Posted: April 18, 2008 9:32 AM - 17181 Hits
Round 4 - 2008 Forestry Championship
Posted: April 18, 2008 9:32 AM
The 2008 Hankook National forestry championship has been a year where
many newcomers have joined the championship and impressed with their
pace and adaptability to the challenges of forestry rallying, but none
more so than Ray Breen. The former national tarmac champion has
settled well into the forests with two wins under his belt and a
healthy championship lead. The championship had reached round 4 and
once more this meant the visit to an old classic and the East Cork
based Moonraker rally. With a new venue this year the start of the
rally moved to Lismore in Co Waterford and to the home of main
sponsors The Lismore House Hotel. This beautiful & historic hotel was
the starting point for a competitive and exciting race over 8 classic
stages in the East Cork forests.
"The Vee" was the tough opener that greeted the crews, a much revered
and testing stage that gives the crews a piece of everything from flat
out straights to tight and technical corners waiting to claim the
unwary.
Number 1 seed was Ray Breen in his Focus Wrc, for this event his son
Craig was absent due to his karting commitments in the UK so Ray
enlisted a new co driver in Navan's Martin Brady. Number 2 seed Kenny
McKinstry was a late entry and thus had no59 on his door. Kenny and co
driver Sean Mullaly enjoyed their last round outing in the s8 Subaru
so much that they returned in the same car ready for more action.
Andrew Purcell was up next but not as expected in his Sentinel
Security backed Subaru WRC. Unfortunately for Purcell his engine
rebuilt after failure on the last round had sprung a water leak before
scrutiny and it was decided not to risk using it. Then started a last
minute dash to collect a hire car Mitsubishi Evo 6 from D Jobb Rally
Hire and it saw Purcell make the start line with minutes to spare.
Regular runners that followed behind included Denis Cronin, Colin
Britton, James Murphy, John Reid and Emma McKinstry.
Stage one was in perfect condition and the sun was shinning. Breen &
Brady attacked intending to start strong but found the tight chicanes
quite difficult to negotiate and they also felt time slipping away
with a very sideways car. So sideways that they almost took the finish
board with them as a souvenir, on stopping at the exit of the stage
however a front left puncture was discovered and this explained a lot.
Yet to their surprise they were fastest and 7 seconds up on McKinstry
who also reported struggling to get through the tight chicanes
cleanly. Colin Britton was ten seconds back and the first Group N
challenger. Purcell was outside the top ten and reported a first
junction overshoot and he lamented the lack of a WRC spec handbrake
but otherwise was happy with the car and happy to be in the race at
all. Pete McCullagh & Alan Dolan held 4th as they gave their new Evo 9
its debut miles and James Murphy & Francis Kenny were 5th in the black
Escort.
Stage 2 was a more demanding test with some slippy mucky corners
waiting to catch the unwary at the end of long straights. Breen was
satisfied that he had found the pace he could maintain and was getting
settled with new co driver Brady. This confidence proved itself as Ray
once more stormed to fastest time by 19 seconds from a hard charging
Pete McCullagh. McKinstry dropped time after running wide into the
scrub and then taking it cautious on the next few corners fearing
damage to brakes. Denis Cronin took 3rd fastest equal with James
Murphy who was having a solid day in his Escort. Jeremy Drislane with
reigning champion co driver Tony McHugh on board were next on the time
sheets as they set a time just 2 seconds off Cronin & Murphy, but
turbo troubles were to hamper them for the remainder of the day and
take the edge off their pace.
Service in Cappaquinn was visited before ss3 giving the crews a chance
to repair and refresh. Breen held the lead from McKinstry by 24
seconds and McCullagh was just 6 seconds behind Kenny and the GrpN
leader by 3 seconds from Britton. Frank Kelly was the top 2wd in 11th
o/a and enjoying his day as he got familiar with a new version of
gearbox for his MK2 Escort. Emma McKinstry & Kenny Hull in her Hankook
Subaru was struggling with an ill handling car and this coupled with 2
spins had her down the order, a small fire in the gearbox was soon to
put her out of the rally. In the juniors it was the Moynihan sisters
in their EARS Peugeot who held an 18 second lead over Aidan Mulcahy &
Des Flynn in their Honda.
SS3 Bohadoon was a short looped stage at just over 4km with some
uphill hairpins that were very satisfying to drive if perfected, and
in this stage it was normal service resumed for Breen as set he 2:47
and took fastest again by 5 seconds this time from Pete McCullagh &
Alan Dolan. McKinstry was 3rd fastest just ahead of Cronin. Purcell,
Heaney and Britton all tied on 3:02 so McCullagh increased his GrpN
lead. Murphy suffered a broken drive shaft and this was to hamper him
for 2 stages until he could limp back to service.
SS4 Coolatour is a classic stage on the Moonraker and it has straights
like a motorway and those brave on the brakes can gain valuable
seconds on the approach to the tight junctions that appear at eye
watering speed. Yet again Breen & Brady stormed onwards to another
fastest time by 15 valuable seconds from McKinstry & Mullaly this
increased Breen's advantage at the head of the field to 57seconds
ahead of McKinstry. McCullagh continued to impress in his new GrpN car
and was just 7seconds behind McKinstry.
The Vee was revisited as SS5 and almost predictably now it was Breen
fastest and ten seconds faster than his morning effort. McKinstry was
second and he improved his time by 5 seconds. Colin Britton set a
storming time to equal McKinstry. Denis Cronin & Helen O Sullivan took
3rd one second back in their Hankook Subaru and Pete McCullagh
continued strongly James Murphy was now back on song with 4 working
driveshafts and he set 5th fastest
On SS6 Breen set fastest again with McKinstry 6 seconds in arrears.
Both drivers taking time out of their morning score over the stage.
Purcell lost time in this stage with a broken driveshaft, resigning
himself to the fact there was only so much speed in the Evo 6 compared
to his usual mount the WRC car and admitting that he was settling for
what ever points he could gain after the driveshaft problem. Denis
Cronin had gotten into his stride and was going into ss6 just 3seconds
off Britton in the race for 4th taking 5sec from Britton through this
stage he just moved into 4th.
Breen continued to be the fastest on SS7 and SS8 as Kenny McKinstry
cruised home his Subaru for second overall having stretched the gap to
McCullagh to just under 30 seconds. Breen's control of the event was
undoubted, an early puncture being the only blip on an otherwise
perfect performance. The new pairing with Martin Brady gelled easily
and Breen drove his own rally from the front never headed. This gives
him an even stronger advantage in the overall championship and he
expects to defend that lead on the next round in Wexford on June 8th.
Pete McCullagh put in a star performance with a new car and it being
over 6 months since his last competitive outing he could have been
excused for being rusty, but if he was it didn't show in the
timesheets and he & Alan Dolan drove to a well deserved 3rd o/a.
Denis Cronin took fourth, another commendable result on his debut year
on loose surfaces he came out on top of a day long battle with Colin
Britton & Arthur Kiearns, they took their Evo to 5th and increased
their GrpN lead in the championship. James Murphy & Francis Kenny took
6th which was a happy result for them because James has had more than
his share of bad luck with mechanical failures in recent rallies and a
strong finish is a good boost for the Limerick man. John Reid & Enda
Shields had a steady day all rally, he was consistently in the top
group on the time sheets and drove a trouble free rally to gain yet
more valuable points. In the Corolla this year John has been a model
of consistency and reliability this year and he now is rewarded with
holding 2nd o/a in the Hankook championship points table. Andrew
Purcell & Mick Courtney took 8th overall in their hired Mitsubishi, it
was a hard fought result after their eleventh hour problem for their
regular car but they did score points and this can still give hope to
their title aspirations.
Frank Kelly & Barry McKenna cantered on to top 2wd Class 5 winner and
11th overall, his job was made easier by the retirement of James
Coleman in his Escort but Shane McGirr & Martin McGarrity took their
wee starlet to an excellent 13th overall and class one victors and
ensured that Frank did not have too much room to relax. The Moynihan
sisters dominated the junior leader board all day and reached the
finish 27th overall and over a minute and a half ahead of nearest
challengers Ian Stanley & Alan Whyte.
In Class two it was once more the domain of Mick Nevin & Des Moran in
their Escort Mk2 they remain to be the year long benchmark of this
class.
Class 3 was won by almost 3 minute by Mark Dolphin & Brian Hurley in
their Escort. Class 4 was another Escort affair with Alan Commins &
Damian Coady the victors. Despite the turbo troubles Jeremy Drislane &
Tony McHugh won the Grp A class 6 by just under 2 minutes, and class 7
for WRC machinery was won by Dennis Cronin & Helen O Sullivan. With
Colin Britton & Arthur Kiearns taking class 8 for GrpN cars.
Moonraker lived up to its classic and respected status in the
calendar. It was a day where Breen took control from the first stage
and was never headed but that did not make it any less of a race as
McKinstry was always close enough to keep Breen on song as any mistake
could have changed the result for either driver. The next round is in
new territory in Wexford on June 8th so the challenge will be new to
all and the competition is bound to be fierce.
Posted: April 14, 2008 9:50 AM
1 Ray Breen/ Martin Brady (Ford Focus WRC) 42m 30s,
2 Kenny McKinstry/Sean Mullally (Subaru Impreza WRC) 44m 07s,
3 Peter McCullagh/Alan Dolan (Mit. Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 44m 37s,
4 Denis Cronin/Helen O’Sullivan (Subaru Impreza WRC) 44m 50s,
5 Colin Britton/Arthur Kierans (Mit. Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 45m 05s,
6 James Murphy/Francis Kenny (Ford Escort WRC) 45m 28s,
7 John Reid/Enda Shields (Toyota Corolla WRC) 45m 41s,
8 Andrew Purcell/Michael Courtney (Mit. Lancer Evo 6 Gp N) 45m 55s,
9 Pat O’Connell/Mark Wiley (Mit. Lancer Evo 9 Gp N) 46m 11s,
10 Frank Kelly/Barry McKenna (Ford Escort 2.0) 46m 13s.
Leaders After:
SS1-8 Ray Breen/ Martin Brady (Ford Focus WRC)
Stgae Winners:
SS1-8 Ray Breen/ Martin Brady (Ford Focus WRC)
Posted: April 11, 2008 4:52 PM
Kenny McKinstry/Sean Mullally are a late entry for the Rally
Posted: April 11, 2008 4:52 PM
The 2008 Hankook National forestry championship has provided some of
the very exciting Irish Motorsport in the season so far, and the East
Cork based Moonraker rally is expected to be no different. With a new
venue this year that sees the start of the rally move to Lismore in Co
Waterford and to the main sponsors The Lismore House Hotel. This
beautiful & historic hotel will be the starting point for a
competitive and exciting race over 8 classic stages in the East Cork
forests.
Classics such as "The Vee" will form part of the challenge, a much
revered and testing stage that gives the crews a piece of everything
from flat out straights to tight and technical corners waiting to
claim the unwary.
Last years event was a classic as No 1 seed Guy Wilks was making a
fleeting visit from his British and World championship programmes to
tackle the event in a McKinstry S9 Subaru WRC, backed by
www.rallyinsurance.co.uk yet mechanical failure was to sideline this
star at an early stage.
The rally unfolded into a titanic battle between Stephen Moore & Tony
McHugh in the Focus WRC and Brian McGillin & David Doherty in their
Hyundai WRC, going into the last stage McGillin lead by only 1 second
after 7 hard fought stages but Moore & McHugh stormed their Focus
through the final short stage to take back the one second from
McGillin and force the result of the days hard fought rallying to a
tie break! The rules say last man fastest gets the win, and this being
Moore who was fastest at the death right when it counted meant he was
once again crowned the victor ably assisted by his co driver Tony
McHugh and their 2005 spec Ford Focus Wrc. It was a close fought day
and so so near for Brian McGillin with the Omagh man almost taking his
maiden victory in the Hankook series. Sean Devine & Andrew Purcell
took an unchallenged 3rd overall with a minute in hand of 4th placed
Group N victor Keith Cronin & Anthony O Connell. It was Pete McCullagh
and Andrew Lehane who took runner up to Cronin in Grp N and 5th
overall, this result proving the early season pace of this crew was
right up there when not blighted by mechanical troubles.
However back to 2008 The stages are in good condition and the club is
looking forward to the support of competitors old and new. You're your
computer pointed to www.hankook.ie This website will be the place to
visit for the latest news and points tables as soon as they become
available and of course this is also the place to click into for the
all best photos from the crews in action on events.
This years victory will undoubtedly be as hard fought, top contenders
would surely be Andrew Purcell & Mick Courtney if they can remedy
engine woes that forced their retirement on the last round in
Limerick, the winner o that event Ray Breen will certainly be keen to
take victory once more and retain his championship lead. His son Craig
who co-drove him to that victory will be absent from this event due to
clashing commitments in his racing in the UK so Ray will have Martin
Brady to sit in as a temporary replacement and guide him. Denis Cronin
& Helen O Sullivan are another crew who could challenge for victory,
the Cork pairing are new to the forestry series but have been gaining
pace at an impressive rate.
First car leaves the start ramp at 09:00 and heads to 8 exciting
stages with a central service in Cappoquinn.The victor could come from
any quarter and none of the front runners are there to make up the
numbers on a Sunday drive, the victor will return to the Lismore House
just after half past five to claim the spoils so here is to an
enjoyable and safe days sport on the Moonraker.
Posted: April 9, 2008 8:42 AM
No. Driver/Navigator (Car) [Class]
201 Ian Stanley/Alan Whyte (Honda Civic) [9]
202 Aidan Mulcahy/Des Flynn (Honda Civic) [9]
203 Sarah Moynihan/Amy Moynihan (Peuqeot 206 Cup Car) [9]
204 Nick Hegarty/Allyn Jennings (Corolla Twin Cam) [9]
205 John Paul Ruth/Emmett Sherry (Honda Civic) [9]
206 Ross Forde/Aaron Forde (Suzuki Swift) [9]
101 Colum Browne/L. McGrath (Ford Ka) [1]
102 Ben Donnelly/TBA (TBA) [1]
103 Colman Kirby/Jemina Ottman (Nissan Sunny) [1]
104 Paul Collins/Brian Daniels (Honda Civic) [1]
105 Paul Archer/Jamie McCarthy (Vauxhall Nova) [1]
106 Andrew Fanning/Paddy King (Ford Ka) [1]
107 Shane McGirr/Martin McGarithy (Toyota Starlet RWD) [1]
108 Seamus Cooke/Gerald Hyland (Ford Escort MK2) [1]
1 Ray Breen/Martin Brady (Ford Focus WRC) [7]
2 Andrew Purcell/Mick Courtney (Subaru Impreza WRC) [7]
3 Brian McGillin/David Doherty (Hyundai Accent WRC) [7]
4 Denis Cronin/Helen O'Sullivan (Subaru Impreza WRC) [7]
5 Colin Britton/Authur Kierans (Mitsubishi EVO 9) [8]
6 James Murphy/Francis Kenny (Escort WRC) [7]
7 John Reid/Enda Shields (Corrolla WRC) [7]
8 Emma McKinstry/Kenny Hull (Subaru Impreza WRC ) [7]
9 Seamus Devine/TBA (Subaru Impreza WRC) [7]
10 Sean Heany/Liam McLaughlin (Mitsubishi EVO 9) [8]
11 Frank Kelly/Barry McKenna (Ford Escort MK2) [f]
12 James Coleman/Michael Haley (Ford Escort MK2) [5]
14 Peter McCullagh/Alan Dolan (Mitsubishi EVO ) [8]
15 Brendan Murphy/Pat Condon (Subaru Impreza ) [6]
16 John Reddington/Stephen Quinn (Mitsubishi EVO 8) [8]
17 Jeremy Drislane/Tony McHugh (Mitsubishi EVO ) [6]
18 Connie Smith/Elaine Smith (Sierra Cosworth) [6]
19 Mark Murphy/Carol O'Keeffe (Subaru Impreza ) [6]
20 Patrick Keenan/TBA (Mitsubishi EVO ) [8]
21 Connie Delaney/TBA (Subaru Impreza ) [8]
22 Ollie Williams/Michael Walsh (Ford Escort MK2) [5]
23 Jimmy Devane/TBA (Nissan Sunny) [5]
24 Bob Scanlan/Finian Hannigan (Mitsubishi EVO ) [8]
25 John Hickey/Brian O'Keeffe (Subaru Legacy) [6]
26 John Bagge/TBA (Mitsubishi EVO 6) [6]
27 John Meade/Kevin Kearney (Subaru Impreza ) [6]
28 Stephen Cullen/Oonagh Roche (Subaru Impreza ) [8]
29 Ciaran Mahon/Connor Bruton (Ford Escort MK2) [3]
30 Moss Fitzgerald/Jimmy Devane (Corolla Twin Cam) [3]
31 Paul Fitzgerald/TBA (Ford Escort MK2) [3]
32 Declan Cuddy/Nigel Moran (Subaru Impreza ) [6]
33 Gerard Lucey/James Lucey (Toyata Celica) [6]
34 Alan Commins/Damian Coady (Ford Escort MK2) [4]
35 Ray Benskin Snr./Paedad Walsh (Ford Escort MK2) [4]
36 Eamon Doherty/Eoin Guckian (Ford Escort MK2) [4]
37 Sean W Benskin/Bobby Nugent (Ford Escort MK2) [4]
38 Raymond Benskin Jnr/TBA (Ford Escort MK2) [4]
39 Tom Kenneally/Karl Baumann (Toyota Starlet RWD) [4]
40 Darragh Raftery/TBA (Honda Civic) [3]
41 Michael Nevin/Des Moran (Ford Escort MK2) [2]
42 Mark Dolphin/Brian Hurley (Ford Escort MK2) [3]
43 Marc Butler/TBA (Honda Civic) [3]
44 Clement Lonergan/TBA (Honda Civic) [3]
45 Ger Connors/Owen O'Neill (Opel Astra) [5]
46 Wesley Daly/Patrica Daly (Corolla Twin Cam) [3]
47 Michael Murphy/Pat Cashman (Corolla Twin Cam) [3]
48 Martin Cullinane/Derek Butler (Ford Escort MK2) [2]
49 Emmet Cronin/Joe Fitzgibbon (Ford Escort MK2) [2]
50 Kevin Fowler/Darren Walsh (Vauxhall Nova) [2]
51 James Cooney/TBA (Toyota Starlet RWD) [3]
52 Kieran Flynn/Bernard Sweeney (Peuqeot 206 Cup Car) [3]
53 John Spillane/TBA (Peuqeot 106) [3]
54 Paul McMahon/TBA (Ford Escort MK2) [2]
55 Richard Scanlan/Steven Scallan (Peuqeot 206 Cup Car) [3]
Course Cars
001 Brian O'Mahony/John Higgins (Renaullt Clio S1600) []
002 Allen Treacy/Shane Moriarty (Corolla Twin Cam) []
003 Richie Long/Simon Lacey (Ford Ka) []
004 James Cunningham/Marc Fobes (Corolla Twin Cam) []
005 Ger Fitzgerald/Kieran Crowley (Ford Escort MK2) []
Posted: April 7, 2008 4:25 PM
Waterford driver Andrew Purcell with his Meath co driver Mick Courtney are
ready for round 4 of the Irish National Forestry Championship the Moonraker
Rally based in Lismore Co Waterford.
Andrew 25 from Ferrybank Waterford is trying to put the last event behind him the Limerick forestry rally, it promised much but was really a major blow to Andrew and Mick in their fight for the championship. Things started bad when the engine started giving problems the Friday night before the rally. There was a lot of phoning and calling people but the best that could be done in the short time available was to get some bits from a road going car. SP Motorsport worked through the night to have the car ready and by Saturday the engine was going again all be it with a lot of standard parts on board.
It was decided to take a very cautious approach to the event and if the team managed second or third that would still keep their championship hopes alive with many rounds still left.
Andrew and Mick tackled the first stage in "Mind It" mode and were right up there with the leader’s times. Stage two brought one of the biggest frights of Andrews rallying to date when he met one of the Junior competitors on the stage there was no where to go and Andrew and Mick hit the back of the other car but were able to continue with some damage to the right front of the car. Stage 3 was cancelled so that would ease the pressure on the car and on stage 4 the lads suffered a puncture doing half the stage on a flat tyre. Imagine their surprise to find after all these problems they were still leading the event by 15 seconds in the Sleator Auto / Kumho Subaru. However it all came to nothing when the engine cried enough.
Andrew said after the event we went down here minding the car but with the amount of standard stuff in the engine it was a hope for the best weekend, we got some shock when we met the Junior car on the stage from a safety point of view that was not good. We kept the revs down and did not push it through the gears, we were on the pace but that all matters little now we have an engine to rebuild, let’s hope all will be ready for the Moonraker we have dropped a lot of points we need a good finish Sunday.
Purcell Motorsport is supported by Sleator Auto, Kumho Tyres (www.ears.ie), Dollymaids Cleaning Services, SP Motorsport , Ardcourt Builders, Extreme45, Sentinel Security Systems, Pat Kerley Windows.