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Carrick-on-Suir Restricted Mini Stage Rally - 21 Sep 08

Posted: October 14, 2008 2:52 PM - 17638 Hits

  • Rodney White/Sorcha Kelly win in Dungarvan

Photo: www.sidewayshot.com

In-Car

Posted: October 14, 2008 2:52 PM

Adrian McElhinney - SS3


James & Gordon Flood - SS4


Simon Kehoe/Enda Kennedy - SS1

Video Clips

Posted: October 14, 2008 2:46 PM

White All Over on Carrick Mini Stages

Posted: October 14, 2008 2:46 PM

Rodney White and Sorcha Kelly scored a start to finish victory on the Carrick on Suir Mini Stages Rally on Sunday last. The Rally based was based Dungarvan, Co.Waterford with the stages located in Ballymacarby, Ballinamult and the Cappoquin area. Rodney who hales from Nutts Corner, Co. Antrim was overjoyed at the finish stating that “After making the long trip down to participate it’s great to win the event”. The triumph for Rodney also marks the first competitor from the North of Ireland to win such an event based in the south.

The Rally was officially started on Sunday morning at the event sponsors, Fraher Plant Hire premises by the 2008 Rose of Tralee Aoife Kelly. Aoife waved the Darrian of first seeds James Stafford and Amy Ryan at 9.45 am under foggy conditions just outside Dungarvan. James was hoping for a better result than two weeks ago on his home rally in Wexford after he retired with gearbox problems, but his bad luck remained as he only got 1km into the opening “Ballymac” test as the Darrian’s power steering failed on a fast section. When trying to fix the problem James lost concentration and clipped a rock and crashed into a ditch. There wasn’t heavy damage but the radiator was broken and the favourite for the event was out.

As the cars entered service in the Waterford Crystal Factory Dungarvan at 11.46 am there was only nineteen seconds between the top three drivers. In first place on 16 minutes 33 seconds was Rodney White. After completing the first stage Rodney said “I was surprised to be leading as my driving seamed slow and there were patches of fog during the stage for which I backed off the pace. “Stage two was very fast and suited the setup of my car”. When asked what was his plan over the remaining two stages he stated “We’ll pace ourselves on stage three and see what our position is going into the last stage”. In second place were Leonard Downey and Mark Murphy seven seconds down. Leonard was pleased to be in second and reported a clean run on both tests. “I could have been faster over the opening stage but adapted a cautious approach over the opening five kilometres”. In third place were club members Shay Power and Martin Croke in their Mk11 Escort. Speaking to Shay in service he said “Both stages went very well.” He also remarked that “It’s great to get a run on dry roads for a change”.

On stage three both Shay and Leonard stepped up their pace. Shay set the second fastest time, just point seven of second slower than Mike Maloney who was in fourth place over all. Leonard set the third best time on the stage and brought the gap down to three seconds from Rodney. Rodney new he had to pull all the stops out and speaking to him on the finish ramp he said “I really went all out the last stage and was going well until the last junction”. “We were coming down hill into a square right around a bale. I breaked late and slide wide into the grass verge. As I tried to recover and get back on line the wheels started to spin and I taught it took forever to get moving again. As we crossed the finish line all was on my mind was had I thrown the win”. After getting my time for the stage we waited until Leonard stopped and we found out we had won the stage by three seconds and the rally by six it was unbelievable”.

The rally was not all about the cut and thrust of the top runners. Trevor Harding was driving the 001 course car, with Claire King from Carrick on Suir, as co driver for the day. Claire had won the co driver seat as one of the prizes from the Carrick Motor Club Festival of Motorsport in June. Claire a primary school teacher in Carrick was looking forward to the action on the stages but this was cut short as the clutch in Trevor’s Subaru broke during the first stage. Claire was sorry not to complete the full event but enjoyed the experience and would love to try it again.

Our main sponsor Pat Fraher of Fraher Plant Hire also was acting as co driver for the rally. It was organized that Pat would sit with Andrew Purcell in the Mitsubishi EVO 9 but the car suffered electrical problems and Pat was switched to the course car of Richie Long. Driving the Ford Ka they had a good run over the first two stages but crashed out on stage three. At the finish Pat said “It was nearly twenty year since I got into a rallycar but I loved it”

At the finish ramp Clerk of the Course James Coleman congratulated the winners Rodney and Sorcha for their great win and was delighted that the event attracted a competitor like Rodney from the North to make the trip down. James went on to thank Aoife Kelly the Rose of Tralee for coming to start the Rally. As over the last two weeks Aoife has been sick but still made the effort to come along. Next on the list was our joint sponsors Trevor J Harding Car Sales and Fraher Plant Hire. James thanked Trevor for running as course car and made the point that an event like this could not take place but for the sponsorship. James gave special praise to Pat Fraher for not only sponsoring the event but for the use of his premises on Saturday evening for Scrutiny and Parc Ferme. James also thanked Waterford and Tipperary County Councils, An Garda Siochana and the management and staff of the Park Hotel for their help. James finished by thanking the residence on the stages, the Marshals and the club officials for their help and work over the weeks leading up to the rally and over the weekend.

Full Results & Times

Posted: October 14, 2008 2:15 PM

1 Rodney White/Sorcha Kelly (Sunbeam) 32m 49s,
2 Leonard Downey/Mark Murphy (Escort) 32m 55s,
3 Shay Power Martin Croke (Escort) 33m 08s,
4 Mike Moloney/Marie Casey (Escort) 33m 16s,
5 Liam Wall/Denis O’Mahony (Escort) 33m 26s,
6 Colin O’Toole/Charlotte Egan (Corsa) 33m 27s,
7 Jason Kinsella/Bobby Murphy (Civic) 33m 31s,
8 Derek Brennan/Sean Rafter (Escort) 33m 52s,
9 Simon Kehoe/Enda Kennedy (Astra) 33m 52s,
10 Tomas O’Rourke/John McGrath (Astra) 33m 54s.

List of Late Entries:

Posted: September 18, 2008 5:25 PM

Late Entries accepted

Posted: September 17, 2008 5:52 PM

Contact 086-320 4019 / +353 86-320 4019

Mini Stages Withdrawals As of 17 September 2008

Posted: September 17, 2008 5:05 PM

17 Peter Wilson and John Killmurray Honda Civic Class 11
9 James Cassidy John Norris Ford Escort MK 2 12
12 Trevor Lancashire Donal Lennon Ford Escort 13
15 Seamus Doyle Kevin Barry Ford Escort Mk 2 13
24 Bill Fitzgerald Pat Murphy Peugeot 306 12
31 Andrew Lang Danny Daly Ford Fiesta r.w.d 9
34 Barry Murphy TBA TBA Citroen 6
62 Pat Bellew Jimmy Bellew Ford Escort Mk 2 9
71 Martin Devine Fiona Keegan Opel Corsa 13
77 Jonathan Folan Richard Whelan Suzuki Swift Gti 9
95 Sean Kennedy Paul Murphy Toyota Corolla GT Twin Cam 11
105 Michael Loughney David Loughney Opel Corsa 9
107 John Doody Kieran Hayes Ford Escort Mk 2 10

Full Preview -
Rose of Tralee to Offically Start the Carrick Motor Club Mini Stages Rally

Posted: September 17, 2008 5:01 PM

Dungarvan will be the home of motorsport in Co.Waterford next Sunday as the Carrick on Suir Motor Club host their Mini Stages Rally. The rally headquarters for the event will be based in the Park Hotel Dungarvan and the Rally will be officially started on Sunday Morning the 21st at 9.15 am by the 2008 Rose of Tralee Aoife Kelly. The rallying action for the four stage event will centred around the Ballymacarby, Ballinamult and Cappoquin area.

The Club are please to welcome on board Joint Sponsors for the rally, Fraher Plant and Tool Hire and Trevor J Harding Car Sales. Both sponsors have strong connections with the Carrick Motor Club and one of the highlights of the event is that both sponsors will take part in the rally. Trevor Harding will drive the 001 course car and Pat Fraher will take the hot seat as co driver for Andrew Purcell in the SP Motorsport backed Mitsubishi EVO 9 002 course car.

Pat Fraher is an ex member of the Carrick club and competed during the eighties with Ger Darcy in a 1600 Mk11 Escort. Pat Fraher Managing Director of Fraher Plant Hire was overjoyed with opportunity when approached to be a joint sponsor. Fraher Plant and Tool Hire have been in Business for ten years and are located at Ballymacmague, Dungarvan. They are leading hire specialists with the most comprehensive range of equipment in the South East. The Plant & Tool Hire section of the Fraher Group is already well established among contractors and DIY enthusiasts. The company provides a wide range of products at competitive prices.

The name Trevor Harding is well known to rally enthusiasts in the south east region. Trevor has been taking part in both tarmac and forestry events over the last ten years and only recently took top honours on the 2008 Wexford Forestry Rally with co driver Andrew Purcell. Trevor worked for a number of years as sales executive for Waterford Subaru main dealer Eddie Garry and over the last twelve months Trevor has launched his own car dealership based in Mullinavat Co. Kilkenny.

One of highlights of the rally will be event sponsor Trevor Harding and Rally Driver Andrew Purcell are to drive 001 and 002 course cars. Trevor’s co driver for the day is Claire King, from Feddans, Rathgormack, Co Waterford. Claire won this prize in the Carrick Motorsport Festival Raffle and is eagerly waiting to jump into the rallycar. Trevor will be driving his Group A Subaru Impreza. Andrew’s co driver for the rally will be our joint sponsor Pat Fraher, “It will be a big step up to the EVO 9 from my days in the Mk11 and Hillman Avenger but I’m looking forward to the sideway action” stated Pat. “Watch this space”

The club would like to thank the headquarters The Park Hotel Dungarvan. The Park Hotel (Flynn group hotels) and Leisure Centre is situated on its own five acres of landscaped grounds, only five minutes walk from the prosperous town of Dungarvan, Co. Waterford and overlooks the picturesque Colligan River Estuary. Hotel manager Michael Brett stated his pleasure in announcing their connection with the rally and quoted that “We have been involved with sport in Waterford over many years and all at the Park Hotel look forward to hosting the motorsport event in Dungarvan”.

The rally will be restricted to 2WD cars up to 2000cc and has a two stage layout which will be repeated in the afternoon to make four stages in total. The stages are located in the Ballymacarby and Cappoquin area with service located in the Waterford Crystal Factory Dungarvan. Both stages are approximately ten miles in length and will prove a tough test to each crew. Stage one starts in Ballymacarby and finishes at Ballynamult Bridge. There’s only a half mile of road section between the stages and stage two starts just outside the village of Ballynamult and finishes near Cappoquin.

The event timetable is as follows:
Official Start Sunday Morning at the Park Hotel Headquarters at 9.30 am

Special Stage One “Ballymac” 10.28 am
Special Stage Two “Crow Hill” 11 am


Service in the Waterford Crystal Factory Dungarvan 11.46 am

Special Stage Three “Ballymac Two” 13.29 pm
Special Stage Four “Crow Hill Two” 14.01 pm


First Car at Finish Ramp at the Headquarters at 3 pm

Wexford’s James Stafford’s starts at Number One and will be hoping for better luck than on his home rally last weekend when he suffered clutch problems and retired early on the first day of the two day event. In at number two is Carrick Club member Shay Power. Shay’s last outing was the Stonethrowers Rally in August and with the stages in the same general location shay is looking forward to a good run. The second Wexford man in the top three is Liam Wall in his fabulous Mk11 Escort. Liam also suffered terrible luck in Wexford last weekend when his engine blew on stage 6. Liam had intended to retire after the 2008 Wexford rally after ten years behind the wheel but decided to give it one more go. “We started ten years ago and it would have been nice to round off my rallying career here at home with a good finish but it was not to be” said the New Ross man as I spoke to him on Saturday. “The Car is being repaired as we speak and will be ready by Monday and with the Dungarvan event only a few miles up the road we couldn’t miss out on the action”. In the event there’s a number of club members hoping for a good finish including Alan Commins, Enda O’Brien and Derek Brennan seeded eighteen, nineteen and twenty. Donagh O’Sullivan and Paul Collins are seeded thirty six all will be looking for a good outing in their magnificent white Mk11 Ford Escort. Both lads having been away on holidays recently so they should be feeling well rested and ready to set a good pace.

Programs will be on sale at the headquarters from Saturday and in local shops and service stations in Dungarvan. Out near the stages Programs will be on sale in Ballymacarby, Ballinamult and Cappoquin.

Entry List Available

Posted: September 15, 2008 5:30 PM

Seeding this weekend

Posted: September 10, 2008 9:21 PM

Seeding will take place over the weekend.

Entries still available

Marshal Meeting Points.

Posted: September 10, 2008 9:20 PM

Stage 1: Doocey's Morris Oil, Ballymacarbery at 7.45a.m.

Stage 2: Fraher Plant Hire, Opposite Master McGraths Monument at 7.45 a.m

Event Poster

Posted: September 10, 2008 9:19 PM

Closing Date for Entries Extended to Thursday the 11th of September

Posted: September 4, 2008 4:04 PM

Closing date for entries has been extended to Thursday the 11th of September.

Press Release - Details

Posted: August 24, 2008 7:46 PM

The Carrick on Suir Restricted Mini Stages Rally will take place on the 21st of September 2008. The event organised and promoted by the Carrick on Suir Motor Club will be based in Dungarvan, Co.Waterford with its headquarters placed in the Park Hotel, Dungarvan.

The Park Hotel (Flynn group hotels) and Leisure Centre is situated on its own five acres of landscaped grounds, only five minutes walk from the prosperous town of Dungarvan, Co. Waterford and overlooks the picturesque Colligan River Estuary. Hotel manager Michael Brett stated his pleasure in announcing their connection with the rally and quoted that “We have been involved with sport in Waterford over many years and all at the Park Hotel look forward to hosting the motorsport event in Dungarvan”.

Clerk of the Course for the event will be James Coleman. James is a well known competitor to both Tarmac and Forestry Rallying over the past number of years driving his fabulously prepared Mk11 Ford Escorts. His Company Suirway Forklifts and Access have connections with the Carrick Motor Club going back over the last ten years and other motorsport events in the south east. In 2008 the Carrick based company have been the major supporter of the Ravens Rock Rally, the Willie Loughman Forestry Rally and Faugheen 50 road race. After enjoying the cut and thrust of sitting behind the wheel on the stages James has also turned to the official side of the sport and is currently a member of the Motorsport Ireland Rallies Committee and the Motorsport Ireland Commission.

The rally will be restricted to 2WD cars up to 2000cc and has a two stage layout which will be repeated in the afternoon to make four stages in total. The stages are located in the Ballymacarby and Cappoquin area with service based in the Waterford Crystal Factory Dungarvan. Both stages are just under ten miles long. Stage one starts in Ballymacarby and finishes at Ballynamult Bridge. There’s only a half mile of road section between the stages and stage two starts just outside the village of Ballynamult and finishes near Cappoquin. The first Car will leave the start ramp at 9.30 am approx, with the first stage starting

More Details:

Regulations available

Posted: August 17, 2008 11:45 AM

Regulations will be available to download later today (Sunday 17th August) from the Club website:

Posted: January 28, 2008 10:43 PM


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