Blackhorse Easter Forest Stages (IoM) - (Sat) 11 Apr 09

New generation Corkill set to shine at Easter?

Posted: April 10, 2009 10:47 AM

A close battle looks to be on the cards as the Eurocars Motorsport Manx Rally Championship heads off-road for the longest standing club rally on the local calendar, the Black Horse Finance Easter Stages, tomorrow (Saturday). At the head of the field it’s a case of generation games; the event is no stranger to Collister vs Corkill battles, but this time it’s sons George and Connor rather than Graham and Ian.

George Collister is a twice former winner, and will lead the 21-car field away from St Johns , with Janet Craine as usual on the notes. The pair will start as favourites and have recent gravel form from the Bulldog Rally in north Wales two weeks ago, despite ultimately suffering a last stage retirement. The Mitsubishi Evo 3 is ready to go after the driveshaft and gearbox maladies were sorted.
Intriguingly however Connor Corkill and Howard Allison switch to four-wheel drive for the first time, with a new Subaru Impreza, and given the pace they’ve been showing on events in recent months the extra power and traction put them very much in contention.

‘It will be good to have a go in one of these four wheel-drives’, Connor said last week. ‘Even though it might not be as fun as an Escort, there is no substitute for speed, and hopefully this thing will be fast!’ The pair were heading to Sweet Lamb in Wales last weekend to test the car, a sign that they are looking to give the event a proper go.

Jaks Rally winners Steve Quine and Paul McCann start at three in Tim Collins’ Honda Civic. Victory in February has prompted the pair to look at a serious championship tilt, after originally declaring they would stick to the roads this year.

Though they head the two-wheel drive entries, that particular battle also looks keen, with Nigel Cannell (third on the Jaks event) next up in his Vauxhall Corsa, Kex Walker (BMW 325), Ian Corkill (Ford Escort) and Andrew Leece (Vauxhall Astra) all set to be on the pace.

Andrew in particular will want to make amends for his last off-road outing, when he suffered a serious hand burn last autumn.

The event is based in St Johns, with the stage action revolving around Archallagan, South Barrule and Arrasey plantations.

Time Schedule

Posted: April 10, 2009 10:45 AM

MC1 St Johns 9.01
SS1 Archallagan 9.14
SS2 South Barrule 9.31
SS3 Arrasey 9.49
Service 1 St Johns 10.04
SS4 Archallagan 10.37
SS5 South Barrule 10.54
SS6 Arrasey 11.12
Service 2 St Johns 11.27
SS7 Archallagan 13:00
SS8 South Barrule 13.21
Service 3 St Johns 13.38
SS9 Archallagan 14.11
SS10 South Barrule 14.32
MC3 St Johns 14.49

Entry List

Posted: April 10, 2009 10:43 AM

1 George Collister/Janet Craine              (Mitsubishi Evo 3)
2 Connor Corkill/Howard Allison             (Subaru Impreza)
3 Steve Quine/Paul McCann                  (Honda Civic)
4 Nigel Cannell/Nicholas Kaighin            (Vauxhall Corsa)
5 Kex Walker/Danni Matthews               (BMW 325)
6 Ian Corkill/Rivka Corkill                       (Ford Escort)
7 Kev Jaffray/Joe Parsons                      (Subaru Impreza)
8 Andy Leece/Graham Fargher               (Vauxhall Astra)
9 Peter Harrison/Nigel Morris                  (Peugeot106)
10 Kevin Vondy/Sarah Fargher               (Vauxhall Corsa)
11 Robbie Sampson/Chris Heyes           (Vauxhall Astra)
12 David Jones/Martin Burns                 (Vauxhall Nova)
14 Tim Collins/Rob Jackson                   (Citroen C2)
15 Ben Hardy/Ryan/McDermott              (Suzuki Swift) 
16 Walter Bridson/Ashley Trimble           (Vauxhall Corsa)  
17 John O'Hagan/Peter Corkish              (VW Golf)
18 Richard Kneen/Tom Babbs                (Peugeot 205)
19 Dean Quayle/Emma Kennaugh          (Peugeot 106)
20 Tomos Roberts/Timmy Healy             (Peugeot 106)
21 Mathew Davidson/Fay Harrison         (Peugeot 106)
22 Paul Halsall/Mathew Owen                 (Suzuki Swift)

Club Website

Posted: February 25, 2009 3:24 PM

Manx Autosport Club