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West Cork Rally - 15-16 Mar 08

Posted: March 26, 2008 12:26 PM - 39351 Hits

Quality Hotels West Cork Rally
Round 1 - 2008 Southern 4 Rally Championship
Round 2 - 2008 Irish Evolution Challenge
Rounds 1 & 2 - 2008 Citroen C2 R2 Irish Cup

  • Even More Photos
  • More Video Clips
  • Donie O' Sullivan/Paul Nagle win West Cork

RPM TV Times

Posted: March 26, 2008 12:32 PM

In Car from the C2R2 of Steven Clery / Shane Buckley

Posted: March 26, 2008 12:26 PM

Quality Hotels West Cork Rally 2008 Press Release 4

Posted: March 21, 2008 10:59 AM

The Quality Hotels West Cork Rally reached a significant milestone over St.Patricks Weekend as it celebrated its 30th running. Based in Clonakilty Co.Cork as usual, this year the rally was the opening round of the 023 Tiles Southern 4 Rally Championship & the 2008 Rallysport Cup. The event also counted for rounds 1&2 of the C2 R2 Irish Cup and the second round of the Irish Mitsubishi Evolution Challenge. Modified cars weren’t forgotten either as the Bones O’Connor Modified Challenge Trophy was up for grabs too with a very strong entry of Darrians and Escorts. 151 cars were to start in the main field with 20 historics joining in on the fifth stage. The juniors were to take part in the last five stages of the rally.

With top seed Melvyn Evans having withdrawn his entry the week before, it was left to Stephen Murphy / M.J.Morrissey with number 2 on their door to lead the field away in their Impreza WRC S12b. They were followed in turn by Donie O’Sullivan / Paul Nagle and Liam McCarthy / Kieran Murphy in their Impreza WRC and Corolla WRC respectively. Inaugural winners of the modified challenge in 2007 John Dalton / Gwynfor Jones were at 5 in their Darrian T90 GTR followed by Phil Collins / Derek Brannigan in their red Mk2 Escort. Leading Evo Challengers Colm Murphy / Ger Loughrey and Owen Murphy / James O’Brien were next up in their Evo 9s. Bob Fowden and Conor McCloskey were to be at 9 & 10 but both had to withdraw, so J.J.Fleming / Robbie Ward in their Focus WRC were next up. Alan Ring / Adrian Deasy were at 12 in their Evo 9, while Kevin O’Donoghue / Joe O’Leary at 14 rounded off the top ten starters. Martin Laverty / Trevor Payne and Marty McCormack / Liam Moynihan were the top seeded C2 R2 competitors at numbers 75 & 76 respectively. There were a total of 17 stages over the two days, with eight stages on the Saturday and nine on the Sunday. Service was centralised in Darrara Agricultural College for the two days while there were 155 stage miles to 112 road miles making the event excellent value for money.

Day 1
Heavy rain and saturated roads greeted the drivers as the cars took to the start of the first stage. Stephen Murphy found the going difficult and after a spin and a stall on Stage 1 lost 25 seconds to Donie O’Sullivan. Liam McCarthy was penalised for a jump start and lost 30 seconds. Colm Murphy went into second place immediately while Phil Collins held third despite conditions being very unfavourable towards two wheel drive. Adrien Heatherington was flying in the awful conditions and was using his forestry expertise to good effect. Washington James was off the road for around 90 seconds while Ashley Field was very rusty after a long lay off from rallying. Kevin O’Donoghue was complaining of bad handling in his Escort as Wesley Patterson almost caught up with him on the first stage. On Stage two came the first real drama, the retirement of Stephen Murphy. Running first on the road the conditions took their toll and he went off the road early on the stage damaging the front of the car. Although he made it to the end of the stage, the car was too damaged to continue. The car was fixed up overnight and Stephen went out as a 00 to get some more testing done.

Stage three and four brought more drama as the bad conditions were compounded by petrol on the road all through the stage. Donie O’Sullivan lost 30 seconds with a puncture, while Phil Collins went off the road and damaged an oil pipe but was able to continue. Owen Murphy also collected a puncture and when he stopped to change it the jack wouldn’t work with the result almost six minutes were lost. J.J.Fleming slid off the road and out of the rally. Colm Murphy was fastest on stage 3 to go into an eight second lead, but O’Sullivan fought back on Stage 4 to retake a lead he was never to lose. Pat Donegan also went off the road for a while and Guy Woodcock lost four minutes with a puncture on this loop and dropped down the leaderboard while mechanical problems forced Kevin O’Donoghue out at service.

With the roads drying and summer-like conditions appearing John Dalton began to up the pace and move into fourth place in his Darrian which was revelling on the drier roads. James Stafford was also beginning to move up the leaderboard as the Darrians began to make their power / weight ratio tell. O’Sullivan still led from Colm Murphy with Liam McCarthy making no impression on the leading two in third place. Neil Williams and Wesley Patterson were in a battle for fifth place as the action got fast and furious. Owen Murphy had a big off on stage 5 as a result of braking problems which necessitated his removal to hospital as a precaution. He was later released none the worse for his experience. Brian O’Mahony had a puncture and lost some more time.
On the final pair of stages of the day, Donie O’Sullivan lost fifth gear and had to back off a little to avoid damaging the car but was still able to maintain his lead over Colm Murphy who was comfortably leading the Evo Challenge. Liam McCarthy was overtaken for third place by John Dalton who set an amazing fastest time on the last stage of the day as he really got the Darrian wound up. Wesley Patterson was in fifth despite some worries over the diff with James Stafford up to 6th overall. Alan Ring held seventh in his Lancer with Neil Williams, Gwyndaf Evans and Conor Curley making up the top ten overnight. In the C2 R2 Cup, Marty McCormack took full points in the first round.

Overnight Top 5;
1 – Donie O’Sullivan / Paul Nagle – Subaru Impreza WRC – 1:04:06.0
2 – Colm Murphy / Ger Loughrey – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo – 1:04:20.0
3 – John Dalton / Gwynfor Jones – Darrian T90 GTR – 1:05:15.4
4 – Liam McCarthy / Kieran Murphy – Toyota Corolla WRC – 1:05:16.3
5 – Wesley Patterson / Ruth Guest – Ford Escort – 1:06:38.2

Day 2
Dull, misty weather greeted the drivers as they started the second day and in two stages Donie O’Sullivan put the hammer down to stretch his lead from 14 to 48 seconds. Despite the greasy conditions Dalton was able to pull further away from McCarthy, while Stafford had overtaken Patterson for fifth. Conor Curley crashed out on the first junction of stage nine, with the car landing a long way off the road inside in a river, thankfully with out injury to the crew. This moved Pat Donegan up the leaderboard but only for a short time as he two crashed out on stage 11. Phil Collins was back inside the top ten after his mishaps of the previous day.

After the second loop of the morning stages O’Sullivan was able to relax a little to conserve the car. Murphy was all alone in second place and comfortably leading the Evo challenge part of the event. Dalton & McCarthy were still having a battle for third place while Stafford was in fifth. Patterson was coming under increasing pressure from Ring to hold onto sixth place. Terence O’Shaughnessy was well inside the top 20 in his 1600 Corolla and mixing it very well with the much more powerful Escorts and Darrians. Collins suffered a puncture and lost some time while Stafford had some mechanical problems with the car.

The classic Ring stage was stage 13 and it proved to be very unlucky for Colm Murphy who crashed into the wall after the harbour in Ring village and out of the event. This promoted Alan Carmichael to the lead in the Evo Challenge which he was to hold until the end. Dalton was now in second but still coming under pressure from McCarthy. Stafford was now if fourth place with Alan Ring in fifth ahead of Wesley Patterson. Gwyndaf Evans retired from a top ten position just before Ring village ending a fine drive as the car just stopped and refused to fire up again.

More drama was to follow on the following stage in Dunworley as Neil Williams crashed after a jump and vacated seventh place to Phil Collins who still wasn’t giving up. After this sudden flurry of events things seemed to settle down once more as drivers realised that the end of a long tough event was in sight and nothing more was to be gained by pushing too hard. Donie O’Sullivan extended his lead to over two minutes as John Dalton increased his lead on Liam McCarthy.

There were no more mishaps and Donie O’Sullivan and Paul Nagle safely negotiated the final spectator stage in Clonakilty to claim their second victory on this event. John Dalton and Gwynfor Jones took their best West Cork Rally result to date with a superb second overall. Liam McCarthy and Kieran Murphy were third with James Stafford and Frank Dwyer fourth in the Darrian. Alan Ring and Adrian Deasy came fifth overall and won Gp N in their Evo 9. Wesley Patterson, Sean Flanagan, Adrien Heatherington, Edward O’Callaghan and Washington James completed the top ten. Alan Carmichael won the Irish Evo Challenge while Barry Evans won round 2 of the C2 R2 Irish Cup after Marty McCormack went off the road on Stage 12.

Once again the Quality Hotels West Cork Rally was a hard and challenging event that was enjoyed by competitors and spectators alike. Considering the toughness of the event, the fact that 88 of the 151 starters made it to finish was a surprise. Credit must go to Brian O’Connell (who was clerking the event for the final time) and his team who made sure the event ran on time all weekend. Tommy Mason won the Historic Rally in his Mk1 Escort while Noel Kelleher won the Junior Rally in his Honda Civic.

Results in Excel Format

Posted: March 20, 2008 12:14 PM

O’Mahony and Higgins make successful start to season

Posted: March 20, 2008 11:31 AM

County Cork driver Brian O’Mahony and County Mayo co-driver John Higgins made a successful start to their season on this weekend’s two-day West Cork Rally (15-16 March).

The reigning Dunlop National Championship class 6 champions finished 22nd overall and second in class 6 in their OM Concrete Products and Tom Hogan Motors-backed Super 1600 Renault Clio, run by O’Leary Motorsport, on the Clonakilty-based tarmac event.

Their event did not run exactly to plan, however, as a puncture lost them around six minutes on stage three and the gearbox began to cry sick, meaning the crew had to nurse it to the finish on the final day on Sunday.

But, despite the setbacks, the pair made it third time lucky on the West Cork Rally as they had twice previously failed to make it beyond the first day after retiring with mechanical problems and had a positive shakedown ahead of their British Rally Championship (BRC) campaign, which begins in April.

“I’m pleased that we finally got to the finish of the West Cork but it’s a shame that a few problems hampered us along the way,” 23-year-old O’Mahony said.

“The event was a good run out before we start the BRC next month and it was good to get some important time back in the car as I hadn’t driven it since Rally Ireland in November. The stages were great fun as always and we’re pleased that we still managed to get a good result.”

O’Mahony and Higgins will run the course car on the Moonraker Forestry Rally on Sunday 13 April in preparation for a return to the gravel for the opening round of the BRC, the Carlisle-based Pirelli International Rally, the following weekend on Friday 18 - Saturday 19 April.

CITROEN C2 R2 IRISH CUP ROUNDS 1 AND 2

Posted: March 19, 2008 5:08 PM

The West Cork Rally played host to the first two rounds of the new Citroen C2 R2 Irish Cup, and an impressive turn out of twelve of the 1600cc Citroen Sport designed cars lined up in Clonakilty for this historic weekend.

Round one took in the eight stages of day one on this famous rally, and leading the field away was the reigning British C2 R2 Champion, Martin Laverty. However Martin had a somewhat hesitant start, and in fact was caught on stage two, by C2 R2 newcomers Martin McCormack and Liam Moynihan. The young Historic rally ace was experiencing front wheel drive and left hand drive for the first time, and held a twenty second lead at first service. “It’s different than rear wheel drive. You have to be more precise with front wheel drive, and can’t throw the tail out with the power, but I’m really enjoying it. The car is really good on the fast stuff and the bumps and jumps.” Third R2 seed was Welsh man Jason Pritchard, but his rally was very short rolling out on the first special stage. Steve Clery in his hired C2, was another to go his roof, on the second stage, but the Clonakilty driver proved the strength of these cars to continue onto finish round one in a good fourth place. Young Clones driver Martin Tynan was another to strike early trouble in the shape of a first stage puncture which cost three minutes, but he eventually salvaged fifth place. Martin and ninth placed finisher Mark Buckley who had some day one niggles, would prove more of a threat on round two however. Adapting from a rear wheel drive Escort, Kildare’s Graham Kelly would finish the round in fifth place, Armagh’s Sean Agnew on his first event in a C2, finished seventh and Comber’s David Johnston who is more used to driving an off road Bowler 4x4, eighth on his first ever closed road rally.

Meanwhile up front Martin McCormack’s lead was reduced by a hard charging Barry Evans who took eleven seconds back on stage four, and then McCormack punctured on stage five, having to stop and change the wheel. But luck was on his side as the stage was cancelled due to another competitor’s crash and Martin kept up his quick pace to win the very first C2 R2 Irish Cup round. Barry Evans was second, but his friend and close rival Paul Manton who was just seconds behind, rolled his C2 on stage six. “I was just trying to find the extra speed to catch Barry, and just tried too hard, as simple as that” quipped Paul. That meant that the youngest competitor in the Cup, 18 year old Sam Moffett, took a well deserved third place. But winner Martin McCormack was delighted. “Yes I’m really thrilled. We learnt a lot today about the car, and when we stiffened it up for the drier afternoon tests it made a big difference. We really enjoyed the stages, and we were we lucky too with the puncture.”

Day two and round two of the Citroen C2 R2 Irish Cup, and once again conditions were damp for the early morning stages, and once again Martin McCormack led after four tests. But the Magherafelt ace, now in the British Rally Elite scheme, wasn’t having things his own way. Martin Tynan was just one scant second behind, the Clones driver’s motivation renewed after round one, and he would soon take the lead when Martin McCormack retired after clipping a bank, on stage five,. This was due to a braking problem, but no one was breaking away at the front. Barry Evans was again very fast, the Monaghan driver who was the first C2 R2 owner in Ireland, very much on form. Also swapping seconds with Barry was former Ka Champion, Mark Buckley who was disappointed with a first round full of dramas, and the Cork driver was setting top three times. A small off however put him out on the penultimate test.

And talking about off road excursions, Steve Clery and Paul Manton had their patched up C2’s running on round two. Paul was regaining his confidence after his round one exploits, but a gearbox problem would put him out, and Steve Clery would also not make the finish. He had changed the rear suspension to the latest C2 adjustable units and his times were right up there with the leaders on the early tests, but his rally, as he put it was “Game over” with another off road excursion. Keeping it all on the road, was former Off Road ace David Johnston who was very much learning the rally game, and he picked up useful points in sixth. Fifth was Sean Agnew who was also adapting to front wheel drive, from four wheel drive, and Graham Kelly finished a superb fourth, his second good points scoring position of the weekend.

In the battle at the front Martin Tynan had a thirty second advantage, after six stages, but on the seventh stage he broke a front driveshaft and the fell back to third place. Another driver who could possibly have been victorious was second placed Sam Moffett. Despite running the earlier non adjustable suspension set up on his C2, the 18 year old Monaghan driver was setting fastest times, and was just sixteen seconds behind the winner. But fittingly it was Barry Evans who took the win, with a superb drive. Barry was ecstatic as he walked away with his 750€ of prize money and took the championship lead.
“I knew I had to do well this weekend, and we had to use our previous experience of the car, before all these young lads start pulling away. It’s a brilliant feeling to win and it’s been a brilliant weekend. The competition has been intense and it’s been very well organised by Charles Hurst, and also the event by the organisers.”

Round 1
1 Martin McCormack/ Liam Moynihan 1hr 11min 11.3
2 Barry Evans/ David Lyons +32.3
3 Sam Moffett/ Donal Lennon +2m 26.7

Round 2
1 Barry Evans/ David Lyons 1hr 15min 17.1
2 Sam Moffett/ Donal Lennon +15.9
3 Martin Tynan/ Ciaran Tynan +1m 20.7
For more information visit www.c2r2.ie

Video Clips

Posted: March 18, 2008 12:03 AM



Irish Evo Challenge - Carmichael wins in West Cork

Posted: March 17, 2008 5:46 PM

A jubilant Alan Carmichael and co-driver Ivor Lamont crossed the finish line of this weekend’s Quality Hotels West Cork Rally to win the second round of the Irish Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge and, in doing so, now lead the one-make championship for Group N Lancer Evolutions.

Second-placed Stanley Ballentine/Richard Hyland put up a fight to the finish following the demise of pace-setter Colm Murphy, who retired after leading for three-quarters of the event when he hit a wall on stage 13.

Based in Clonakilty, the two-day West Cork event is one of the most popular rallies in Southern Ireland and this year saw a total of 166 cars start the main event. Of these, the Evo Challenge accounted for six entries, the Mitsubishi field reduced on this occasion due to driver’s ill health, family or business commitments.

Saturday featured eight timed special stages with a service halt after every two and, as he had done in round one, Colm Murphy showed the rest of the Evo Challenge field – and in fact all other Group N runners - a clean pair of heels. Following two wet stages, he returned to the first service interval 40 seconds ahead of his nearest Mitsubishi rival Owen Murphy, having set a pace good enough to put him in third place overall.

Although second in the Evo Challenge, Owen Murphy was already having difficulties, a problem with his car’s centre differential forcing him to drive with just two-wheel-drive through SS2. After changing two driveshafts at the first service halt his team then replaced the car’s transfer box at the second and, although getting the car’s transmission back to working order, over seven minutes had been lost.

Hoping to use local knowledge to his advantage, the Cork 21 year old’s attempts to make up time came to an end when he found himself with no brakes at the end of a flat-out straight. He subsequently left the road, with the car coming to a standstill in a ditch with such impact, both he and co-driver James O’Brien were taken to hospital for a check up, but were thankfully released later that day with no more than severe bruising.

Also having problems - albeit not so drastic - during Saturday, was now second-placed Tom Curley, who’s car appeared to have a slipping clutch, Alan Carmichael was in third, even though his co-driver Ivor Lamont was becoming increasing un-well with a suspected bought of food poisoning.

Making his debut to the Mitsubishi series was Liam McFall who, after making a few adjustments to his car in the morning, was going well, until a blown turbo brought a premature end to his rally on SS5.

Positions after stage eight before the overnight night showed Colm Murphy well out in front of the Evo Challenge field – and holding a stunning second place overall. Carmichael was now second of the Mitsubishi runners after Curley’s transmission problems – and now a misfire - continued to effect his pace, with Ballentine having a good run and moved up to third.

Day two featured a similar format of eight stages split by a service halt after every two, with the added extra of a three km run very close to the host town as the final stage.

Colm Murphy continued as he had done throughout Saturday – right up until SS13 - when his car slid-wide and into a wall as he came into the section around Clonakilty Harbour, about two kms into the infamous Ring stage. With too much damage to the offside corner of his James Foley Rallysport Evo to continue, Murphy’s impressive run had come to an end, but not before the talented Dubliner has proved his potential.

This left Carmichael and Ballentine in first and second places – and with Ballentine getting more used to his new car he was now closing on Carmichael and the still un-well Lamont.

As they lined-up to start the 17th and final stage just five seconds separated the two front-runners. Both pushed as hard as they could, setting almost identical times, which meant that Carmichael crossed the line to take his first ever Evolution Challenge victory.

“I can believe I’ve won a round of the Evo Challenge” said an overwhelmed Carmichael at the finish.”Once I could see a chance of winning it was a case of 100% concentration and no mistakes, plus Ivor did a great job considering he was unwell, so this is an excellent result for us – especially as we now lead the championship.” Carmichael’s performance also scooped him four Pirelli tyres, the Performance Friction Brakes Cup and the Sunoco Spirit Award – which was down to Lamont’s determination not to give up, even though he was feeling so un-well.

Ballentine was delighted to finish second, collect three Pirelli tyres, plus the Murray Motorsport Best Improvement on Seeding Award and the Best Prepared Car Award, whilst Curley was just relieved to get to the finish having had to drive around a series of un-traceable mechanical problems throughout the day.

The third round of the Irish Evolution Challenge takes place on 3rd & 4th May, when the Mitsubishi crews head to Killarney for the Rally of the Lakes.

The 2008 Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge Ireland is supported by: Sunoco Racing Fuels, Pirelli tyres, Mitsubishi Motors Ireland, Performance Friction Brakes, Speedline Corse wheels, PIAA lights, Murray Motorsport, Sparco racewear, Pacenotes and James Foley Rallysport, who are providing a Group N Lancer Evolution for the 2008 Champion to use in next year’s Rally Ireland.

Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge Ireland – Round 2 Results
1 Alan Carmichael (Ballymena)/Ivor Lamont (Ballymena) 2:23:36.8
2 Stanley Ballentine (Strabane)/Richard Hyland (Omagh) 2:23:42.6
3 Tom Curley (Oranmore)/Pat Cashman (Falway) 2:47:47.4

Photos

Posted: March 17, 2008 5:25 PM


2007 West Cork - Martin McCormick 1st overall Round 1 Irish C2R2 Cup
Photo: Roy Dempster

2008 West Cork - Barry Evans 1st overall Round 2 Irish C2R2 Cup
Photo: Roy Dempster

2008 West Cork - 2nd overall & Modified Winner - John Dalton
Photo: Roy Dempster

2008 West Cork - Alan Carmichael 1st overall Round 2 Evo Irish Challange
Photo: Roy Dempster


GpN Winners - Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy
Photo Denis Nagle

Results

Posted: March 17, 2008 5:02 PM

Results
1 Donie O' Sullivan/Paul Nagle (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2:11:15.9
2 John Dalton/Gwynfor Jones (Darrien T90 GTR) 2:13:39.9
3 Liam McCarthy/Kieran Murphy (Toyota Corolla WRC) 2:14:13.5
4 James Stafford/Frank Dwyer (Darrian T90 GTR)
5 Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) GpN 2:16:59.3
6 Wesley Patterson/Ruth Guest (Ford Escort Mk2) 2:17:02.9
7 Phil Collins/Derek Brannigan (Ford Escort MK2) 2:17:26.1
8 Sean Flanagan/Brian Duggan (Subaru Impreza N12) GpN 2:19:49.7
9 Adrian Hetherington/Gary Nolan (Ford Escort Mk2) 2:19:56.0
10 Washington James/Aled Jones (Darrien T90 GTR) 2:20:18.5

Leaders: SS1-17 Donie O'Sullivan/Paul Nagle (Subaru Impreza WRC)

Stage Winners
SS1 Donie O'Sullivan/Paul Nagle (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS2 Donie O'Sullivan/Paul Nagle (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS3 Colm Murphy/Ger Loughrey (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) GpN
SS4 Donie O'Sullivan/Paul Nagle (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS5 Donie O'Sullivan/Paul Nagle (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS6 Liam McCarthy/Kieran Murphy (Toyota Corolla WRC)
SS7 Colm Murphy/Ger Loughrey (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) GpN
& Donie O'Sullivan/Paul Nagle (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS8 John Dalton/Gwynfor Jones (Darrien T90 GTR)
SS9 Donie O'Sullivan/Paul Nagle (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS10 Donie O'Sullivan/Paul Nagle (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS11 Colm Murphy/Ger Loughrey (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) GpN
SS12 Donie O'Sullivan/Paul Nagle (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS13 Donie O'Sullivan/Paul Nagle (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS14 Donie O'Sullivan/Paul Nagle (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS15 John Dalton/Gwynfor Jones (Darrien T90 GTR)
SS16 Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) GpN
SS17 John Dalton/Gwynfor Jones (Darrien T90 GTR)

Posted: March 12, 2008 12:17 PM

  • Withdrawls - 11/03/08
  • Quality Hotels West Cork Rally Press 2008 Release 3 - Preview
  • Withdrawls - 09/03/08
  • Evo Challenge heads to West Cork
  • O’Mahony and Higgins start season with West Cork Rally
  • West Cork Rally Marshal Meeting Times and Locations, including maps and GPS coordinates
  • Entry Lists available
  • Entries close this Friday, 22nd February
  • Regulations available
  • 30th running of the West Cork Rally
12/03/08
Withdrawls - 12/03/08

181
51

Quality Hotels West Cork Rally Press 2008 Release 3
The 30th running of the Quality Hotels West Cork Rally takes place on St.Patricks weekend next, the 15th & 16th March. 151 cars will take to the start in the Clonakilty based event at 10am next Saturday morning. They will be joined by the Historic competitors on stage 5 while the juniors make their appearance from stage 13 onwards.

The number one seed Melvyn Evans with co-driver Sean Mullally have unfortunately had to withdraw as their ex Tim McNulty Impreza WRC S11 isn’t ready. This leaves number two seed Stephen Murphy with co-driver Micky Joe Morrissey to run first on the road in their Impreza WRC S12b. Stephen will be hoping for a better run than on Galway when he crashed on the fourth stage. Stephen won this event on his only previous appearance in 2000.

Donie O’Sullivan and Paul Nagle are at number 3 and will be hoping for a longer run than last year when they retired after the first stage. They will be back in an Impreza WRC S11 for this event. Liam McCarthy and Kieran Murphy are at 4 and will have one of the last Toyota Corolla WRCs ever built to play with. The car is a full tarmac spec built in Belgium so Liam should go very well.

Number 5 is leading Rallysport Cup competitor John Dalton and Gwynfor Jones in their ultra rapid Darrian T90 GTR. They have finished in the top six for the past three years and were the winners of the inaugural Bones O’Connor Modified Challenge in 2007. They will be favourites to retain that award this year, but they won’t have it easy as they are followed at 6 by Phil Collins and Derek Brannigan. Phil and his familiar red Escort were absent from West Cork last year so they make a welcome return to the rally for 2008.

The first of the Irish Mitsubishi Evo Challenge competitors is at 7 in the shape of Colm Murphy and Ger Loughrey. Colm hasn’t been in West Cork since 1999 when he thrilled the spectators in his yellow Twin Cam. The double Group N Tarmac Champion will be out to make up for not scoring points in Galway. Next up at 8 is former Billy Coleman award winner Owen Murphy with James O’Brien on the notes. They are also Evo mounted having taken second place points in Galway. Owen should go well in his home rally and will want to make up for the disappointment of having to pull out before the start of last years event with turbo problems.

Bob Fowden and Jerry Hynes were to be at number 9 but have had to withdraw from the event due to engine damage sustained in Tour of Epynt recently. At number 10 is Conor McCloskey making his first appearance on the event and driving a Focus WRC. Conor will have the vastly experienced Francis Regan on the notes.

Outside of the top ten lies J.J.Fleming in his Focus WRC at 11, Group N driver Alan Ring at 12 followed by reigning 023 Tiles Southern 4 champion Kevin O’Donoghue at 14. Kevin is followed by the hard charging Wesley Patterson and Pat Donegan both in Escorts at 15 and 16. A pair of Darrians are at 17 & 18 in the hands of James Stafford and Washington James. Long time Welsh visitor Gwyndaf Evans is at 19 in his Mk2 Escort while Ashley Field is at back after a two year absence at 20 in his Darrian T90. Top front wheel drive competitors are Guy Woodcock in his Escort Maxi at 26 while Brian O’Mahony is at 29 in his Clio.

The first and second rounds of the C2 R2 Irish Cup take place in West Cork with Martin Laverty first Citroen on the road at number 76 followed by Marty McCormack and Jason Pritchard. The competition should be fierce here as there are twelve Citroens due to start. The full entry list is published currently on the events website www.westcorkrally.com.

The first competing car will leave Parc Ferme at the Model Railway Village on the Inchydoney Road at 10am on the Saturday morning with the winner due at the finish ramp in Clonakilty at 5.10pm on the Sunday. Rally Headquarters will be at the Quality Hotel and Leisure Centre who are the main sponsors of the event.

There will be service after every two stages with seventeen stages in all over the weekend. The service area for the weekend is in the grounds of Darrara Agricultural College. There will be a rally forum as usual in the Quality Hotel on Friday 14th at 9pm with Michael O’Carroll the MC for the night. Guests include Phil Collins, Colm Murphy & Brian Patterson among others.

10/03/08
Withdrawls
As of 09/03/08
Car 1 Melvyn Evans
Car 9 Bob Fowden
Car 38 Eamon Muprhy
Car 43 Darren Caldwell
Car 61 Berian Richards
Car 64 Dave Parle

These have been replaced by the 1st 6 on the Reserves List.

Gone from the reserves list are:
Car 164 Declan Stafford
Car 177 Vincent Bennett
Car 182 Charlie Hickey
Car 189 Gareth Morgan
Car 191 John Bagge
Car 197 Gerry Maher
Car 205 Rob O' Regan
Car 209 Paddy Costello
Car 211 Ciaran Cloke

Gone from the reserves to the juniors are: Car 204 and Car 213

Gone from the Historics are:
R25 Joseph and Michael Lacey

Evo Challenge heads to West Cork
Next weekend’s Quality Hotels West Cork Rally hosts the second round of the Irish Mitsubishi Raliart Evolution Challenge, which sees eight of the ten registered Evo Challenge contenders entered for this highly popular event, which is also a round of the national Irish Tarmac Championship.

With first round winner Brendan Cumiskey not able to compete, due to a date clash with his sister’s wedding, the high-profile one-make series for Group N (production specification) Mitsubishi Lancers is destined to see a different winner this time round. Also having to miss this event is Michael Murray business commitments not allowing him to build on his fifth place from last time out.

Aiming to put the record straight after leading the Evo Challenge field for two-thirds of round one, the Galway Rally, reigning Group N Irish Tarmac Rally Champion Colm Murphy is the first of the Mitsubishi runners away and hopes that transmission troubles will not spoil his chances of getting his Evo Challenge title hopes back on track.

He is followed by Owen Murphy, who also led round one for a while, before being delayed by a puncture and therefore the Cork driver will be looking to make the most of his local knowledge and the support he’ll get from competing on his home ground.

Next of the Evo Challenge runners is Alan Carmichael, who finished third in Galway and having been pleased with his performance, will be looking for another podium finish. He is followed by Damian Tourish, who makes his debut with the championship having had to miss round one after suffering an injury the week before the event.

Tom Curley posted a solid fourth place last time out and is the fourth Evo Challenge seed this weekend, whilst behind him, Damien Caldwell will be looking to put his round-one misfortunes aside and build on what started out as a strong performance in Galway.

Stanley Ballantine follows and is another who hopes for better things this time out, intending to put his previous turbo and transmission problems aside. Liam McFall follows Ballantine and, having missed round one because of other rallying commitments, is another who makes his debut in the Evolution Challenge this weekend.

Adding to the prize fund and becoming a sponsor of the 2008 Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge in Ireland is the country’s leading supplier of race and rally equipment, Dublin-based Murray Motorsport (www.murraymotorsport.ie ).

“We are delighted to be sponsoring the Evolution Challenge”, said Sales Manager Eoin Murray. “We see this as a great opportunity for increased publicity and in particular, the promotion of Proflex suspension and Sparco racewear, as Murray Motorsport are distributors for these products in Southern Ireland.”

The West Cork Rally is based in Clonakilty and features eight stages on Saturday followed by a further nine stages on Sunday, the total of which provides competitors with an overall distance of 240 competitive kilometres.

The 2008 Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge Ireland is supported by: Sunoco Racing Fuels, Pirelli tyres, Mitsubishi Motors Ireland, Performance Friction Brakes, Speedline Corse wheels, PIAA lights, Murray Motorsport, Sparco racewear, Pacenotes and James Foley Rallysport, who are providing a Group N Lancer Evolution for the 2008 Champion to use in next year’s Rally Ireland.

Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge Ireland – Round 2
List of entries in start number order
7 Colm Murphy (Dublin)/Ger Loughrey (Limerick)
8 Owen Murphy (Cork)/James O’Brien (Cork)
40 Alan Carmichael (Ballymena)/Ivor Lamont (Ballymena)
41 Damien Tourish (Donegal)/Domnall McAlaney (Donegal)
42 Tom Curley (Oranmore)/Pat Cashman (Falway)
43 Darren Caldwell (Navan)/Martin Costello (Trim)
44 Stanley Ballentine (Strabane)/Richard Hyland (Omagh)
45 Liam McFall (N. Antrim)/Aidien Friel (N. Antrim)

O’Mahony and Higgins start season with West Cork Rally
County Cork driver Brian O’Mahony and County Mayo co-driver John Higgins will get their season underway when they contest next weekend’s (15-16 March) West Cork Rally.

The reigning Dunlop National Championship class 6 champions will be back in action across the tarmac stages in their OM Concrete Products and Tom Hogan Motors-backed Super 1600 Renault Clio, run by O’Leary Motorsport, for the Clonakilty-based event.

The rally will be a warm-up for the crew as they prepare to contest the British Rally Championship (BRC) for a third time this year. In 2005 they won the British Super 1600 Championship in a Ford Puma but 2006 did not prove as successful as they were blighted by mechanical problems on the car. Last season they switched to the Clio to take part in the National Championship and went on to win the class title.

The pair have had a short break from competition over winter with their last event being November’s Rally Ireland. They now return to the stages across some familiar territory having contested the West Cork Rally twice before but on both occasions have failed to finish due to mechanical difficulties and O’Mahony is hoping it will be third time lucky next weekend.

“The aim is not to do anything stupid, the car was stripped during the winter and everything bar the engine was rebuilt so we’re just doing it as a shakedown really,” the 23-year-old said.

“The stages are lovely down there and it’s a rally I love to do. I’ve done it twice but stopped both times on the Saturday with engine failure, hopefully bad things won’t come in a three for us.”

O’Mahony and Higgins start at number 29 for the West Cork Rally and are the top class 6 seeds.

Following on from the event they will drive the course car on the Moonraker Forestry Rally on Sunday 13 April in preparation for a return to the gravel for the opening round of the BRC, the Carlisle-based Pirelli International Rally, the next weekend on Friday 18 - Saturday 19 April.

Time and Distance Schedule

Time and Distance Schedule available on the News Page of the Rally Website:

Brian O'Connell (Clerk of the Course), Seamus O'Brien (Mayor of Clonakilty),
David Henry (General Manager Quality Hotel Clonakilty),
Noel White (Chairman of the Clonakilty Fundraising Committee)
at the launch of the Quality Hotels West Cork Rally.
Photo: Kevin O'Driscoll
07/03/08
West Cork Rally Marshal Meeting Times and Locations, including maps and GPS coordinates

Full Details on:
04/03/08
Entry Lists on Rally Website:
07/02/08
Regulations available
Competitors are reminded that regulations for the Quality Hotels West Cork Rally, organised and promoted by the Cork Motor Club, are available for download from www.westcorkrally.com. With 17 stages over two days, the event represents excellent value for money.

Junior competitors are also reminded that if they go marshalling on the Saturday stages then they will get a refund of €100 on their entry fee.

Accommodation may be sourced by contacting 086 3776451, (00 353 86 3776451 from the UK) between 7pm and 9pm or by emailing joan@westcorkrally.com

2007 winner Michael Barrable has stated his intention to defend his title on the 2007 event. Other drivers to have expressed an interest in competing in Clonakilty include Stephen Murphy, Jon Ingram and Phil Collins. There is as usual a lot of interest from Wales and England and also some enquiries from Northern Ireland & Scotland.

Regulations available on the rally website:
13/01/08
30th running of the West Cork Rally
Cork Motor Club achieves a notable milestone on 15th & 16th March 2008 with the 30th running of their flagship event, the Quality Hotels West Cork Rally. The event has attracted some great drivers in a variety of cars since its inception in 1977. With the Bank Holiday falling on the Monday, a great atmosphere should prevail in the town of Clonakilty on what is one of the most social events on the rally calendar for Irish and overseas competitors and followers alike.

Choice Hotels through the Quality Hotels brand will once again act as title sponsors and the rally H/Q will be based in the Quality Hotel and Leisure Centre Clonakilty. This year sees the event being part of two fledgling championships, round 2 of the Irish Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge and rounds 1 & 2 of the C2 R2 Irish Cup.

The Bones O’Connor Modified Challenge which was inaugurated in 2007 and was a great success, also returns for 2008 where many crews will be bidding to take the crown from last years winner John Dalton. This challenge incorporates cars from classes 9-15 (details on classes to be found on www.motorsportireland.com) so some great action is expected

More Details from:

Topics: Evo Challenge Ireland  CITROEN RACING TROPHY IRELAND  Southern 4 C'ship  West Cork Rally 

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