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Circuit of Kerry Stages Rally - 30 Mar 08

Posted: April 3, 2008 10:57 AM - 24011 Hits

Round 2 - 2008 National Rally Championship
Round 2 - 2008 West Coast Rally Championship

Video Clips

Posted: April 3, 2008 10:57 AM



ELLIOTT WINS CIRCUIT OF KERRY ON A TIE-BREAK
(Report courtesy of Irish Dunlop – sponsors of the Irish National Rally Championship)

Posted: April 1, 2008 9:08 AM

In a close contest, last year’s event winners, Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Subaru WRC) edged out Niall Maguire/Paul McLaughlin (Subaru WRC) on a tie-break to win the Fels Point Hotel Circuit of Kerry Rally, the second round of the Dunlop series. On the final stage, they finished two seconds ahead of Maguire/McLaughlin, that gave both crews an identical overall time and Elliott/Goodman got the verdict on a tie-break - as they were fastest on the final stage. It was the second event in succession that a round of the Dunlop National Rally championship went to a final stage decider.

Seamus Leonard/John McCafferty (Subaru) finished third overall – 29 seconds further behind, that was also decided on a tie-break with Michael Barrable/Dermot O’Gorman (Ford Focus WRC) finishing fourth. As a result of his victory, Elliott moves to top spot in the Dunlop series. The Group N category was won by Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy (Mitsubishi), they were tenth in general classification.

On the first stage, Desmond’s Grave, Barrable set the fastest time as he opened up a lead of three seconds over O’Sullivan, who remarked that he had chosen the wrong tyres for the stage. Elliott was a further twelve seconds behind in third, the Cavan driver was worried as his Subaru seemed to be down on power. Niall Maguire held fourth from Seamus Leonard and Kevin Barrett.

Out on the second stage, Mount Eagle, Barrable continued set the pace and extended his lead over O’Sullivan to seven seconds. Elliott continued in third – 13 seconds adrift of O’Sullivan while Maguire, four seconds further adrift remarked that the pace was exceedingly quick.

Leonard held fifth in his Subaru but reckoned his car was no match for the S11 Subaru WRC’s. Barrett posted a strong time to maintain sixth while Noel Redmond (Subaru S12B) had a slight indiscretion with a concrete wall that scuffed the side of his Subaru. Elsewhere, Glenn Allen (Toyota), Jack Sleator (Subaru) and Sean Gallagher (Subaru) rounded off the top ten.

In Group N, Alan Ring (Mitsubishi) led the similar car of Thomas Fitzmaurice while Willie Fannin (Subaru), who lost a few seconds with a puncture, held third in the category.

Although Barrable strengthened his position on the third stage where he led Elliott by 25 seconds, his lost the lead on the fourth test when he punctured his Ford Focus WRC. His closest challenger over the first two stages, Donie O’Sullivan was also in trouble. He slid his Subaru WRC into the Kerry scenery and lost valuable time as he tried to get back on the stage, in addition, he lost further time at the tight right hand junction nearby. Indeed, as he tried to manoeuvre his way out of trouble, Niall Maguire’s Subaru arrived and was held up as the seconds ticked agonisingly away.

At the Fels Points Hotel service halt, Elliot was the new rally leader, he remarked that the earlier problem was due to a rich fuel mixture. He led Maguire by six seconds with Barrable down in third – 18 seconds further adrift, his Ford Focus clipped a rock and the tyre deflated immediately, he continued to drive to the stage finish.

Leonard, who spun at one junction, held fourth place from Kevin Barrett, who suffered brake trouble. O’Sullivan had to be content with sixth place in a top ten that also included Glen Allen, Noel Redmond, Jack Sleator and Group N leader, Alan Ring, whose lead in the showroom category stood at a minute and nine seconds over Eamonn Daly (Mitsubishi), who had some intercom woes. Both Thomas Fitzmaurice and Anthony O’Halloran lost time with punctures.

Elliott maintained his lead through the short fifth stage but Maguire moved ahead on S.S. 6. In extremely wet conditions, just four seconds covered the stages times of Elliott, Barrable, O’Sullivan and Maguire.

At the final service halt, Maguire had a two second lead over Elliott. Barrable, joint fastest with O’Sullivan on S.S. 5 and quickest of all on S.S. 6, remained third – 15 seconds behind Elliott and nine ahead of fourth placed O’Sullivan.

Leonard and Barrett followed, the latter remarked that he decided to ease off through the streaming wet stages. Allen was seventh from Redmond and Sleator while Ring continued to dominate Group N – even though he had an anxious moment on S.S. 6.

The former National Group N champion was well clear of Eamonn Daly (Mitsubishi).

On the penultimate stage, Leonard set the pace as Maguire, Elliott and O’Sullivan all set identical times with Barrable two seconds quicker than the trio.

On a dramatic final stage Elliott clawed the two seconds back off Maguire and won on a tie-break. For Maguire, it was the third time he has been involved in this situation, in 1999 he lost out to Gabriel Snow and in 2002 he won against Jim Harrison. Elliott now moves into top spot by virtue of his victory in Kerry.

Meanwhile and despite gearbox trouble, Leonard took an excellent third place, a position that was also decided on a tie-break with Michael Barrable, who had no launch control for the final stage. O’Sullivan, after his escapade on the third stage had to be content with fifth. Elsewhere, Barrett, Allen and Redmond all picked up valuable Dunlop points. Top Kerry driver, Alan Ring (Mitsubishi) won Group N and Maurice Moffett (Starlet) won the two-wheel drive category.

Results

Posted: April 1, 2008 8:53 AM

1 Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC) 61m 23s,
2 Niall Maguire/Paul McLaughlin (Subaru Impreza WRC) 61m 23s,
3 Seamus Leonard/John McCafferty (Subaru Impreza WRC) 61m 52s,
4 Michael Barrable/Dermot O’Gorman (Ford Focus WRC) 61m 52s,
5 Donie O'Sullivan/Barry Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC) 61m 59s,
6 Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally (Subaru Impreza WRC) 62m 33s,
7 Glenn Allen/Damien Connolly (Toyota Corolla WRC) 62m 40s,
8 Noel Redmond/Diarmuid Falvey (Subaru Impreza WRC) 62m 54s,
9 Jack Sleator/Andrew Purcell (Subaru Impreza WRC) 64m 15s,
10 Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy (Mit. Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 64m 35s.

Group N Production class:
1 Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy,
2 Eamonn Daly/Kevin Synott (Mit. Lancer Evo 9) 66m 52s,
3 Fergal Costello/Shane Gilhooly (Mit. Lancer Evo 8) 66m 54s.

JUNIORS:
1 Timmy Foley/Conor Collins (Civic) 28m 27s,
2 Jason Ollerenshaw/Grace Loughnane (Civic) 28m 42s,
3 Ken Ryan/Eamonn Howard (Civic) 28m 55s.
 
Leaders:
SS1-3 Michael Barrable/Dermot O’Gorman (Ford Focus WRC)
SS4-5 Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS6-7 Niall Maguire/Paul McLaughlin (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS8 Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC)

Stage Winners
SS1 Michael Barrable/Dermot O’Gorman (Ford Focus WRC)
SS2 Michael Barrable/Dermot O’Gorman (Ford Focus WRC)
SS3 Michael Barrable/Dermot O’Gorman (Ford Focus WRC)
SS4 Niall Maguire/Paul McLaughlin (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS5 Michael Barrable/Dermot O’Gorman (Ford Focus WRC)
& Donie O'Sullivan/Barry Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS6 Michael Barrable/Dermot O’Gorman (Ford Focus WRC)
SS7 Seamus Leonard/John McCafferty (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS8 Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC)

Photos

Posted: April 1, 2008 8:52 AM

Pre Event News

Posted: April 1, 2008 8:48 AM

Pre Event News

ELLIOTT HEADS CIRCUIT OF KERRY
(Preview courtesy of Irish Dunlop – sponsors of the Irish National Rally Championship)

Posted: March 28, 2008 1:00 PM

Last year’s winner, Patrick Elliott (Subaru WRC) heads a strong entry for Sunday’s Fels Point Hotel Circuit of Kerry Rally, the second round of the Dunlop National Rally Championship.
The Cavan driver will be determined to step up his bid to win the national series, however, with all the championship protagonists on board for this eight stage event, he has a difficult task. He took third placed Dunlop points in Mayo and knows it is vital to stay well in contention with reigning champion, Aaron MacHale and former triple championship winner, Niall Maguire showing fine early season form.
MacHale made a winning start in Mayo and will want to continue the trend on board his Ford Focus WRC. Maguire’s pace was one of the major talking points in Mayo where he gave MacHale a tough battle over eight stages. The Monaghan man has set his sights on an unprecedented fourth national title and it seems a realistic ambition even at this early stage of the season.
Another driver with title ambitions is Dubliner, Michael Barrable (Ford Focus WRC), who makes his debut in the current series. Well over a decade ago, Barrable almost won the title in a final round decider but was forced out with mechanical trouble as Richard Smyth (Sierra Cosworth) went on to take the Vard Memorial Trophy.
Donie O’Sullivan, fresh from his victory in the West Cork Rally, is using the event as a shakedown for the Rally of the Lakes. It will be interesting to see how he performs against the Dunlop regulars.
Wexford’s, Noel Redmond freely admitted that he couldn’t get in the groove in Mayo, and needs to atone for his poor start to his championship bid.
Both Kevin Barrett and Seamus Leonard have yet to score points having retired in Mayo. Carrick on Shannon ace, Sean Gallagher (Subaru WRC) completes a WRC lock out of the top ten.

Jack Sleator, with former Dunlop National Championship winning co-driver, Andrew Purcell, calling the notes, is seeded at eleven with former Dunlop Group N champion, Alan Ring (Mitsubishi) heading the Group N category that also features Kevin Kelleher, Anthony O’Halloran, Mike Quin, Eamonn Daly, Willie Fannin, Thomas Fitzmaurice, Ray Hilliard, Danny McBride, who took top points in Mayo, Gavin Harris (Subaru) and Sean Flanagan (Subaru).

Elsewhere, the entry includes JJ Fleming (Ford Focus WRC), Ed Synan (Escort), John Kearney (Escort), Eoin Doyle (Subaru WRC), Aidan Walsh (Escort), Maurice Moffett (Starlet) and Charlie Hickey (Escort).
Ken O’Neill (Ford Puma) heads the S1600 category and Willie Power is seeded at 35 in his nimble Darrian.

The ceremonial start in Tralee town centre takes place at 7.30pm on Saturday evening.

Please note that reigning Dunlop National Rally champion, Aaron MacHale (Ford Focus WRC) and Kevin Kelleher (Mitsubishi) have withdrawn their entries for Sunday's Fels Point Hotel Circuit of Kerry, the second round of the Dunlop National Rally Championship.

List Of Official Rally Program Outlets

Posted: March 27, 2008 11:57 AM

List Of Official Rally Program Outlets on Club Website:

Diarmuid Falvey to sit with Noel Redmond

Posted: March 27, 2008 11:52 AM

Diarmuid Falvey to sit with Noel Redmond

Aaron MacHale & Kevin Kelleher withdraw

Posted: March 26, 2008 1:07 PM

Aaron MacHale & Kevin Kelleher are amoung the withdrawls.

Full list on Club website:

Entry List, Final Instruction 1, Scrutiny Time Schedule, Time and Distance Schedule

Posted: March 19, 2008 6:27 PM

Car Driver/Navigator(Make/Model)[Class]
1 Elliott, Patrick/Goodman, Paul(Subaru Impreza WRC)[8]
2 MacHale, Aaron/Duffy, Killian(Ford Focus WRC)[8]
3 Michael, Barrable/O'Gorman, Dermot(Ford Focus WRC)[8]
4 O'Sullivan, Donie/Goodman, Barry(Subaru S11 WRC)[8]
5 Maguire, Niall/McLoughlin, Paul(Subaru WRC)[8]
6 Allen, Glenn/Connolly, Damien(Toyota Corolla WRC)[8]
7 Redmond, Noel/TBA (Subaru W R C S12B)[8]
8 Barrett, Kevin/Mullally, Sean(Subaru Impreza WRC)[8]
9 Leonard, Seamus/McCafferty, John(Subaru Impreza WRC)[8]
10 Gallagher, Sean/Sherry, Enda(Subaru S8 WRC)[8]
11 Sleator, Jack/Purcell, Andrew(Subaru WRC S12)[8]
12 Ring, Alan/Deasy, Adrian(Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9)[4]
14 Kelleher, Kevin/Kelleher, Martin(Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9)[4]
15 Fleming, John Joe/Ward, Robbie(Ford Focus WRC)[8]
16 Anthony, O Halloran/McEnery, Charlie(Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9)[4]
17 Quinn, Mike/Enright, Sean(Ford Escort Mk2)[14]
18 Daly, Eamon/Synott, Kevin(Mitsubishi Evo 9)[4]
19 Synan, Ed/TBA, (Ford Escort Mk2)[13]
20 Fannin, Willie/Robinson, Paddy(Subaru Impreza)[4]
21 Kearney, John/O'Connell, Denis(Ford Escort Mk2)[13]
22 Doyle, Eoin/Walsh, Paul(Subaru WRC)[8]
23 Fitzmaurice, Thomas/TBA, (Mitsubishi Evo 9)[4]
24 Hilliard, Ray/TBA, (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9)[4]
25 Enright, Tim/Buckley, Stephen(Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7)[8]
26 Danny, Macbride/Macbride, Rory(Mitsubishi Evo 8)[4]
27 Harris, Gavin/Lafferty, Shaun(Subaru N11)[4]
28 Walsh, Aidan/Casey, Jim(Ford Escort Mk2)[13]
29 Flanagan, Sean/Duggan, Brian(Subaru Impreza N12)[4]
30 Moffett, Maurice/McKenna, Jason(Toyota Starlet RWD)[14]
31 Sweeney, Frank/O'Connor, Seamus(Ford Escort Mk2)[13]

Entry List, Final Instruction 1, Scrutiny Time Schedule on Club website:
Note: Withdrawls will be updated nightly on the club website:

Regulations / News

Posted: March 6, 2008 9:51 AM

  • Circuit of Kerry (30 Mar 08) Rally Launch - 9 Mar 08
  • Notice To All Intending Traders & Caterers Attending The Circuit of Kerry Rally
  • On line Entry / Regulations available
  • Press Release 1
  • New HQ
06/03/08
See notice to all Intending Traders & Caterers Attending The Circuit of Kerry Rally on the club website:
19/02/08
On line Entry / Regulations available
11/02/08
05/02/08
New HQ
Fels Point Hotel in Tralee

More details on club website:

Topics: Circuit of Kerry  National Rally C'ship  West Coast Rally Championship 

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