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Midland (Roscommon) Moto Stages Rally - 29 Apr 07

Posted: May 14, 2007 4:03 PM - 29288 Hits

Round 2 - 2007 Midlands East Rally Championship

  • 205s - WATERS WONDERFUL ON THE ROSCOMMON STAGES RALLY.
  • Video Clips
  • More Photos
  • Lynch & Moynihan win in Roscommon
  • Full Results and Times

Posted: May 14, 2007 4:03 PM


Photo: Joe Lane
205s - WATERS WONDERFUL ON THE ROSCOMMON STAGES RALLY.
Beautiful summer weather greeted the eleven Irish 205 Challenge crews in Roscommon town for the Midland motor club stages event. Four stages repeated lay ahead on the various lanes around the host town, with service after every two stages at the local racecourse.

Fastest out of the blocks was the Lucan lunatic Donal Crooke and Mark Feeley setting a brilliant time, 4 seconds quicker than round one winners Kerrill Waters/Ulton Mc Gowan. Next best was championship leader Kenneth Keyes/Arleigh Skully, 1 sec faster than Barry Mahon/Ollie O Grady. Rally winner here last year Niall Lynch/Derek Malone were next, 1 sec up on Paul Conlon/Dermot Mc Dermott who could only manage a sixth fastest time when their throttle stuck open at a junction, causing them to spin. Craig O Rourke/Diarmud Murphy matched the time set by Lynch but would suffer from fuel starvation for the rest of the day and would finish in 9th place at days end. DJ Browne/Torloc O Reilly were a sec back on this group, but very unhappy with their pace as was Dermot Mc Neill/Mark Kane who hoped to be much closer to the leaders. The Mc Gauran brothers, Damien and Thomas from Enniskillen claimed to be rusty having missed round two, but their day also got worse when a collision with a rock on stage two left them with one back wheel bent in under the car. With no spare, they struggled through the rest of the stages with the car behaving like a shopping trolley.

Stage two saw Waters fastest from Conlon by six seconds over an 11 mile stage , with Keyes and Lynch next best from Mahon and O Rourke. Mahon arrived at service with considerable damage to the front of his 205, and counting his lucky stars to be still in the event. Also in trouble were early leaders Crooke with a bad misfire, Mc Neill with battery problems and Norman Dunne/ Dave Collins who had a brake pipe burst and a gearbox stuck in fourth.

Waters continued to set the best times on stage three, going 3 seconds faster than Conlon with Keyes a further 5 seconds down. Mahon and Crooke matched times followed by Lynch and Browne. O Rourke would lose three minutes to the leaders on this stage with fuel starvation. The real fast stages suited the leader Waters who was quickest on stage four by 9 seconds from a tying Conlon and Mahon who was worried that his car was not pulling over a 100mph on the long straights. Lynch would retire at a tight junction when a driveshaft let go.

At second service the leader board showed Waters in front by 37 seconds from Conlon with Keyes 25 seconds further back and Mahon fourth just 7 seconds behind.

Stage five was cancelled for the I205C cars, so it was on too stage six and Waters continued to pip Conlon, by just 2 seconds. Crooke matched Conlons time with Keyes right up there, just 1 second slower. Browne, O Rourke and Mc Neill traded times but dropped further behind the frantic pace of the leaders.

Stage seven caused confusion with two groups of drivers getting held up behind cars that had blocked the stage. Waters, Conlon and Browne getting an organisers time of 7.45 that was 22 seconds quicker than Mahon who got through the stage without being held up.

The final stage saw Keyes equal Waters time of 7.15 with Conlon and Mahon tied on 7.16. Crooke and Browne also setting near identical times from McNeill and the troubled Mc Gauran and O Rourke cars.

A faultless display from Waters earned him 20 championship points moving him up to second in the challenge and co driver Mc Gowan the lead in the co drivers table. Such was their pace that they also class ten overall. Conlon drove hard but was worried all day about his car which has a strange appitite for clutch cables. Keyes continues to finish on the podium, this being his third in a row to keep his lead of the challenge by three points. Another break for the drivers who will tackle the ALMC stages rally on July the 1st before taking to the gravel roads on the Cork forest rally in August.

Results
1 Kevin Lynch/David Moynihan (Focus WRC) 57m 48s
2 Jack Sleator/Andrew Purcell (Impreza WRC) 59m 33s
3 Stephen Moore/Tony McHugh (Focus WRC) 60m 02s
4 Gareth Jones/Greg Shinnors (Subaru Impreza WRC) 61m 28s
5 Sean McArdle/Gerard McMonagle (Toyota Corolla WRC) 62m 26s
6 Eugene Ferry/John Gallagher (Ford Escort Mk2) 62m 52s
7 Conor Curley/Killian Duffy (Ford Escort Mk2) 63m 15s
8 Damien Finneran/Francis Kenny (Subaru Impreza WRC) 64m 02s
9 Fergal Costello/Shane Gilhooly (Mit. Lancer Evo 8) Gp N 64m 18s
10 Thomas Randles/ Ray Fitzpatrick (Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD) 64m 21s

Leaders After
SS1-8 Kevin Lynch/David Moynihan (Ford Focus WRC)

Stage Winners:
SS1 Kevin Lynch/David Moynihan (Ford Focus WRC)
SS2 Kevin Lynch/David Moynihan (Ford Focus WRC)
SS3 Gareth Jones/Greg Shinnors (Ford Focus WRC)
SS4 Kevin Lynch/David Moynihan (Ford Focus WRC)
SS5 Kevin Lynch/David Moynihan (Ford Focus WRC)
SS6 Kevin Lynch/David Moynihan (Ford Focus WRC)
SS7 Kevin Lynch/David Moynihan (Ford Focus WRC)
SS8 Kevin Lynch/David Moynihan (Ford Focus WRC)
PRE EVENT NEWS
  • Irish 205 challenge
  • Rally Preview
  • Entry List available
  • Time and Distance Schedule available
  • Midland Motor Club Launches Moto Stages Rally
  • Marshals Training Night – (Wed) 18 Apr 07
  • Regulations available to download
  • Event Details

Jacinta Carlos Road Safety Officer, Roscommon Co. Co,
Eoin Longworth COC,
Eamon Reilly Midland MC Chairman
and Superintendent Willie Gallagher Roscommon Gardai.
19/04/07
Irish 205 challenge
Round 3 of the Irish 205 challenge will be taking place at the Midland Moto stages Next weekend, which will see 12 identical 205 challenge cars battle it out over the 9 stages surrounding Roscommon town.
At present the championship leader is Kenneth Keyes from Tullamore with a five point cushion over Craig O'Rourke who has been finishing consistantly over the last two rounds also tied for points in third is Barry Mahon who has bounced back from a None finish on round one to Tie for points with Kerril Waters who was our round one winner. So the championship is as tight a battle as ever at the top.

Rally Preview
The 29th of April is approaching fast. Not as fast as the quality entry though. The top ten of this year’s Abbey Hotel Roscommon Moto Stages rally includes no less than 7 World Rally Car’s. Rally fans are definitely in for a treat with last year’s winner, Noel Mc Carrick, first on the road in his Subaru Impreza. 2nd on the road goes to last years runner up, Mullingar’s Jack Sleator in a similar Subaru Impreza. Third on the road and most impressive drive of last year’s event goes to Rodney Wilton in his ever-sideways Ford Escort Mk 2. It will take every inch of Rodney’s skill to keep the WRC posse at bay behind him. Starting at number 4 is Midland Motor Club’s Sean Gallagher from Carrick On Shannon in another Impreza. Sean last won the event in 2005 and is anxious to get his hands back on the Mickey Farrell Memorial Trophy. Starting at number 5 is Welshman Gareth Jones in a Ford Focus WRC. He has Limerick’s Greg Shinnors on the notes and are using the event as a “shakedown” for the Rally of the Lakes. Gareth will definitely be the one to watch given his International Tarmac career results to date. Starting at number 6 is Dublin’s Michael Barrable in another Ford Focus WRC. Michael has Midland Motor Club’s Dermot O’Gorman on the notes and will prove to be another pairing gunning for first place honours. Dermot commented that his home event is one of the few rallies he has left to conquer. At number 7, Stephen Moore might be more at home on the Northern Forestry Stages but he has decided to get a bit of Tarmac practice in Roscommon this year. Stephen is in a Ford Focus WRC and has Tony Mc Hugh on the notes. 8th on the road is Armagh’s Sean Mc Ardle in his Toyota Corolla WRC. The machinery might be slightly older but the hunger is still there. Starting at 9 is Longford’s Johnny Kelly and Robbie Shaw in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7. The Midland Motor Club crew are fresh from their Sleator Auto Midlands East Rally Championship victory and are eager to retain their title with a good result in Roscommon. Rounding off the top ten is Sligo’s Paul Kiely and Pat Mc Sharry in their Mitsubishi Evo 8.5.

Just outside the top ten come the entertainers. Mk 2 Escorts driven by the likes of Gordon Rogers, Eugene Ferry, Raymond Drury, Conor Curley and Thomas Mc Govern to name but a few will all be battling to take top Rear Wheel Drive honours from Rodney Wilton and keeping the spectators entertained with their sideways antics in the process.

Scrutiny takes place from 2:30pm on Saturday the 28th of April in Caseys Ford Garage on the Athlone Road in Roscommon. Then the action kicks off from The Abbey Hotel, Roscommon on Sunday the 29th of April at 10am with the first car returning to the finish ramp at 6:15pm. The crews will battle it out over 4 Special Stages repeated twice, returning to Service in Roscommon Racecourse after every 2 stages. The event is a counting round of the Sleator Auto Midlands East Rally Championship, The Irish 205 Challenge and is also the opening round of the Mk 2 Championship.

Entry List available
Time and Distance Schedule available
11/04/07
Midland Motor Club Launches Moto Stages Rally
The 2007 Abbey Hotel Roscommon / Casey’s Auto Group Moto-Stages Rally, will be staged in Co. Roscommon on the weekend of the 28th and 29th April. Organised by the Midland Motor Club, the rally coincides with the culmination of the United Nations Road Safety Week. Midland Motor Club will use the event to promote road safety in the region in conjunction with An Garda Siochana and Roscommon County Council’s road safety officer.

Marshals will wear luminous vests with the “Think Road Safety” message emblazoned on the back, while signage promoting the road safety message will be erected on roads throughout the area. Eoin Longworth, Clerk of the Course outlined the event and said the club was delighted to be back in Roscommon with its HQ in the Abbey Hotel. Roscommon Garda Superintendent Willie Gallagher congratulated the club on the work they had done and in particular on the road safety theme.

Meanwhile entries are still coming in with closing date this week 12th April. While the main field will have 150 competitors there will also be a junior and historic section to the rally. Marshals are required to run the event and the club are asking all members to assist over the week-end. The Chief marshal can be contacted at 087 2519266 (between 7-9 pm) if you are available to assist on Friday, Saturday or Sunday of the week-end.

Marshals Training Night – (Wed) 18 Apr 07
A Motorsport Ireland marshals training night is scheduled for 18th April in the Abbey Hotel commencing at 7.30pm. All marshals or intending marshals should attend this important training night.

09/03/07
20/02/07
Event Details
Midland Motor Club are pleased to announce details of their upcoming Moto Stages rally to be held on the 29th April 2007 with the event returning to Roscommon, while main sponsors will once again be the excellent Abbey Hotel.

Both Eoin Longworth, Clerk of the Course and Mr. Tommy Grealy (Manager of the Abbey Hotel) are delighted to have the event back in the Roscommon region. The Club are also pleased to have Casey’s Auto Group as associate sponsor.

This year’s event will see 150 competitors off the start ramp while an Historic and Junior rally will compete over the final 4 stages.

The 2007 event will consist of 8 stages, 4 stages repeated twice around the Roscommon area with servicing between each 2 stages. The rally is once again a round of the Sleator Opel Midlands East Rally Championship.

Regulations for this event are will be available from the 2nd week in March and will be available from the clubs website www.midlandmotorclub.com or further information can be obtained from
The rally Secretary
at (043) 47819 (+353 43 47819)between 7pm and 9pm
or Assistant Clerk of the course at 087 7782687 (+353 87 7782687) (PM Only).

Topics: Midland Stages Rally 

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