Carrick-on-Suir Ravens Rock Stages Rally - 28 Jun 09

Video Clips

Posted: June 29, 2009 5:37 PM

Posted: June 29, 2009 5:33 PM

Cronin/Shinnors Rock National Championship

Posted: June 29, 2009 5:30 PM

The National Rally Championship was turned on it’s head yesterday when 22 year old Keith Cronin from Ballylickey and co-driver Greg Shinnors in a Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 showed all of the top National competitors a clean pair of heels as they took a start to finish victory on the Ravens Rock Rally.

The starters list of the Carrick-on-Suir based event, the fifth round of the 2009 National Rally Championship, included the top 5 in this year’s championship. They set out on Sunday morning at 10am to do battle over 9 stages, totalling 135kms, comprising a loop of three stages repeated three times with a service between each loop. The stages of Slievenamon, The Gap and Ballyneale were to provide the perfect platform for young Cronin to showcase his driving prowess.

On the first stage Cronin set out a marker to the opposition by completing the 18km route 15 seconds faster than his closest rival, reigning National Champion Patrick Elliot. Current Championship leader Niall Maguire was a further 8 seconds in arrears followed by Kevin Barrett a further 3 seconds down. The next Group N car, that of Gary Jennings was a full 34 seconds down on Cronin.

Elliot reacted and went quicker than the young Ballylickey on stage 2, albeit by just 2 seconds. Then on the final stage of the first loop, Elliot and Cronin were joint fastest as Cronin returned to service with a 13sec lead over Elliot and 36 seconds ahead of Maguire.

Rain had started to fall as the competitors returned to service. This was the perfect opportunity for the rally leaders to capitalise, as the more powerful WRC cars would have difficulty utilising their advantage on the slippery roads. On each of the six remaining stages Cronin/Shinnors extended their lead and by the end of the final stage they had won the event by 1m21 sec from second placed Niall Maguire. Patrick Eliott was a further 47 seconds in arrears. The closest Gp N car was some 3m40s behind.

The first stage of the loop, Slievenamon, was dedicated to that legend of Irish rallying, Frank Meagher, as he had proved so devastingly quick on the stage down through the years. Keith Cronin showed why he is the next legend in the sport by making this stage very much his own. The three runs on this stage alone, accounted for 59 seconds of his eventual winning margin!

The result reinforces the massive talent that the unassuming young Ballylickey man possesses. It also explains why, in the last week, he was chosen once again, as Ireland’s representative in this year’s Pirelli Shootout, which will take place in Finland on 29th & 30th July.

CRONIN CANTERS TO RAVEN'S ROCK RALLY VICTORY
MAGUIRE TAKES MAXIMUM DUNLOP POINTS
Report courtesy of Dunlop - proud sponsors of the National Rally Championship

Posted: June 29, 2009 2:36 PM

LEADING from start to finish, Keith Cronin and co-driver, Greg Shinnors (Mitsubishi) won the Carrick on Suir based Suirway Forklifts Raven's Rock Rally, the fifth round of the Dunlop National Rally Championship.
Cronin, a former winner of the Billy Coleman Award, finished one minute and 21 seconds ahead of Dunlop National Rally Championship leaders, Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry.  Reigning champions, Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Subaru) were a further 47 seconds behind in third.
Garry Jennings (Mitsubishi), who was co-driven by Damien Connolly, was the top points scorer in the race for the Patterson's RallyNews Group N award followed by Kevin Kelleher, also in a Mitsubishi.  The two-wheel drive award was won by Martin McCormack/Dai Roberts (Citroen C2 R2).

On the opening stage, Slievenamon, Cronin took a staggering 15 seconds from reigning Dunlop National Rally champion, Patrick Elliott.  The West Cork driver remarked at the stage finish that his Mitsubishi was down on boost while Elliott reckoned the suspension of his Subaru was set far too hard for the Tipperary roads.  Meanwhile, Niall Maguire was a further eight seconds behind Elliott, he opined that he didn't really make a great start and failed to get into the flow of the stage.  Kevin Barrett was just three seconds further behind the former triple national champion.  Garry Jennings (Mitsubishi) in fourth was in a similar situation to Maguire while Eamonn Daly in sixth was slowed ever so slightly when he caught up with the Mitsubishi of Thomas Fitzmaurice.  British driver, Dave Weston, on his first ever Irish rally, was seventh.

Elliott gained two seconds on the second stage and then tied with Cronin on the third stage.  At the Carrick on Suir service, Cronin, who led Elliott by 13 seconds, reckoned he was distracted by an oil problem and was hoping to sort the situation at the service.  Elliott lost a few precious seconds when his Subaru stalled at a junction on Ballyneal (S.S.3) while Maguire had difficulty in matching the times of his Dunlop rival.  Barett was fourth - just six seconds behind Maguire.
  Jennings arrived at the stage finish with his windscreen smeared following a very light shower, he also reported some oil deposits on the stage.
Daly was next in classification - 21 seconds behind the Fermanagh driver in a top ten that also included top two-wheel drive competitor, Mike Quinn (Escort), John Somers (Toyota Celica), the Renault Clio of James Travers and Thomas Davies (Escort).  Quinn lost brakes on one stage and was thwarted by throttle cable problems on the other test.  Simon Kehoe crashed his Escort on the opening stage.  Elsewhere, Kevin Kelleher lost substantial time with a differential problem.

A superb performance over the repeat loop of three stages saw Cronin set three fastest times and extend his lead margin to one minute and seven seconds.  Cronin's only concern was that his Mitsubishi seemed a little wayward a fact he attributed to the mixture of tyres - a cut slick on the front and intermediate on the back.  Meanwhile, Maguire slotted his Subaru into second with Elliott stating he had selected the wrong tyres for the loop.  Maguire was 13 seconds ahead of his Dunlop rival.  Barrett lost time with a puncture on stage six but retained fourth ahead of Jennings, who was in Dunlop championship mode.
Darragh O'Riordan had a good run through the loop to move up to sixth ahead of Eamonn Daly (Mitsubishi) and the Toyota Celica of John Somers.  Having sorted the differential problems, Kevin Kelleher worked his way up to ninth with James Travers (Renault) completing the top ten.

Out on Stage 7, Cronin increased his lead to a minute and 13 seconds, he traversed the stage six seconds faster than Maguire.  However, he recounted a major moment early in the stage when his Mitsubishi almost got away from him.  Maguire went 24 seconds ahead of Elliott in the chase for maximum Dunlop points.  Barrett was fourth; fifth placed Jennings experienced a vibration from the brake caliper. Meanwhile, Darragh O'Riordan (Renault Clio) crashed put of sixth place that was inherited by Kevin Kelleher

On the final two stages, Cronin sealed a superb victory and Maguire took maximum points to extend his lead over Elliott in the Dunlop series to 16 points. 
Barrett secured fourth and Jennings survived suspension trouble to claim fifth with Kelleher sixth. Marty McCormack (Citroen) won the two-wheel drive award; Shay Power's Escort had transmission problems and dropped outside the top ten.

Photos

Posted: June 29, 2009 2:26 PM

crspics.com - Counihan Rallysport Pictures
LINK REMOVED - Sideway Shot Motor Sport Photography
rallyprint.com - Trevor McGrath

Full Results

Posted: June 29, 2009 2:19 PM

1 Keith Cronin/Greg Shinnors (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) GpN 71m 35s
2 Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry (Subaru Impreza WRC) 72m 56s
3 Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC) 73m 43s
4 Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally (Subaru Impreza WRC) 74m 25s
5 Garry Jennings/Damien Connolly (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) GpN 75m 15s
6 Kevin Kelleher/Adrian Deasy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) GpN 76m 52s
7 Eamonn Daly/Alistair Wyllie (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) GpN 77m 15s
8 John Somers/John McGrath (Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD) 77m 30s
9 Martin McCormack/Dai Roberts (Citroen C2R2 Max) 78m 26s
10 James Travers/Robert Nolan (Renault Clio) 78m 47s

Leaders After:
SS1-9 Keith Cronin/Greg Shinnors (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) GpN

Stage Winners:
SS1 Keith Cronin/Greg Shinnors (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) GpN
SS2 Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS3 Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC)
& Keith Cronin/Greg Shinnors (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) GpN
SS4 Keith Cronin/Greg Shinnors (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) GpN
SS5 Keith Cronin/Greg Shinnors (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) GpN
SS6 Keith Cronin/Greg Shinnors (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) GpN
SS7 Keith Cronin/Greg Shinnors (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) GpN
SS8 Keith Cronin/Greg Shinnors (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) GpN
SS9 Keith Cronin/Greg Shinnors (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) GpN

Full Results and Times in Excel Format

Results in PDF on Club website:

Carrick on Suir Motor Club

Rallynews (by Brian & Liz Patterson)

Cronin/Shinnors head to Carrick!

Posted: June 26, 2009 3:46 PM

This weeks trip to Carrick on Suir to compete on the Ravens Rock Stages is, for Keith Cronin and Greg Shinnors, purely an exercise to keep them and their Mitsubishi in top shape for the Isle of Man International Rally the following month.

Halfway through their first ever attack on the British Rally Championship they have thus far led the championship, having won the first two gravel rounds and been second on the third round which was run on asphalt. The next BRC round on the Isle of Man is the second asphalt round of the 6 round Championship.

Admiration for the Cork/Limerick pairing has grown significantly in the process across the British Isles. With success, however, also comes significant begrudgery and in Keith’s case this has arrived in the form of hackers on his website which had previously been in trouble-free operation for a number of years.

The Isle of Man is of course also a counting round of the Irish Tarmac Rally championship in which Keith and Greg hold 5th in Gp N(Class 4), although they have competed on only one round so far, that being the Jim Clark International. The Ulster International in August will be the third and final round that encompasses both championships

Back to this weekend, and given the fact that they are seeded 4th overall, they don’t expect to improve on their seeding in the course of the event! They will continue to run on BRC fuel(which is lower specification to that normally used on this side of the Irish Sea) and they also plan to run on previously used tyres in order to curtail expenditure on an event that is of no material significance to the BRC.

If they had decided to re-map the car to Irish fuel specifications and run on new tyres as they did on the West Cork Rally, they could possibly challenge for the lead or at least mix it with the WRC cars on selected stages.

The competition in their Group N class will also be hectic as the top 10 includes some of the fastest Group N exponents in this country, including current Tarmac Group N champion Kevin Kelleher. Anthony O’Halloran, Gary Jennings, James Foley. Current National Championship Group N leader Thomas Fitzmaurice is also on the entry list.

Gary Jennings will certainly be on the pace as he will be match fit having led the class on last weekends Donegal International Rally until mechanical gremlins got the better of him. An unknown quantity will be James Foley, who is always devastatingly quick, but, the unknown factor will be his car, which is the latest (EVO 10) version of the Mitsubishi Lancer. Anthony O’Halloran can always be counted on to be there or thereabouts in the final shakeup although it is uncertain if he will start.

Regular BRC competitor Dave Weston also makes the trip across the Irish Sea, in order to get a taste of Irish asphalt prior to the Ulster International Rally in August.

All in all there is an exciting weekends rallying ahead and as always, members of Keith’s Supporters Club (Cronin Motorsport Supporters Club) will receive text message updates on the teams progress at least every two stages.

Keith Cronin Rallying

DUNLOP NATIONAL RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP REACHES MID POINT
Preview courtesy of Dunlop - Proud sponsors of the National Rally Championship

Posted: June 26, 2009 3:33 PM

The Dunlop National Rally Championship reaches the halfway mark on Sunday next with the Carrick on Suir based Suirway Forklifts Raven's Rock Rally, the fifth round of the ten event series. Championship leader, Niall Maguire (Subaru WRC) fresh from his victory on the recent Circuit of Munster, is hoping to keep his winning form in the face of the challenges from reigning champion, Patrick Elliot and Kevin Barrett, also in a Subaru WRC, who continues to improve as the season progresses.  Elliott won the opening three rounds in Nenagh, Castlebar and Tralee but crashed out whilst leading the Circuit of Munster.  The Cavan driver was only a few fleeting seconds ahead of Maguire at the time of the accident thus reflecting the type of form that was a feature of their 2008 campaign that was ultimately decided on the Galway Summer Rally.  Elliott is the top seed for the nine-stage event that has attracted some 140 entries.  Currently, he is second in the series  - fourteen points behind Maguire, however, dropped scores have yet to be taken into consideration - competitors can count their best eight from the ten events.

Leader Maguire commented, "I was delighted with the win on the Circuit of Munster.  Just like last season, there's is very little between Patrick (Elliott) and myself."  Maguire, a three time national champion has Enda Sherry co-driving this season.  "Enda is a very experienced co-driver, down through the years he's read notes for many drivers.  The partnership is working extremely well." Maynooth's, Kevin Barrett (Subaru WRC) occupies the number four berth and having set a number of fastest stage times on the events to date, an outright victory may not be far away.

British Rally Championship leader, Keith Cronin (Mitsubishi), is utilising the rally as a shakedown for his next outing in the BRC.  There's no doubt that the talented Cork driver will set a strong pace and will figure at the top end of proceedings.  He will be the ideal barometer for the remainder of the Group N contenders, especially those with designs on the RallyNews Group N award.     They include Gary Jennings, Anthony O'Halloran, Kevin Kelleher and current leader, Thomas Fitzmaurice.
Jennings led the Group N category on the Donegal International Rally last weekend until he dropped over twenty minutes on the opening stage of the second leg and subsequently retired with driveshaft trouble.  Having crashed out of the Circuit of Munster, Anthony O'Halloran (Mitsubishi) will be determined to get his championship bid back on track.  So too, will Kevin Kelleher, who was in line to take the Group N victory in Limerick until he was sidelined with mechanical failure.  Meanwhile, car preparation expert, James Foley onboard a Mitsubishi Evo10 makes a rare outing in the Dunlop series.
Thomas Fitzmaurice has shown great consistency and has scored in all of the four rounds, he leads Jennings by seven points with Kelleher thirteen points further adrift in third place in the race for the Paterson's RallyNews award.
In the midst of the Group N drivers is Mike Quinn (Ford Escort), who leads the rally.ie award for the top two-wheel drive competitor, Quinn is seventh in the overall Dunlop championship standings.

Group N contender, Eamonn Daly, who was third overall in the Circuit of Munster may find it difficult to repeat the feat but the sixteen Dunlop points gleamed could prove invaluable later in the season.  Elsewhere, Kilkenny's Eoin Doyle (Subaru WRC), Wexford's, John Somers (Toyota Celica) are also in the top twenty.
Waterford's, Eddie Power in the ex-John McCarthy Toyota Corolla WRC made great progress on the latter stages in Limerick and will be keen to impress from the start.  Welsh driver, Dave Weston (Subaru) competes in Group N while Irish Tarmac Championship S1600 leader, Darragh O'Riordan will give his Renault Clio its first outing since an engine rebuild.  The top twenty also includes Simon Kehoe (Opel Astra); James Travers (Renault Clio) and Marty McCormack in his Citroen C2 where category opposition for the Northern Ireland ace includes Welshman, Andrew Hockridge. 
The Modified entry features Shay Power, David Percy, Sam Smyth and Tomas Davies all in Ford Escorts.  Joe Connolly (Ford Escort), Lloyd Hutchinson (Mini Cooper) Paddy O'Dwyer (Vauxhall Nova) are other interesting entries.

Rally Programmes

Posted: June 26, 2009 3:11 PM

Event Programmes will be on Sale at the Carraig Hotel Headquarters and Service Stations in and around Carrick on Suir from Saturday. For Spectators Travelling from Kilkenny there will be Programmes available in Mahers Great Gas, Callan, Co.Kilkenny.

Carrick on Suir Set to Rock next Weekend

Posted: June 24, 2009 11:27 AM

The seen is set for a fantastic weekend of motorsport on Sunday next as Carrick on Suir welcomes round 5 of the Dunlop National Rally Championship for the Suirway Forklifts Ravens Rock Rally. Organised by the Carrick on Suir Motor Club and based for the second year in succession in the clubs hometown, the nine special stage tarmac event will showcase the best of Irish National Championship action and will also host

• Round 6 National Junior Rally Championship
• Round 4 Triton Showers South East Stages Rally Championship
• Round 3 Thomand Crystal Southern 4 Rally Championship
• Round 5 Carrick on Suir Motor Club Championship

The 2009 event brings a change of Clerk of the Course as Pat Sheil takes the step up from deputy COC on last year’s event, Cathy Brogan takes over as event secretary and the rally reverts back to a three stage repeated layout.

The 2009 Dunlop National Rally Championship has again developed into a two-way battle between Co. Cavan’s Patrick Elliot and Co. Monaghans Niall Maguire both driving Subaru Impreza’s. Reigning champion Elliott started his defence in fantastic style with a hat trick of victories on the opening three rounds. Maguire had to be content with second place over those three events in Birr, Mayo and Kerry, but the seasoned campaigner seized his chance four weeks ago in Adare Co. Limerick, capturing victory on the last stage of the Circuit of Munster when Elliott crashed out 6 Km from the finish. The rivalry is set to continue this weekend as Maguire now takes a fourteen-point lead into the Carrick event.

The National Junior Rally Championship has begun to hot up over the last few weeks with the first two tarmac rounds of the season. The unique characteristic of this championship is that it features both tarmac and gravel events. The championship began with three forestry (gravel surface) rallies. It was Co. Waterford’s and Carrick Motor Club member Craig Breen that took any early lead by securing victory on the opening round in Mitchelstown. Breen then backed that up by winning again on round two his home event the Carrick forestry rally. Vincent McAree from Co. Monaghan driving a Peugeot 206 was the victor on round three the Moonraker forestry, with Claregalway’s Jonathan Cunningham starting his assault for championship glory win eight points also on the event. Cunningham has been the driver to watch as the transition was made to tarmac for rounds four and five. On round four in Cavan Jonathan had a disaster of a run, picking up two punctures on the opening stage but still managed to battle back to come away with six points. Last time out on round five Cunningham made up for his bad luck in Cavan by taking a well deserved victory on the Circuit of Munster Junior Rally and now leads the championship on twenty two points from Craig.

To date the 2009 TRITON SHOWERS South East Stages Rally Championship has completed three rounds, two forestry and one tarmac and the championship leader board reflects the results from the opening forestry events. Overall leader Pat O’Connell in the class 6 Mitsubishi Lancer got his championship bid off to a flying start by picking up thirty points on the forestry rally in Mitchelstown and scored twelve on the first weekend in March on the Carrick Forestry, bring his total to forty two. Second in the standings on thirty nine points is the Mk11 stalwart Mick Nevin, we then go back to class six for Stephen McGrath who holds third place on thirty points again from his two forestry outings. This championship offers a lot of promise for Carrick club members who are producing good results and are lying well in their respective classes. In class 1, the father and daughter team of Thomas and Deirdre Sheehan are in second place on nine points in their 1400 Nissan Micra. Pierce Doheny took over as class leader in class two netting eighteen points from his outing in Carlow, Class 3, is led by Noel Wade in the Ford Escort. Noel has competed on all three rounds to date and his consistent finishing has put him in a great position on twenty seven points going into his home event. Also in class 3 we have Enda O’Brien in the Mk11 on twelve points holding on to third in the class. In class 4 we have Andrew McCabe driving the Vauxhall Nova in second place in the class on sixteen points, also in class 4 from the Carrick club we have Alan Commins lying fifth place but with home advantage this weekend Alan will be hoping to move up the in the points. In the hotly contested class 5, John Paul Ruth is in fifth with nine points and will be hoping for a good result from the Carrick event.

This years Ravens Rock welcomes the Southern 4 Rally Championship for round three under its new sponsor Thomond Crystal. The season got under way as usual with the West Cork Rally on St. Patrick’s weekend in March and saw a fantastic battle for overall honours between Liam McCarthy (Corolla WRC) and Denis Cronin (Impreza WRC). McCarthy held the lead on day as Keith Cronin and Jim Harrison fell by the wayside. As the crews entered Parc Ferme at the end of day Liam held a narrow lead from Denis. Mk11 man Frank Kelly, not well known for his tarmac exploits was having a whale of a time and held a brilliant sixth place overall at the end of the first day. Denis was set for the battle on day two but gearbox problems put pay to any idea of outright victory and at the end Liam McCarthy emerged as the overall winners, thus taking full S4 points for the round, with Denis Cronin finishing third, despite their gearbox woes and therefore second in the championship. Forestry and Mk11 expert Frank Kelly had a whale of a time in West Cork netting a 6th overall finish thus collecting 16 points and third in the championship.

The absence of Liam McCarthy from round two the Rally of the Lakes left the door open for Denis Cronin to take over the lead in the Championship and Denis duly obliged finishing a brilliant 4th overall in the Killarney event, which means he now has 38 points after two rounds with Darragh O Riordans Clio S1600 in second place on 31, John Buttimer is in 3rd overall in his Impreza with Liam McCarthy now relegated to 4th on 20 points. Frank Kelly’s heroics in West Cork still sees him in 5th overall in the championship standings with Fergus O Meara, Mark Nangle, Kevin O Donoghue, David Fleming and William Walsh making up the top 10.

The Clerk of the Course has already given the 2009 event his own stamp by bridging a gap of over ten year’s by running the rally in a three stage loop layout, with each stage repeated three times. Pat and his team will be kicking the event off with the famous Slievenamon stage, then the competitors will tackle the Gap and the loop is completed with the Ballyneill stage. Scrutiny on Saturday afternoon the 27th and centralised service on Sunday is located in the Mill River Business Park. The official start of the Rally is outside the Carraig Hotel Headquarters on Sunday Morning the 28th at 9am with the event taking in 230 Km in total, of which 120 Km are Special Stage Action. For full Rally schedule and up to date info please logon to

• Carrick on Suir Motor Club

Entry List

Posted: June 22, 2009 2:05 PM

1 Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC) 8
2 Niall Maquire/Enda Sherry (Subaru Impreza WRC) 8
3 Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally (Subaru Impreza WRC) 8
4 Keith Cronin/Greg Shinnors (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 4
5 Garry Jennings/David Moynihan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 4
6 Anthony O Halloran/Charlie McEnery (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 4
7 Mike Quinn/Grainne McEnery (Ford Escort Mk II) 14
8 Kevin Kelleher/Adrian Deasy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 4
9 James Foley/Andrew Cullen (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) 4
10 Thomas Fitzmaurice/Fionn Foley (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 4
11 Eamon Daly/Anthony O Connaill (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 4
12 Eoin Doyle/Peter Brennan (Subaru Impreza WRC) 8
14 John Somers/John McGrath (Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD) 15
15 Eddie Power/Jonathan McGrath (Toyota Corolla WRC) 15
16 Dave Weston/Aled Davies (Subaru Impreza N14) 4
17 Darragh O Riordan/Sean McCarthy (Renault Cilo S1600) 6
18 Simon Kehoe/Ray Greene (Ford Escort MKII) 13
19 James Travers/TBA (Renault Cilo R3) 3
20 Martin McCormack/Dia Roberts (Citroen C2-R2 Max) 6

Full Entry List, Final Instructions & Scrutiny Times are on the "Event" Page of the club website:

• Carrick on Suir Motor Club

Time & Distance Schedule | Marshals Meeting Points

Posted: June 17, 2009 1:50 PM

Time & Distance Schedule
Marshals Meeting Points
available at:

• Carrick on Suir Motor Club

Entries to Remain open

Posted: June 8, 2009 9:15 PM

The closing date for entries was to close tomorrow the 9th of June, but Entries will now remain open.

Important Announcement Concerning Merchandising Vendor

Posted: June 4, 2009 10:32 AM

See Club website:

• Carrick on Suir Motor Club

3x3 stage format for 2009 Raven's Rock

Posted: May 22, 2009 2:46 PM

Carrick on Suir Motor Club are delighted to announce details of the 2009 running of their flagship event the Suirway Forklifts Ravens Rock Stages Rally on Sunday June 28th. The club are delighted for the support of main sponsor Suirway Forklifts and associate sponsor and Rally Headquarters the Carraig Hotel. The 2009 event brings a change of Clerk of the Course as Pat Sheil takes the step up from deputy COC on last year’s event, Cathy Brogan takes over as event secretary and the rally reverts back to a three stage repeated layout. For the second year in a row the rally will be based in the clubs home town of Carrick on Suir, Co.Tipperary

The rally will be counting rounds in the following championships:
• Round 5 Dunlop National Rally Championship
• Round 7 National Junior Rally Championship
• Round 4 Triton Showers South East Stages Rally Championship
• Round 3 Thomand Crystal Southern 4 Rally Championship
• Round 5 Carrick on Suir Motor Club Championship

The Clerk of the Course has already given the 2009 event his own stamp by bridging a gap of over ten year’s by running the rally in a three stage loop layout, with each stage repeated three times. Pat and his team will be kicking the event off with the famous Slievenamon stage, then the competitors will tackle the Gap and the loop is completed with the Ballyneill stage. Scrutiny on Saturday afternoon the 27th and centralised service on Sunday is located in the Mill River Business Park.
The official start of the Rally is outside the Carraig Hotel Headquarters on Sunday Morning the 28th at 9am with the event taking in 230 Km in total, of which 120 Km are Special Stage Action.

More Details on the club website below:

Regulations / Details

Posted: January 1, 2009 12:01 AM

• Carrick on Suir Motor Club