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Tom White Memorial (Limerick) Forestry Rally (Replacing Wicklow) - 15 Apr 07

Posted: April 17, 2007 1:15 PM - 13109 Hits

Round 3 - 2007 National Forestry Championship

  • EMMA SHOWS SHES ABLE FOR WRC CAR ON ALL SURFACES
  • More Photos
  • Lynch/Moynihan win in Limerick
  • Event Report
  • Results

Photo: Joe Lane

Posted: April 17, 2007 1:15 PM

EMMA SHOWS SHES ABLE FOR WRC CAR ON ALL SURFACES
Round 3 of the Hankook Tyres southern forestry championship was to be an important milestone in the career of rising star Emma Mckinstry. Having already driven the car to good effect on the previous weekend’s UAC Easter Rally, it was now time for Emma to debut the S8 Impreza WRC on gravel.

While Kenny Mckinstry was setting the pace over the first loop of stages to lead at first service, Emma was having a ball, and delighted to be in 13th place overall.

Emma and co-driver Kenny Hull, headed out to the second run over the three stages with the objective of improving their times and were hopeful of a top ten finish. The pair kept their heads and were delighted to see considerable improvement in their second run over the stages. By second service they were delighted to find themselves in 9th place overall, while Kenny Mckinstry had a costly spin and had slipped down to fourth place.

With Seamus O’Connell a mere six seconds behind in 10th place Emma couldn’t afford any slip ups over the remaining short stage. And true to form Emma brought the Mckinstry motorsport S8 to the finish unscathed and in a fine 9th place overall. Collecting honours for third in class 7 into the bargain, the class which incidentally was won by Kenny Mckinstry.

Once again Emma and Kenny are delighted with this result, and would like to extend special thanks to Hankook Tyres, Kiverco Recycling Systems, Triton Showers, Shannon Holdings and McGaffin Contracts for their continued support.

A big special thanks to Kenny Mckinstry for the opportunity to use such a fantastic car.


Cronin & O’Conaill make it 2 in a row in GpN
Photo: Mark Maguire
Event Report
It was a case of in with the new and the return of the old for the Tom White Memorial Limerick Forestry Rally, the new event flourished while 2004 champion Kevin Lynch was yet again put in a successful performance on his return to the series. Round 3 of the Hankook Tyres National forestry championship was a new and in fact sudden arrival on the 07 Calendar to the credit of Limerick M.C and C.O.C Bill Fitzgerald they managed put together an excellent event in weeks rather than months after the unfortunate loss of the Wicklow event from the calendar.

The rally began in bright sunshine and a buzz of excitement as the cars gathered for the start outside the Ballintemple Inn on the outskirts of Newcastle West. Dust was the main topic for discussion amongst the crews as this was to be the first event of this year with such a long dry spell in the build up to the event. The stages were very fast also, in fact the long straights of stage one were a big challenge with its many deep ditches waiting to catch any crew who would wander off line. Number 1 seeds Stephen Moore & Tony McHugh stopped the clocks for the 6km test at just 3:15, Kenny McKinstry was next on 3:13 as he and Sean Mullaly got into the groove of the S9 Subaru WRC on the fast gravel. Kevin Lynch & David Moynihan then came storming through in the KPL Focus with no71 on the door as they were late entrants but running 3rd car on the road they set fastest time by 3 seconds from McKinstry. Next on the timesheets came Andrew Purcell & Mick Courtney as they stopped the clocks on 3:15, equalling Moore to hold joint 3rd o/a. Dominic Mc Neil & Francis Kenny were next at 3:17 followed by Kevin O Kane & Martin Brady on 3:18. Brian McGillin & David Doherty found the stage 1 rhythm difficult to find and were on a 3:20 but safe in the knowledge with stage 1 behind them that there was more to come. Keith Cronin & Anthony O Connail was fastest Grp N taking 7 seconds out of Colin Britton and 8th overall. In 2wd Frank Kelly & Liam Brennan had a 2 second lead over Brian Lawlor and Connor Foley.

The rally moved to SS2 which was the 7.2 km Banane stage again a fast stage with some tricky downhill corners and it was to be this stage where the dust really began to linger. Rally leader Kevin Lynch found the Focus to be bottoming out over some of the fast crests and this slowed him slightly to 6th fastest and allowing Kenny McKinstry to set fastest time and gain 12 seconds back to lead the rally by 5 seconds. Andrew Purcell was second fastest on the stage and this gave him second overall on the rally and 2seconds in front of 3rd o/a Moore. With Mc Gillen finding his pace he was 3rd fastest on the stage and moved to 5th o/a 2 seconds behind Lynch who was now 4th and in front of O Kane who was 5th. Keith Cronin was still the benchmark GrpN as he took his Hankook backed Evo7 into 8th o/a taking another 4 seconds out of second GrpN Colin Britton in his Evo8.

Stage 3 was the real test of the rally at 12.7km and the mid day sun and light wind meant that again some dust was hanging in the air, however this did not seem to deter the spectators and many of the stages junctions had all good vantage points occupied as the fans came out to watch the battle up front. Lynch & Moynihan put on a charge to take back what stage 2 had cost them, taking 6 seconds out of McKinstry they moved back into second and heading to the mid day service they were just 3 seconds off McKinstrys lead. Yet they were not the fastest, this honour fell to McGillin & Doherty as they stopped the clocks one second quicker than the KPL focus. This time moved the McGillin Bros Hyundai to 3rd 0/A. Andrew Purcell began to slow with a noisy gearbox which would see him retire at the end of the stage rather than risk any terminal damage to the gearbox. Kevin O Kane & Kenny McKinstry were joint 3rd fastest 4 seconds up on Moore as he took his Focus to 4th o/a just one in front of O Kane & Brady in 5th. James Murphy was slowing after trouble with power steering which would eventually force him and co driver John Brennan to retire the Escort WRC , and the same fate was waiting for Dominic Mc Neil & Francis Kenny as they too suffered power steering failure and retirement.

In GrpN it was still Cronin & O Connail as they took another 13 from Britton and he in turn was 19 seconds up on next GrpN challenger Sean Heaney. In 2wd Frank Kelly & Liam Brennan led from Seamus O Connell & Brian Duggan as a spin dropped a place for the Lawlor piloted StoneMad Escort.

After service and ss4 was where arguably the rally was won and lost as McKinstry had a spin dropping 33 seconds to the charging Lynch. This left Kenny down at 5th o/a and KPL back in the lead by 8 seconds from McGillin. Stephen Moore & Tony McHugh came back into 3rd o/a after second fastest on the stage a time which was equalled by Keith Cronin in the Hankook Evo. Kevin O Kane held 4th now despite a stall at the start of ss4 costing about 10 seconds.

Lynch went fastest again on ss5 taking another 5seconds from second fastest Moore and 6secs from McGillin. McKinstry was playing catch up and moved into 4th o/a. Then stage 6 was no different as the Lynch/Moynihan charge continued with another fastest time which saw their lead extend to 20seconds. The real race now was for second as McGillin held 2nd o/a by just 4 seconds in front of Moore. McKinstry & Mullaly were a further 16 seconds back holding 4th by 7 seconds from O Kane & Brady.

The final stage was a reversal of the first stage of the morning and Lynch cruised through taking an almost unflustered victory, almost because a big slide through the finish boards resulted in a little wide which damaged the rear bumper of the Focus but it was a small blemish on an otherwise picture perfect day. The former champion came to pay a fleeting visit and came away with yet another commanding victory. McKinstry and Mullaly were not to be outdone however, they were the early challengers of the rally but for a time consuming spin on stage 4, as if to show that they were not to be forgotten they set a stormer of a time through SS7 to take fastest by 3 seconds ahead of Moore.

And what of Moore, well he went into the short stage just 4 seconds down on McGillin in the battle for 2nd o/a his final stage push saw him take 6 out of McGillin and snatch 2nd by just 2 scant seconds all after 7 stages of fast Limerick gravel! However this is not to take away from the performance of Brian McGillin & David Doherty this result proves they are really getting literally into the swing of this new Hyundai and are a force to be reckoned with.

McKinstry & Mullaly were 4th and 9 seconds in front of Kevin O Kane & Martin Brady. With Grp N winner Keith Cronin & Anthony O Connail taking 6th o/a. It was 2 McKinstry Subaru WRC’s in the top ten as Emma McKinstry & Kenny Hull made good their gravel debut in the S8 Subaru to finish 9th overall and 3rd in class.

In 2wd it was yet again the day of Frank Kelly & Liam Brennan followed by Seamus O Connell & Brian Duggan with Brian Lawlor & Connor Foley 3rd.

This meant Frank Kelly was the winner of the Superdrive Award as with every round of the championship this year the top 2wd crew win the Superdrive prize and with it comes a voucher from www.superdriveni.com for part payment of entry fees for another round of the Championship to the value of €150.00 for first 2WD and €75.00 for 2nd place 2WD.

Class winners on the day included: Andrew Fanning & Declan Grogan in the Class 1 Ka, David Dunne & Ciaran O Connor in Class 2. Ciaran Mahon & Connor Bruton took class 3. Michael O Sullivan & Brian O Connor were class 4 winners. In Class 5 it was Frank Kelly. Class 6 was Connie Smith & Breen McNamee. Class 7 Kenny McKinstry Class 8 Keith Cronin and finally Class 9 was won by Garry Higgins & Keith Murray.

So it was a day of great success for both Kevin Lynch as he took his Focus WRC to its first gravel event and first gravel victory, and it was another success story for the club, the championship was given a great rally which ran like clockwork and the stages provided excellent competition. The next round of the Hankook Forestry championship is round 4 which means we will be crossing the halfway point already, and if Limerick form is anything to go by the competition will not be slowing down!


Kelly/Brennan first 2WD
Photo: Ray Gavin
Results
1 Kevin Lynch/David Moynihan (Ford Focus WRC) 30m 36s,
2 Stephen Moore/Tony McHugh (Ford Focus WRC) 30m 58s,
3 Brian McGillin/David Doherty (Hyundai Accent WRC) 31m 00s,
4 Kenny McKinstry/Sean Mullally (Subaru Impreza WRC) 31m 16s,
5 Kevin O’Kane/Martin Brady (Subaru Impreza WRC) 31m 32s,
6 Keith Cronin/Anthony O’Conaill (Mit. Lancer Evo 7) GpN 31m 48s,
7 Colin Britton/Arthur Kierans (Mit. Lancer Evo 8) GpN 32m 47s,
8 Frank Kelly/Liam Brennan (Ford Escort 2.0) 33m 09s,
9 Emma McKinstry/Kenny Hull (Subaru Impreza WRC) 33m 23s,
10 Seamus O’Connell/Brian Duggan (Ford Escort BDA) 33m 28s.

Leaders After:
SS1 Kevin Lynch/David Moynihan (Ford Focus WRC)
SS2 Kenny McKinstry/Sean Mullally (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS3-7 Kevin Lynch/David Moynihan (Ford Focus WRC)

Stage Winners:
SS1 Kevin Lynch/David Moynihan (Ford Focus WRC)
SS2 Kenny McKinstry/Sean Mullally (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS3 Brian McGillin/David Doherty (Hyundai Accent 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 Kenny McKinstry/Sean Mullally (Subaru Impreza WRC)

Full Results and Times:

Kenny McKinstry, with Sean Mullally co-driving in Action on SS1.
PRE EVENT NEWS
  • Kevin Lynch places late Entry.
  • Scrutiny venue has changed.
  • Time and Distance
  • Emma McKinstry to use S8
  • Mick Courtney to sit with Andrew Purcell
  • Map and GPS Coordinates of HQ/Scrunity
  • Event Preview
  • Entry List
  • Entries still available.
  • Regulations available.
  • Limerick Forestry Rally to replace Wicklow Event.

At the presentation of marshals Bibs for round 3 of
the Hankook Irish Forestry Rally Championship, the Tommy
White Memorial Forestry Rally were
(from left to right) Mike Mulcahy (President of Limerick Motor
Club), Emma Roche, Ian Roche (Sponsors of the Rally),
and Bill Fitzgerald (Clerk of the Course).
Photo: www.autopix.ie
12/04/07
Kevin Lynch places late Entry.
Former champion Kevin Lynch has placed an entry in his KPL Utilities 2005 spec Ford Focus WRC. David Moynihan will co drive.
This will be Lynch's first outing on the loose with the Focus.

Scrutiny venue has changed
The Scrutiny venue has changed from that as published in the Regulations.

  Scrutiny venue is now:  
Old Pallas Foods site in Newcastle West. It is next to Dan Mulcahy Motor Factors on the ring road around the town about 800m from the HQ.  

Scrutiny time 15:30 - 20:00

Paper scrunity must be completed before Mechanical Scrunity.

Emma McKinstry to use S8
Emma McKinstry and Co-driver Kenny Hull are expected to use the Impreza S8 this weekend.

Mick Courtney to sit with Andrew Purcell

HQ (Ballintemple INN) & Scrutiny (Old Pallas Foods site) in the Marked area.

On reaching Newcastlewest from Limerick follow the signs for Foynes.

Approx. GPS Coordinates:
52°27'27.39" x 9°3'58.21" (N52.45761 W9.06617)


Map: www.mapquest.co.uk
Event Preview
Round 3 of the Hankook Tyres National forestry championship is finally here and ready to go, after some early disappointment when the M.E.C club withdrew their event having found themselves in a difficult situation with available stage mileage it was to the credit of Limerick M.C and C.O.C Bill Fitzgerald that they managed to knuckle down and prepare a replacement event at short notice and now the championship finds itself back to the status quo of 7 rounds.

The Limerick Forestry rally is new to many, but having last ran in October 2000 is only relatively new to some, and in an interesting coincidence appeared in the 1998 calendar as a replacement for….. Yes you guessed it Wicklow! Limerick stepped in to run in October '98 because Wicklow had to cancel that year due to the deer rutting season, that year it was won by Dermot Kelly & Greg Shinnors in an Escort Cosworth. In Jan 00 the event had snow and black ice to contend with and it was Dominic McNeil & Francis Regan who would triumph in the conditions, hopefully the chance of such conditions in April 07 are very unlikely!

The rally last made an appearance in October 00 and was won by Kevin O Kane & Stephen Griffiths in a Grp A Impreza. The rally was then known as the Thomond rally and was run out of Limerick city.

Now the resurgent event has a new base in Newcastle West and more importantly as a mark of respect to the recently deceased competitor the event will now be know as “The Tom White Memorial Rally” Tom was a well known and respected clubman in the area and it is a fitting tribute to his memory that a local event should carry his name, may he rest in peace.

Championship Leader Stephen Moore and Co driver Tony McHugh will lead the 70 crews from the start ramp of this RocheGroup.ie supported event. The rally begins at Ballintemple Inn Newcastle West and Stephen will be followed over the start ramp by a serious challenger in Kenny McKinstry in his S9 Subaru, the same car driven by Marko Martin in Cork last October and a car Kenny will be more than ready to take to the top of the time sheets. Kenny will be ably assisted by local co driver Sean Mullally.

Next seed is Kevin O Kane & Martin Brady in the Subaru WRC. Kevin is of course a former winner of the old version of this event and will be hopeful of a solid points haul here on this revitalised event. At Number 4 Brian McGillin & David Doherty take their Hyundai Accent WRC to this event having recently tasted success on the Omagh Spring forest event, Brian should start having new confidence in the Accent after this victory and therefore he will be one to look for on the time sheets of this rally. No 5 is James Murphy & John Brennan in the Escort WRC, surely due a clean run of luck in the Escort this pair will also be at the sharp end of time sheets given half a chance.

Trevor Harding & Alistair Wylie missed the last round due to a back injury suffered by Trevor, they now return seeded at number 6 in the Subaru WRC car. Dominic Mc Neil & Francis Kenny are at 7 in their potent ex M Sport Escort WRC, they debuted this car at the last round only to be sidelined by minor mechanical woes, and their return to the stages will no doubt see them increase the early speed. 8 seed and top GrpN boy is Keith Cronin & Anthony O Connell, this pair were the stars of the last round. In their Hankook backed Evo 7 they even lead the rally after 2 stages. An award winner in the Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman young driver scheme, Keith has impressed on so many occasions in this championship and no doubt he will be a front runner again this weekend.

At 9 is Andrew Purcell and he will be driving the Subaru Impreza that won this rally in October 2000. A small engine fire ended his rally on round 2 while he was holding 3rd o/a so if mechanical issues do not blight him in Limerick then expect more of the same. Rounding out the top ten is Stuart Darcy & Andy O Donoghue they gelled together well on round 2 and took the Mitsubishi to 3rd o/a again.

In the battle of the Escorts no 14 Seamus O Connell & Brian Duggan are top 2wd men just starting in front of Frank Kelly & Liam Brennan, this pairing are also coming from recent success on the Omagh spring rally. So expect the pace to be flat out from the word go. Brian Lawlor & Connor Foley are right behind them in their Stonemad Mk2 and undoubtedly they will be right in the thick of this battle.

As with every round of the championship this year the top 2wd crew win the Superdrive prize and with it comes a voucher from www.superdriveni.com for part payment of entry fees for another round of the Championship to the value of €150.00 for first 2WD and €75.00 for 2nd place 2WD.
  • Stage 1 is Sugar Hill at just less than 6km; this is a challenging stage as an opener with many deep ditches waiting to catch the unwary. It will be repeated as SS4.
  • Stage 2 is Banane and is 7.2km, it will also be repeated as SS5
  • Stage 3 is Reanahoun and this is a challenging 12.7km and shall be repeated as SS6.
  • The final Stage Garryduff is 6km and will be visited just once for SS7
So yet again we have the scene set for the third round of the 2007 Hankook Tyres National Forest Rally Championship, looking forward to seeing you all in a hopefully sunny Newcastle West.

Rally HQ & Documentation: BALLINTEPMLE INN
NEWCASTLE WEST
CO. LIMERICK
PLEASE DO YOUR PAPER SCRUTINY FIRST.
Scrutiny: Daly Tyres Newcastle West (On left as you leave town towards Castleisland) Scrutiny from 15:30 – 20:00 Saturday 24th

Service: At side of N21 between Newcastle West and Templeglantine

Maps: Colour maps will be available for purchase in the event programme.

ORDNANCE SURVEY / DISCOVERY SERIES MAP NO’S: 64 & 72

First Car Finished Finish Ramp, Ballintemple Inn Newcastle 5:30pm Sunday

Entry List
No. Driver Surname/Navigator Surname (Car)
1 Stephen Moore/Tony McHugh (Ford Focus WRC)
2 Kenny McKinstry/Sean Mullally (Subaru Impreza WRC)
3 Kevin O' Kane/Martin Brady (Subaru Impreza WRC)
4 Brian McGillin/David Doherty (Hyundai Accent WRC)
5 James Murphy/John Brennan (Ford Escort WRC)
6 Trevor Harding/Alistair Wyllie (Subaru Impreza WRC)
7 Dominic McNeill/Francis Kenny (Ford Escort WRC)
8 Keith Cronin/Anthony O' Conaill (Mitsubshi Lancer Evo 7)
9 Andrew Purcell/TBA TBA (Subaru Impreza 555)
10 Stuart Darcy/Andrew O' Donoghue (Mitsubshi Lancer Evo 6)
11 Colin Britton/Arthur Kierans (Mitsubshi Lancer Evo 8)
12 Colm McBride/Rodney Hicks (Mitsubshi Lancer Evo 6)
14 Seamus O' Connell/Brian Duggan (Ford Escort MK11 BDA)
15 Frank Kelly/Liam Brennan (Ford Escort MK11)
16 Brian Lawlor/Conor Foley (Ford Escort MK11)
17 Jason Roche/Ray Greene (Ford Escort)
18 Vivian Hamill/Paul Hamill (Ford Escort MK11)
19 Brendan Murphy/Pat Condon (Mitsubshi Lancer Evo 7)
20 John Hickey/TBA TBA (Subaru Impreza N11)
21 Sean Heaney/Liam McLoughlin (Mitsubshi Lancer Evo 6)
22 Patrick Keenan/Francis Regan (Mitsubshi Lancer Evo 8)
23 Emma McKinstry/Kenny Hull (Mitsubshi Lancer Evo 6)
24 Mark Murphy/William Kiely (Subaru Impreza WRX)
25 Pat Price/Seamus O' Connor (Subaru Impreza N12B)
26 John O' Connor/Kevin O' Connor (Ford Escort G3)
27 Paul Fitzgerald/Wally Dick (Ford Escort MK11)
28 Moss Fitzgerald/Denis Cremin (Toyota Corolla GT)
29 Jimmy Devane/Michael Buckley (Nissan Sunny)
30 Dan Mulcahy/Donnocha O'Callaghan (Ford Escort RS Cosworth)
31 Brian O' Keeffe/Carol O' Keeffe (Subaru Impreza WRX)
32 Ger Connors/Owen O' Neill (Astra)
33 Gerard Lucy/Peter Somers (Toyota Celica GT4)
34 Sean Benskin/Bobby Nugent (Ford Escort MK11)
35 Michael O' Sullivan/Brian O' Connor (Ford Escort MK11)
36 Michael O' Connor/Sinead O' Keeffe (Ford Escort MK11)
37 Darren Donnelly/Barry McGillin (Ford Escort MK11)
38 Sean Moran/Con Mulcahy (Mitsubshi Evo 7)
39 JJ Carroll/TBA TBA (Astra GTE)
40 Ian Roche/TBA TBA (Peogeot 106 )
41 Ciaran Mahon/Conor Bruton (Ford Escort MK11)
42 Michael Nevin/TBA TBA (Ford Escort MK11)
43 Jim Fagan/Rachel Fagan (Ford Escort MK11)
44 Joe Conway/Domhnall Lennon (Ford Escort MK11)
45 Alan Dineen/Tony Dineen (Nova)
46 James Lehane/Andrew Lehane (Honda Civic)
47 Marc Butler/TBA TRA (Honda Civic)
48 Ivan O' Connor/Brendan O' Rourke (Ford Escort MK11)
49 Seamus O' Grady/Oonagh Roche (Peogeot 205 GTI)
50 John O' Connor/Alan Naughton (Ford Escort MK11)
51 Sean Sheedy/Eamonn Sheedy (Honda Civic)
52 Colm Cronin/Brian Sharky (Peogeot 206 XSI)
53 Sidney Bourke/Adam Coffey (Peogeot 206 )
54 Hans Matthia/TBA TBA (Peogeot 106 )
55 Enda Hallinan/Eddie Moloney (Honda Civic)
56 John Harty/Damien O' Kane (Ford Escort MK11)
57 David Dunne/Ciaran O' Connor (Ford Escort)
58 Emmet Cronin/TBA TBA (Ford Escort MK11)
59 Mark Farrell/Sean Rooney (Ford Escort MK11)
60 Mike McDonnell/Blue Spillane (Mazda 323)
61 Paul Roche/TBA TBA (Peogeot 106 )
62 Michael Piggott/Breeda Piggott (Honda Civic)
63 Emmet Watchorn/PJ Doyle (Peogeot 106)
64 Jonathan Ralph/TBA TBA (Ford Puma)
65 Martin Mulcahy/John Nugent (Peogeot 205 GTI)
66 John Byrnes/Kenneth Sheil (Honda Civic)
67 Dave Hallinan/Denny Greaney (Nova)
68 Jason Carey/James Sheehan (Peogeot 205 )
69 Sean Allen/Donal Falvey (Honda Civic)
70 Ray Enright/TBA TBA (Ford KA) Entries still being accepted.
10/04/07
Entries still available.
23/03/07
20/03/07
Limerick Forestry Rally to replace Wicklow Event.
The Limerick Motor Club has been confirmed as the replacement forestry rally for the third round of the Hankook Irish Forestry rally Championship on the 15 April 2007.

This rally will replace the Wicklow Rally

Headquarters for the event is the Ballintemple Inn, Newcastle West

Regulations and further details will be available shortly.

Topics: Limerick Forest Rally 

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