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LinksMaiden City Dogleap Rally - (Sat) 7 Aug 10
Posted: September 14, 2010 5:16 PM - 9162 Hits
Round 6 - 2010 Northern Ireland Rally Championship
- Video Clips
- Donagh does the Double
- Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan wins Dogleap Rally while Biggerstaff maintains Hankook N.I. Championship lead
- Photos
- Full Results
- Mark Donnelly Prepares for Dogleap Dust Up!
- Entry List
- McKinstry returns to the woods at Dogleap Stages Rally
- Regulations / Details
Donagh does the Double
Posted: September 14, 2010 4:23 PM
Saturday past seen the Maiden City Motor Club host its flagship event and it was not a dissappointment. The Dogleap Stages Rally, one of the countries best forestry rallys, based in Limavady did not dissappoint and to make it extra special, Frosses Man Donagh Kelly took home the honours.
For those of you with short memories or who simply just dont follow the sport, Donagh and John Mccafferty won the Abbey Hotel Forestry Stages rally, run by Donegal Motor club just two weeks ago in Donegal Town. Fresh from this win Donagh was not going to dissappoint heading to the Dogleap and after 8 testing, fast stages and a serious battle with the ledgendary Kenny McKinstry Donagh and navigator Kevin Flanaghan emerged the winners.
When chatting to Donagh after the event he was thrilled with the win “
we had a tough battle with Kenny all day, second for second all the way to the end”. Donagh expressed this thanks to all the team for there effords and wanted to thank his sponsors including Airtricity for there continued support throughout the year. Ther pair are going to continue doing select rally in both the North and South of Ireland and hopefully will have many more good results before the year is out.
Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan wins Dogleap Rally while Biggerstaff maintains Hankook N.I. Championship lead
Posted: September 14, 2010 4:20 PM
Donagh Kelly and Kevin Flanagan emerged victorious from Saturday’s WN Nutt & Son and LGC sponsored Dogleap Stages Rally, round six of the Hankook MSA Northern Ireland Stage Rally Championship.
Kelly, in his production category Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, was perhaps a surprise winner of the eight-stage forestry event. Former champion, Kenny McKinstry, had been hotly tipped to claim the Dogleap spoils on his return to the Hankook series but he and navigator Harvey Bell hit trouble during the second stage.
“We finished stage two with a broken driveshaft,” McKinstry explained. “There was only a short road section afterwards and we arrived late at the start of the third stage.”
“We were given a 40 second penalty for being four minutes late,” McKinstry continued, “although I think it should only have been a three minute penalty. It was one of those things but I drove as hard as I could after that. It was a close finish and Donagh drove very well.”
McKinstry had been leading the event by seven seconds at the end of that second test, but the penalty dropped him behind a number of crews. One stage later, he found himself in fourth overall, 29 seconds behind new rally leaders, Johnny McKenna and Noreen McShea.
McKenna led the event by a slender one second from Donagh Kelly, but sadly for the new leader, his rally was set to come to an abrupt end towards the finish of the fourth stage when he rolled his Mitsubishi after clipping a metal post.
Then second placed Richard Hogg also suffered the same fate. After setting fastest times through stages four and five in his Evo 6 Lancer, he went off the road on stage six when a brake pipe burst.
With two stages remaining, 17 seconds stood between leader Donagh Kelly and second placed Kenny McKinstry. It was always going to be a tall order for McKinstry to regain the number one position after his earlier dramas but he did all he could during the closing miles.
Fastest on the penultimate test by eight seconds, the battle was going down to the wire. The Banbridge pilot was on the limit in his Impreza WRC, and he pulled out all of the stops during the final test. He was fastest again, closing the gap to Donagh Kelly by another seven seconds but it was not enough to overhaul the Mitsubishi pilot.
Kelly, together with navigator Kevin Flanagan, had held on to secure a two second victory over the chasing McKinstry. It was the second outright win on the trot for Kelly, as he also claimed victory at July’s non-championship Donegal Forestry Rally.
While McKinstry was forced to settle for second behind Kelly, who also topped the Sunoco Fuels production category, Mark Donnelly and Stephen O’Hanlon had an excellent run to finish third overall. As a result, Donnelly moved up to second position in the Hankook N.I. championship standings.
Martin Cairns and Andrew Purcell finished fourth ahead of Marc Johnston and Colin Harkness, with Ian Cochrane and Thomas Nugent sixth. Cyril Doherty and Graham Henderson finished seventh ahead of Stuart Biggerstaff and Anthony Nestor.
The Dogleap Rally was Biggerstaff’s first foray into the woods, and he acquitted himself well. Another solid points finish sees him maintain his position at the top of the championship tables, and he now leads the series by 11 points from Mark Donnelly.
In the two-wheel-drive category, Frank Kelly and Liam Brennan claimed the spoils ahead of Michael Conlon and Hugh McKenna, while the Montgomery Motorsport historic category was won by Tommy O’Connell and Sean Magee.
Full Results
Posted: September 14, 2010 4:09 PM
1 Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 56m01s
2 Kenny McKinstry/Harvey Bell (Subaru Impreza WRC) 56m03s
3 Mark Donnelly/Stephen O’Hanlon (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 57m20s
4 Martin Cairns/Andrew Purcell (Subaru Impreza WRC) 57m27s
5 Marc Johnston/Colin Harkness (Mitsubishi Lancer) 58m19s
6 Ian Cochrane/Thomas Nugent (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 58m35s
7 Cyril Doherty/Graham Henderson (Subaru Impreza) 58m50s
8 Stuart Biggerstaff/Anthony Nestor (Subaru Impreza WRC) 59m17s
9 Trevor Ferguson/David McElroy (Subaru Impreza) 59m28s
10 Joseph McGonigle/Niall Burns (Mitsubishi Lancer) 59m54s
Mark Donnelly Prepares for Dogleap Dust Up!
Posted: August 4, 2010 5:47 PM
18 year old Mark Donnelly, from Greencastle near Omagh has had an exceptional rallying season to date. Contesting the Hankook Northern Ireland Rally Championship, he leads the Group N category and lies fourth in the overall standings, as the Hankook series heads for the sixth round this weekend. Indeed it’s into the forests for the first time this season for the Dogleap Rally, something which Mark is looking forward to, and co-driver Stephen O’Hanlon will be on the pace-notes. Mark has just replaced his Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 with a newer Evo 9 model, which is being prepared by Kevin O’Brien of R317 Motorsport, and he is naturally excited. “I am looking forward to the event now. We did a rally in Scotland as a bit of a shake-down, and ironed out a few problems. I have also had a test in the car and it’s definitely a real improvement in terms of torque, power, and suspension than the Evo 8.”
The Stoneyford Concrete Evo 8 however had served the team well this season. After collecting points on the opening two airfield rounds where it was slightly outgunned by the newer cars, Mark took it to third in Group N on the Circuit of Ireland National event at Easter. “We were second in Group N, and then moved into the lead when Raymond Johnston went out, but we got a puncture and lost over 4 minutes. We climbed back to third and we had generally the fastest Group N stage times, so it set us up well going into the Sperrins.” On the Tour of the Sperrins however things really worked for the young Omagh crew with a fantastic Group N win after a day long battle with Cyril Doherty in his Subaru. It was a perfect drive, and set things up well for round five the Mourne Stages Rally. It was Mark’s first time contesting this event which is often thought of as a specialised rally, with its runs over the daunting Slieve Gullion complex, but it was to be the best drive of the season to date. An impressive third overall finish was the reward, and he collected maximum overall Hankook Championship points, as John McGlaughlin and Darren Gass ahead of him weren’t registered for the series. “We were fourth going into the last loop and had a real push. We were equal second fastest on the penultimate stage and second fastest overall on the final stage, and we really enjoyed the event. Indeed we have really enjoyed the Hankook championship to date, and one thing we have been very pleased with is the performance of the tyres, even relative to other brands we had been using.”
The young Greencastle driver’s rallying started two years ago with a Peugeot 205, contesting events at Aghadowey, before progressing to an ST Fiesta which brought several class wins, and then a Group N Subaru before acquiring the Evo 8. Up until recently however rallying has been secondary to Quad Racing, as Mark literally reached the top of the sport, despite being the youngest in the adult field having started when he was 14. In 2008 he won the Irish Championship, P&O Irish Winter series, the British Championship and the European Quad Racing championship, with further championship wins in 2007, but rallying is what he now really wants to do.
“I can’t really go much further with the Quads and I have the opportunity to race for a works team with all my expenses paid in Switzerland, but rallying is the real focus now. We thought this year we could do some Quad Racing as well, but with so many date clashes and time constraints we have just concentrated on the rallying.”
Another venture this month is an entry into the Todds Leap Ulster International Rally, where Mark will get a chance to compare his times with Britain’s best, but the main focus this season is on the Hankook Northern Ireland Championship, where event overall honours are not out of the question. Mark will be one to watch on this Saturday’s Dogleap Rally which like the previous two rounds will be televised on RPM.
Entry List
Posted: August 4, 2010 5:37 PM
Top 10
1 Kenny McKinstry/Harvey Bell (Subaru Impreza WRC)
2 Raymond Johnston/Rodney Hicks (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9)
3 Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9)
4 Johnny McKenna/Noreen McShea (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8)
5 Stuart Biggerstaff/Anthony Nestor (Subaru Impreza WRC)
6 Tristan Pye/Eunan McCosuer (Subaru Impreza)
7 Richard Hogg/Mark Hanna (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6)
8 Cyril Doherty/Graham Henderson (Subaru Impreza)
9 Trevor Ferguson/David McElroy (Subaru Impreza)
10 Martin Cairns/Andrew Purcell (Subaru Impreza WRC)
Full Entry List on:
McKinstry returns to the woods at Dogleap Stages Rally
Posted: August 4, 2010 5:31 PM
Kenny McKinstry is set to make a return to the Hankook MSA Northern Ireland Stage Rally Championship at this Saturday's WN Nutt & Son and LGC sponsored Dogleap Stages Rally.
The Banbridge driver, who is a multiple Northern Ireland rally champion, has submitted an entry to the Limavady based event, which takes place on Saturday 07 August.
Seeded first on the road, McKinstry will drive a Subaru Impreza WRC, which he also used at last Saturday's Lurgan Park Rally, where he finished second overall.
Joining McKinstry at the Dogleap Rally will be many of the Hankook series regulars, including championship leader, Stuart Biggerstaff.
It will be a baptism of fire for young Biggerstaff as the Dogleap is the first forestry event of the season. It will also be 22-year-old Stuart's first time driving competitively on gravel, so another huge learning curve is guaranteed for the Dromara pilot.
Derek McGarrity currently lies second in the series standings but he will miss the Dogleap Rally. Third placed George Robinson also has no plans on entering the event, so instead, Biggerstaff's main championship opposition will come from the leading Group N crews.
Mark Donnelly is another young gun who has been impressive in this year's Hankook series. Driving his Group N Mitsubishi Lancer, he lies fourth in the series standings and heads the Sunoco Fuels Group N category.
Enniskillen's Raymond Johnston will also return to the fray. After missing the Mourne Rally, Johnston is determined to get his Group N title challenge back on track, and is seeded second ahead of Donagh Kelly.
A handful of non-championship registered competitors will also be vying for the leading positions. In addition to McKinstry, local driver and event sponsor Richard Hogg has entered the event, while Johnny McKenna could also throw a cat among the pigeons.
A number of entries have been received from across the water, including Durham's Tristan Pye, London based Seamus Quinn and Hull's Tony Dickinson.
Based at LGC, Limavady, the event will feature eight stages totalling approximately 45 stage miles.
Upcoming