 2s faster than his brother Barry, who scored an excellent second fastest time. Series leader, Fisher, punctured a wheel close to the end of the stage and lost 4s to Jonathan Greer.

Stage six, the nine mile ‘Carrigan’ test saw Jonathan Greer repeat his stage win, this time taking another 5s from Fisher to reduce the time gap to just 7s.

Stage seven saw both Fisher and Jonathan Greer share fastest time, both drivers 3s faster than Barry Greer and Buckley; who shared equal third fastest time.

Stage eight saw a big effort from Jonathan Greer to take another 2s from Fisher to enter the second and final service area of the day just 5s in arrears. However, evidence of how hard they had been trying was clear as the team took the decision to replace the rear beam which had become bent.

With only the 3.4 miles of the final stage to go, the service crews jumped to action to check and double check the cars to make sure there would be no problems.

With only 5s between the leading crews, they both threw caution to the wind and pushed with a maximum attack. Victorious on the stage, with a time that put them fifth fastest overall in the rally and crucially 2s faster than their nearest rivals, were Fisher and McNulty. This was their second win of the year and it confirms Fisher's position at the top of the championship table with just one round to go.

Despite a huge effort, the time lost with a puncture earlier in the event meant that Greer and Hart had to settle for second place on the event and second in the championship.

A last minute push from Barry Greer to finish third on the special stage was in vain as he lost out on the final podium position of the event by just 1s to Harvey and Bustard.

After their earlier puncture the Buckley brothers managed to claim fifth place championship points leaving Quinn and co(driver Jason Gillespie to collect the €150 EUR and 16 points for finishing sixth.

In the Castrol Hard Charger award, the competition was once again very tight with Fisher scoring four fastest times but Greer claimed five to take the prize.

At the finish, 18(year(old Alastair Fisher from Enniskillen said: “I am delighted to win on home soil. Jonathan pushed me hard all day and we had a good battle. It leaves things very close going into the final round. ”

---

Moore closes in on double title success at Fisher Engineering Lakeland Stages Rally!
Victory at Saturday's Fisher Engineering Lakeland Stages Rally has propelled Stephen Moore into the lead of the Pacenotes Northern Ireland Stage Rally Championship!

The Pomeroy property developer, who sealed Irish National Forestry Championship success just a few weeks ago, is now 10 points ahead of Glenn Allen after Allen failed to make the start of the Enniskillen based event.

Allen's Toyota Corolla WRC is still in Holland where it was sent after an accident during a round of the Irish National Championship severely damaged the car. His title hopes are still very much alive though, as seven scores from the 10 round Pacenotes series count towards the overall result.

Allen may have been missing from the Lakeland start list but Stephen Moore and Tony McHugh still had to contend with plenty of opposition. In fact, it was Sean Devine and Damien Duffin who took the early lead in their Subaru Impreza WRC. Fastest by two seconds from Moore on the opening stage, Devine had grabbed the rally lead with both hands.

Unfortunately, only Devine and Moore completed that opening test as Raymond Johnston and Richard Bell went off the road in their Subaru Impreza WRC. Johnston, who was debuting his newly acquired S9 Subaru, slipped off the road near the start of the test and his navigator was taken to hospital as a precaution.

"I didn't think it was that big of an accident," Johnston said. "We just slipped sideways into a drain, although it was a fairly sudden stop. Whatever way Richard was sitting with his head down reading the notes, he hurt his neck. So they put a collar on him and it turned out that he has pulled a few ligaments, but thankfully he's going to be fine."

All following crews were awarded nominal times for the stage so the event continued on stage two. Leader Sean Devine and Stephen Moore both beat the bogey time, but one stage later Devine extended his lead to three seconds. Moore fought back, taking three seconds out of his rival on stage four to leave them level pegging going into service.

With the cars ready for another loop of stages, it was Devine who caught Moore on the back foot. He was fastest by six seconds on stage five, taking his rival by surprise. But it was all change at the top once more on stage six as Strabane's Devine hit trouble. His Subaru punctured on what was the longest stage of the rally, leaving his bid for victory in tatters.

"That stage lost us the rally," Devine rued. "The car just came over a crest and when she landed, the side of the tyre blew out. So we had to do about six miles on a flat wheel. It was disappointing as we really wanted to win that one, but that's rallying."

Moore was actually 31 seconds faster than Devine on this stage, but as he beat the bogey time once again, he only grabbed the lead by 12 seconds. It was still all to play for and with Devine back in fine form, he mounted an attack. Fastest on stage seven saw him cut Moore's lead to 11 seconds, but his rival replied and equalled his time through the penultimate test.

With one stage remaining, it was Stephen Moore and Tony McHugh who were on the verge of their second Pacenotes championship victory of the year, but they almost threw it away during the closing miles! In a heart stopping moment, their Ford Focus WRC stalled mid-stage and they lost a handful of seconds, but they had done enough to seal victory by seven seconds from Sean Devine and Damien Duffin!

"I didn't know how much time we had lost on the final stage," Moore recalled. "We stalled at a square right where the stage goes onto tarmac. I had to reverse but Sean only took four seconds out of us at the finish so it wasn't too bad! Now we're leading the championship on paper but Glenn (Allen) still has the edge so we have to keep winning!"

Outside the leading duo, Richard Cathcart and Paul McLoughlin had a superb day in their Group N Impreza to seal third overall. The crew were spectacular in the forests, and despite having less power than their WRC compatriots, they finished in a very comfortable third position, and first in the Sunoco Fuels Group N category.

Fourth overall went to Richard Hogg and Mark Hanna, despite suffering with a misfire in their Skoda Octavia WRC. They finished 12 seconds ahead of Raymond Mason and Peter Martin, with Seamus Devine and Terry McGonigle completing the top six ahead of Kevin O'Kane and Martin Brady.

In the Superdrive sponsored two wheel drive category, Adrian Hetherington and Graham Henderson kept their Mark 2 Escort between the hedges to finish as top two wheel drive crew. They completed the event in eighth overall, just 11 seconds ahead of Frank Kelly and Aiden Friel.

• Download Full Results and Stagetimes

---

Rallynews (by Brian & Liz Patterson)

Photos:
TPM Photosport
Motorsport Photography by Anthony Hunter
rallypics.org

Enniskillen Motor Club

• 2007 Northern Ireland Rally Championship
• 2007 Irish Fiesta Sporting Trophy

---

PRE EVENT NEWS

• Allen and Moore fishing for Fermanagh rally victory...
• Top 20 Entries
• Fiestas Face Fermanagh Forest Challenge
• Regulations available

---

04/09/07
Allen and Moore fishing for Fermanagh rally victory...
This weekend's Fisher Engineering Lakeland Stages Rally sees the Pacenotes N.I. Rally Championship return to action in what could be a crucial event for the two main title contenders.

Cookstown's Glenn Allen currently heads the standings from newly crowned Southern Forestry Champion, Stephen Moore. In fact, Allen leads by a slender six points but with four maximum points scores to his name, Moore must start winning rallies if he is to have any chance of a double title success this year.

Pomeroy's Moore was the surprise victor at Kirkistown in February but since then, his rally wins have all been scored at the Irish Forestry Championship. He was crowned champion just a few weeks ago, so now he has turned his full attention to the Northern Ireland series.

The Fisher Engineering event marks round seven of the 10 round Pacenotes series, so title success still has the potential of going in either man's favour. There also will be plenty of battles throughout the field at this Saturday's event, which includes the Sunoco Fuels Group N category and Superdrive two-wheel-drive class battles.

Scrutiny takes place between 6.30pm and 9.30pm on Friday at Fisher Engineering in Ballinamallard, before the event starts in earnest on Saturday morning. Competitors will tackle nine stages in the County Fermanagh forests, before the winner will be announced at Lough Erne Hotel, Kesh.

---

Top 20
1 Glenn Allen Damien Connolly Toyota Corolla WRC
2 Sean Devine Damien Duffin Subaru Impreza WRC
3 Stephen Moore Tony McHugh Ford Focus WRC
4 Raymond Johnston Richard Bell Subaru Impreza WRC
5 Richard Hogg Mark Hanna Skoda Octavia WRC
6 Garry Jennings Rory Kennedy Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9
7 Niall McShea Marshall Clarke TBA
8
9 Errol Clarke Sean Ferris Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9
10 Eoin McErlean Donard McCann Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8
11 Raymond Mason Peter Martin Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9
12 Howard Clarke Jason Harron Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9
14 Richard Cathcart Paul McLoughlin Subaru Impreza N11
15 Kevin O'Kane Martin Brady Subaru Impreza WRC
16 Craig Bennett Alan Shilliday Metro 6R4
17 Seamus Devine Terence McGonigle Subaru Impreza WRC
18 Brendan Connor Alan Redstone Subaru Impreza WRC
19 Ian Cochrane Justin Dilworth Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 7
20 Enda McNulty TBA Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6

With a record 116 entries and with a good weather forecast, all is set for the Fisher Engineering Lakeland Stages Rally, promoted by Enniskillen Motor Club on Saturday, the 8th September.
The rally over 43 miles of forest in west Fermanagh is a round of the Pacenotes Northern Ireland Rally Championship and the penultimate round of the Irish Fiesta Sporting Trophy, both tightly contested.

Scrutiny takes place on Friday night at the Fisher Engineering complex in Ballinamallard, with the rally starting from the same venue at 09:30 Saturday. Service will be in Garrison village with the rally finishing at the Lough Erne Hotel in Kesh.

Programmes will be available at Scrutiny and at the rally start.

Enniskillen Motor Club

• 2007 Northern Ireland Rally Championship
• 2007 Irish Fiesta Sporting Trophy

---

01/09/07
Fiestas Face Fermanagh Forest Challenge
The Fiesta SportingTrophy IE moves north of the border next weekend for the final gravel event and penultimate round in this year’s series, the Fisher Engineering Stages Rally. Eight registered competitors will line up at the start ramp in Balinamallard next Saturday morning for what promises to be a battle royale for overall honours.

Alastair Fisher and Barry McNulty currently lead the series after five rounds and go into next week’s event with a two+point lead over Carryduff man Jonathan Greer. Both drivers are also competing in the UK FST championship which is a predominantly gravel based series so both should feel right at home on the loose surface of the Fermanagh forests. Greer will once again be co+driven by Jonny Hart.

Conor Harvey, 22 from Letterkenny led the series after round two but dropped to third overall following his retirement from round five, the Jim Walsh Cork Forestry Rally at the beginning of the month. Conor was lying in third place on the event, behind Greer and Fisher, before gearbox problems called a halt to his rally.

He will be keen to finish the Lakeland based event and keep his championship hopes alive for the return to his preferred surface, the asphalt based Cork ‘20’ Rally at the end of September. With dropped scores taken into account, Conor is still very much in contention for the 2007 Fiesta SportingTrophy title.

Tadhg Buckley, 25 from Ballyhaunis is currently in fourth place after five rounds and will also be keen to finish the event and close the gap to Harvey who currently holds a 23+point advantage over the Mayo man. Tadhg who led the series after a victory on round one will once again be co+ driven by his brother Shane.

Kyle Orr from Dromore in County Down will be aiming to improve his third place finish on round five. A consistent pace over the gravel stages of north Cork saw him move up the championship leader board from seventh place to fifth and he currently holds a six+point advantage over Enniskillen man William Mavitty. Peter O’Toole will make a return to the co+driver seat next week to guide Kyle through the Lakeland forests.

Local driver William Mavitty will be hoping for a strong finish on his local event. William has not competed on the event before but he is no stranger to gravel rallies, having taken part in the UK FST series last year.

Barry Greer and John Lemon will be hoping for a finish next weekend to make up for their retirement from the Cork Forestry Rally. Making a return to the series are Paul Quinn and Jason Gillespie who sat out of the last two rounds. Paul, 20 from Dungannon will be hoping for a trouble free run following two retirements so far this season.

The rally will begin from the Fisher Engineering complex in Ballinamallard on Saturday morning and will finish in the village of Kesh on the banks of Lough Erne on Saturday evening. The rally will cover 43 competitive miles over nine stages in the Fermanagh region.

The FST drivers who are competing for a prize fund of over €2,700 EUR on the event will be giving 100% commitment and should be able to produce the same excellent stage times that have seen them shine on previous events.

Championship leader Alastair Fisher, 19 from Enniskillen said:
“I am looking forward to the rally and hope to build on my championship lead. Things are very close between me and Jonathan and it will be a good battle. Conor (Harvey) could also be one to watch so I will see how the first couple of stages go.”

---

14/08/07
Saturday 8th September
43 miles of forest stages
Regs and entry form on line at

Enniskillen Motor Club

• 2007 Northern Ireland Rally Championship
• 2007 Irish Fiesta Sporting Trophy