Pokerstar Stages Rally (Isle of Man) - 22-23 Jul 11

Midnight marathon looms for rally crews

Posted: July 22, 2011 12:00 AM

A clear sign of the increasing profile of ‘club’ level closed roads rallying, this weekends Pokerstars Rally is bigger and better than anything that has gone before in their 15 year history.

The Manx Auto Sport promoted event is a round of three different championships, and has a route that wouldn’t look out of place on the Manx National Rally. Even then there is room for innovation amongst the testing 110-stage miles; two of the twelve tests take place from midnight into the early hours!

In the absence of defending winner Dave Pattison, who’s car is still not repaired after his Manx National shunt, Eurocars Motorsport Manx Rally Championship leader Nigel Cannell is set to lead the 48 strong field away from the TT Grandstand start in his now familiar Mitsubishi Evo IX. And it’d be a brave man that’d bet against him returning there to the rally finish on Saturday afternoon in the same position too.

Cannell is on the crest of a wave after his second overall place on May’s Manx Telecom Rally was followed up by victory on last months Riverside Furniture Jurby Stages. Daughter Imogen will co-drive, as she did on February’s similar Chris Kelly Memorial event, when they were runners-up.

The main opposition will come from Andrew Leece and Graham Fargher in their Evo VI version Mitsubishi, with which they finished right behind Cannell on the podium in May. Andrew opted to miss Jurby, and will have to be on top of his game to keep the pressure on ‘Fasty’ in the hopes of grabbing a win.

Of the other four-wheel drive entries, Tim Collins and Paul McCann (Evo IX) show plenty of glimpses of pace for a stage or two, and need to put it together rally long to earn a top result that starts to feel overdue.

Sean Kelly has switched back to the Japanese marque too after a solitary run in Rob Watson’s Nova kit car, moving up to an Evo 7. If he can get to grips with it quickly, his pace earlier in the year makes him one to watch. Similarly Robert Ellison has a 7 at his disposal and set noteworthy times early on at Jurby before mechanical retirement.

Leading visitor is Tugs Sherrington (Evo IV), back for more after a top ten finish on his debut on the island in February.

In the two-wheel drive classes Stuart Egglestone will be the man to watch out for after submitting a late entry in his Vauxhall Astra. He was fifth on the Chris Kelly event, right behind reigning Manx champion Connor Corkill (Ford Escort), and the pair will resume battle once again.

Joining them are John Kirkpatrick and Marty Quine in the rear-wheel powered Astra, Kex Walker and Danni Matthews (BMW), Matryn Jones who is back to his giant-killing acts in the Nova, and Andrew Holmes in his Astra, with co-driver Stephen Fox currently leading the pace-note callers championship chase. It should be a close battle amongst them all, with Adrian Kermode also thereabouts in the Porsche.

Also among the entries are Osian Pryce and Matt Edwards, who are contesting the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship and MSA British Rally Championship Challenge respectively. Both will be using the event as preparation for the final round of both those series, Rally Isle of Man, which takes place in October. Pryce is making his first appearance on the island and will look to co-driver Iestyn Williams, a now regular visitor to the island to keep him right in their Fiesta R2.

Edwards meanwhile has competed on the islands rounds before, back in 2009 as part of the UK FiestaSport Trophy with local navigator Rob Fagg alongside. On that occasion the pair took the honours in the BRC Challenge round and score well in the Fiesta series. This time round though Edwards will be navigated by Sam Collis is his MGZR Super 1400. The reigning BTRDA 1400 Champion is looking forward to getting back to the island and tackling the fantastic stages on offer.

The challenge is the route, as well as the competition of course. The event starts at 6.30pm tonight (Friday) for a long opening leg that has road closure ending at 3.30am tomorrow morning if necessary!

The opening stages are two runs each of Marine Drive and the Old Castletown Road (first car 6.50 & 8.25pm) and St Marks to Back of the Moon (7.19 & 8.54pm).

Then there’s a halt before the double run of the 12.6-mile Mountain Stage (midnight and 1:15am approx), covering classics Tholt-e-Will, Brandywell and Druidale, linked by a section of the TT course across the mountain road.

Action resumes at 10.35 on Saturday morning, with crews taking in three runs each of the Crosby backroad, West Baldwin, Injerbreck, Brandywell Cottage, Sartfield and Little London roads (10.53, 12.12pm & 1.31), as well as a return to Druidale/Brandywell in the opposite direction from the previous evening (11.21, 12.40pm & 1.59).

First cars are due at the finish a the Grandstand (also the service area throughout) at 2.15pm.

Seeded Entry List

Posted: July 21, 2011 11:52 PM

1 Nigel Cannell Imogen Cannell (Mitsubishi Evo 9)
2 Andrew Leece Graham Fargher (Mitsubishi Evo 6)
3 Connor Corkill Mark Perryman (Ford Escort MkII)
4 Tim Collins Paul McCann (Mitsubishi Evo 9)
5 Tugs Sherrington Bradley Johnson (Mitsubishi Evo 4)
6 John Kirkpatrick Martyn Quine (Vauxhall Astra)
7 Sean Kelly Will Rand (Mitsubishi Evo 7)
8 Kex Walker Danni Matthews (BMW 325)
9 Martyn Jones David Radcliffe (Vauxhall Nova)
10 Andrew Holmes Stephen Fox (Vauxhall Astra)
11 Adrian Kermode Maurice Beckett (Porsche 911SC)
12 Gary Edgington Pete Johnson (Peugot 106)
14 Kevin Jeffray Michael Terry (Subaru Impreza)
15 Osian Pryce Iestyn Williams (Ford Fiesta R2)
16 Declan Jackson Barry McCarney (Ford Escort Mk2)
17 Robert Ellison Leigh Jones (Mitsubishi Evo 7)
18 Matt Davison Task Ellison (Subaru Impreza)
19 Chris Woodcock Heidi Woodcock (Proton Persona)
20 Guy Simpkiss Debbie Parry (Vauxhall Astra)
21 Richard Batey Mike Batey (Ford Escort MK 11)
22 Dewi Williams Llion Williams (Peugeot 205 Gti)
23 James Quirk Ed Kennaugh (Vauxhall Corsa)
24 David Jones Andrew Cowley (Vauxhall Nova)
25 Ian Jones Geraint Jones (Citroen C2R2)
26 Stephen Bradley Dean Gillespie (Honda Civic)
27 Richard Barnard Andy Barnard (Subaru Impreza)
29 Andrew Hockridge TBA (Citroen C2 Max)
30 Matt Edwards Sambo Collis (MG ZR586)
31 Adam Clewes Peter Williams (Ford Puma Super)
32 Quinton Williams Michael Evans (Citroen Saxo)
33 Mark Bumfrey Paul Bumfrey (Citroen C2 R2)
34 Paul McEvoy Michael McEvoy (Ford Escort)
35 Tom Shimmin Wayne Smith (Mitsubishi Evo 4)
36 Tim Healy Rob Jackson (Vauxhall Astra)
37 Terry Phillips Ian Notman (VW Golf Gti)
38 Tomos Roberts Mark Brew (Peugeot 205 GTi)
39 Stephen Higgins Dave Corlett (Saab 96 2 stroke)
40 Cathy Craine Wendy Blackledge (Vauxhall Corsa)
41 Daniel Crossley Eunice Cubbon (Peugeot 106 Rallye)
42 Janice Brew Emma Kennaugh (Ford Sierra)
43 Neil Jones Gary Perkins (Talbot Sunbeam)
44 Nigel Cordwell Alex Holmes (Peugeot 205 Gti)
45 Jason Daly William Collister (Vauxhall Nova)
46 Greg Pye Ken Cottee (Seat Ibiza Gti)
47 Greig Davison Ian Davison (TBC)
48 Wayne Quirk Stephen Christian (Vauxhall Nova)
49 Chris Reynolds Mark Davenport (Subaru Impreza)
50 Stuart Egglestone Brian Hodgson (Vauxhall Astra)

Midsummer midnight stages set to headline Pokerstars Rally

Posted: July 6, 2011 5:21 PM

Manx Auto Sport, organisers of next months Pokerstars Rally have announced their intention to run midnight stages as an exciting headline feature of the event.

The closed roads rally takes place on Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd July, and the proposed test includes classics Tholt-e-Will, Brandywell and Druidale, linked by a section of the famous TT course across its mountain section. It will be called ‘The Mountain Stage’.

The 12.6 mile test will be run twice subject to final confirmation from local authorities, back to back, as a middle section to the event, shouldered by four stages earlier on Friday night and a further six from mid-morning on Saturday.

In total the event offers a superb 110 stage miles for an entry fee of just £320!

Other stages in the fabulous route include Marine Drive/Old Castletown Road and St Marks/Back of the Moon twice each on Friday night. Saturday’s takes in three runs each of the Crosby backroad/West Baldwin/ Injerbreck/Brandywell Cottage/Sartfield and Little London roads and a return to Druidale/Brandywell in the opposite direction from the previous evening.

It’s a real taste of the very best of rallying on the Isle of Man!

The rally forms a qualifying round of three championships:
Eurocars Motorsport Manx Rally Championship
Fuchs Titan Race ANCC Stage Rally Championship
SD34 Stage Rally Championship

In addition however it provides an ideal, and crucially affordable, opportunity for competitors from Britain’s leading championships seeking to familiarise themselves with the islands roads before October’s Rally Isle of Man.

All stages are used more than once, which the organisers hope will make it an ideal testing opportunity, and there are several other factors to help visiting crews: The club have arranged ferry and hotel packages for the event, with details available from the club’s website, along with entry forms and regulations.

There are also ferries available from Ireland covering the event, travelling from Dublin on Tuesday 19th and Belfast on Wednesday 20th, returning to Dublin on the Sunday, 24th.

There are two recce options available to crews, either the weekend before, 16th & 17th July, or the Thursday/Friday 21st and 22nd July.

Scrutineering and documentation takes place on Thursday evening (21st), and there is centralised servicing at the TT Grandstand throughout.

The event will be completed by a lively presentation get-together on Saturday night. All in all it’s a timetable that has all the ingredients for a great weekends rallying on some of the most famous roads in the sport!

MC-Video will be filming the event to feature in the Motors TV ‘Special Stage’ programme.

Entries close at the standard rate this Friday, 8th of July, so act now and join us!

Manx Autosport Club

Pokerstars Rally set to be the ace in mid-summer rally pack

Posted: May 30, 2011 2:18 PM

The calendar has dealt the Pokerstars Rally a new hand, with a move from autumn to July, raising the stakes for a potential mid-summer thriller on the Isle of Man’s famous roads!

Entries open this week for the Manx Auto Sport event, which takes place on Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd July. It forms a qualifying round of no fewer than three championships:

Eurocars Motorsport Manx Rally Championship
Fuchs Titan Race ANCC Stage Rally Championship
SD34 Stage Rally Championship

It may not be a winner takes all event, like the sponsors’ famous online tournaments, but the entrants will nonetheless have to play their cards just right to prevail over the tough two days, with event organisers hoping to attract a ‘full house’ entry!

There has already been considerable interest from UK competitors, with 2010 winners Dave Pattison and Paul Whittaker in a race against time to have their Mitsubishi Evo 6 repaired after an accident on the recent Manx Telecom Rally, and leading national driver John Stone rumoured to be potential player too.

The event retains its traditional Friday night and Saturday daytime schedule. The opening evening is set to feature six tests, two runs over each of three stages. Saturday has a further six, three runs each of two tests. The organisers hope to announce further exciting news on the route in the next few days!

In total the rally features approximately 100 stage miles, on just five separate stages, helping to keep reconnaissance to a minimum. Each day will feature centralised service at the TT Grandstand in Douglas, as the organisers strive to continue their aim of delivering a high quality event at an affordable price for crews.

To help further with this, there are two recce options available to crews, either the weekend before, 16th & 17th July, or the Thursday/Friday 21st and 22nd July.

Scrutineering and documentation is also on Thursday evening (21st).

The social aspect of Isle of Man rallying is always an important element, and the organisers have arranged a brand new location for the after-rally party and prize presentation at the Villa Marina Arcade in the middle of Douglas promenade. It is hoped the rally will finish mid-afternoon, with a hog roast supper available from 6pm before the presentation at 8pm. After that the party will start in earnest!

The event offers an ideal testing opportunity for crews likely to be tackling October’s Rally Isle of Man, falling into a gap in the UK championship calendars. Similarly for crews who have long wanted to take the plunge and compete on the island but haven’t yet done so, this could be the ace in the pack to draw you over!

For all the information you need to be a part of the action head ‘straight’ to the club website where the dealer can hand you a ‘pair’ to get you started; the regulations and entry form!

UK crews seeking further information can also contact Overseas Liaison Officer on +44 7624 480101 or via e-mail on robert@robertfagg.com

Manx Autosport Club

Regulations / Details

Posted: May 30, 2011 2:09 PM

Manx Autosport Club

Manx Rally Championship