Midland Stages Rally - 29 Mar 15

KELLY ON THE DOUBLE

Posted: June 1, 2015 7:19 AM

A dramatic conclusion to the Roscommon based Midland Moto Rally, the second round of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship, resulted in victory for the Donegal/Derry combination of Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Ford Focus WRC).
Entering the final stage they trailed long time leaders Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Subaru WRC) by 15.7 seconds, however, the Boyle cousins lost over four minutes when they collected a puncture, ironically, they had already backed off to avoid the pothole, they eventually finished eighth.
Kelly/Flanagan, with their second win of the series, also won the Power Stage and move into the lead of the Triton Showers series by seven points from Monaghan?s Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry (Subaru WRC) were two minutes and 4.9 seconds behind in second. The Subaru WRC of Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy took third place.
For the second event in succession the Motorsport Safety Group N category was won by Aidan Wray/Kieran McGrath (Mitsubishi), who also won the Triton Showers Drive of the Day; the Modified section was won by Gary McPhillips/Paul Sheridan (Escort).

On a wet and slippery opening stage Boyle was quickest and led Kelly by 3.7 seconds with third placed Maguire a further 17.2 seconds in arrears. Boyle gained a further 4.3 seconds on the second stage where Kelly was off the road, albeit briefly. On the final stage of the loop Boyle?s Subaru lost power for a time and Kelly duly cut the deficit to four seconds.
Meanwhile, third placed Niall Maguire had little or no boost out of the corners due to a damaged intercooler pipe, after the opening loop he was 42.1 seconds behind Kelly.
Welsh ace Steve Wood occupied fourth, somewhat cautious on the opening stage he was more satisfied with his performance on the third stage. Alan Ring was one of several drivers that was awarded the stage interruption time when John Stone crashed his Skoda Fabia WRC on the opening stage. Ring was credited the same time as Wood while Chris Armstrong, Gary McPhillips and Paul Barrett were similar beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, on the second stage Ring lost time with a spin, he also damaged the sidewall of one of the tyres. After the first loop he was fifth - 10.6 seconds behind Wood.
In the Modified category, Gary McPhillips (Escort) was 12.4 seconds in front of Chris Armstrong (Escort), who admitted he wasn't on the pace for the second stage. McPhillips had trouble with the exhaust manifold part of which was lying in the engine bay. The top ten was completed by Kevin Barrett, Aidan Wray and Roy White - Barrett hit a bale and the resultant damage caused the temperatures to soar; White's MG ZR misfired all through the three stages.
Elsewhere, Jonathan Pringle (Escort) spun twice on the first stage, he was eleventh.
In Group N, Martin Doherty and Paul Barrett were Wray's closest rivals, the former punctured and damaged the suspension after he clouted his Mitsubishi off a bank; Barrett had a moment on the third stage. On the first stage defending champion Shane Maguire slid his Mitsubishi off the road, he re-joined under Rally2.

On the repeat loop Boyle was quickest on the fourth and fifth stages and shared fastest time on S.S. 6 with Kelly. "The issue with the loss of power occurred twice during the sixth stage and it broke my concentration." said Boyle. Second placed Kelly - 16.5 seconds behind admitted he just could not commit to the slippery stages. Maguire with the turbo issues addressed was a minute and 21.7 seconds further behind in third. Wood retained fourth but remarked that he just could not get any heat into the tyres, the Welsh driver was 25 seconds ahead of Alan Ring, who gave his best performance on the sixth stage.
The battle in the Modified category was intense with McPhillips, who reckoned the throttle was sticking ever so slightly was just 3.2 seconds ahead of Armstrong, they were followed by Jonathan Pringle whose Escort had problems with sticking brakes. The top ten was completed by Kevin Barrett and Roy White, while the temperatures in Barrett's Subaru returned to normal, the misfire in White's MG ZR continued to thwart the Clonmel driver.
Declan Gallagher in the Toyota GT86 was just outside the top ten. Despite an overshoot on S.S. 4 Aidan Wray (Mitsubishi) continued to lead Group N from Martin Doherty and Paul Barrett.

On the final loop there was little between Boyle and Kelly on stages seven and eight and Boyle seemed set to record his first win of the season until his Subaru punctured and lost over four minutes, he finished eighth. Elsewhere, Steve Wood (Subaru) retired on the seventh stage when the exhaust manifold cracked - burning wires to the coil.
The demise of Boyle and Wood promoted Ring, who changed the brake balance of his Subaru, to third spot. McPhillips won the Modified category by 13.2 seconds from Chris Armstrong (Escort). For the second event in succession Kevin Barrett (Subaru WRC) was finished sixth in general classification. The top ten also included Jonathan Pringle, the unlucky Declan Boyle, Eaun Thorburn and Roy White.

Top seed Paddy McVeigh and pre-event series leader Garry Jennings were non-starters as their Subaru WRC's weren't ready in time while Peadar Hurson (Subaru WRC) withdrew just before the start.

Photos

Posted: June 1, 2015 7:10 AM

crspics.com - Counihan Rallysport Pictures
Peespeed Photography

Results

Posted: June 1, 2015 6:56 AM

1 Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Ford Focus WRC) 54m 46s
2 Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry (Subaru Impreza WRC) 56m 51s
3 Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy (Subaru Impreza WRC) 57m 45s
4 Gary McPhillips/Paul Sheridan (Ford Escort MkII) 58m 10s
5 Chris Armstrong/James Fulton (Ford Escort MkII) 58m 23s
6 Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally (Subaru Impreza WRC) 58m 48s
7 Jonathan Pringle/Martin Byrne (Ford Escort MkII) 58m 52s
8 Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Subaru Impreza WRC) 59m 02s
9 Euan Thorburn/Paul Beaton (Ford Fiesta S2000) 59m 14s
10 Roy White/James O'Brien (MG ZR S2400) 59m 14s.

Motorsport Safety Team Group N award:
1 Aidan Wray/Kieran McGrath.

rally.ie Two wheel drive award:
Gary McPhillips/Paul Sheridan.

Historics:
1 Niall Keane/Conor Keane (Sunbeam) 48m 58s
2 Iarla Carty/Joe Whyte (Mini) 52m 20s.

Juniors:
1 James Bradley/Maria Kehoe (Civic) 41m 57s
2 Daren O'Brien/John McCabe (Civic) 42m 26s
3 Gary McNamee/Breen McNamee (Civic) 43m 17s.

Leaders After:
SS1-8 Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS9 Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Ford Focus WRC)

Stage Winners
SS1 Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS2 Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS3 Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Ford Focus WRC)
SS4 Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS5 Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS6 Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Ford Focus WRC)
SS7 Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Ford Focus WRC)
SS8 Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Subaru Impreza WRC)
SS9 Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Ford Focus WRC)

Full Results: results.shannonsportsit.ie (Angus Sealy)

Entries Received

Posted: March 17, 2015 9:55 AM

Available at:

Midland Motorclub

Rally Launched

Posted: March 6, 2015 2:11 PM

Photo: Andrew Fox

Midland Motor Club launched its annual stages rally on Sunday last at the Abbey Hotel, Roscommon.
This is Round 2 of the Triton Showers National championship to be held on Sunday 29th March. A big crowd including sponsors, competitors and general rally enthusiasts turned out to the launch. Following the usual photo shoot COC for the event Jeremy O'Connor welcomed all guests that included Motorsport Ireland president Martin McKenna. Jeremy outlined the event which consists of 120kms of stage miles run in a 3x3 format with centralised servicing in the Racecourse which is just outside Roscommon town. He went on to thank all the sponsors of the event particularly The Abbey Hotel and Caseys Topaz for their continued support over many years. He said a big thanks is due for all the co-operation received from land owners and residents along the stages and wished everyone a safe and enjoyable event.

This year sees the Midland Moto stages a round of the National Championship. Jeremy welcomed last years winner to the launch Gary McElhinney who recalled last years event which they won by less than 10 seconds. They have a new car this year and are looking forward to competing in Roscommon again at the end of the month. Martin McKenna then spoke thanking Midland for the invite to the launch and that it was great to see such support for the rally in particular local sponsorship. He thanked the Gardai for their assistance in running such events and looked forward with anticipation to Moto 2015.

Regulations are now available on line and entries are coming in fast with a closing date of 18th March.

Midland Moto Stages Rally in association with The Abbey Hotel & Caseys Topaz - 29th March 2015

Posted: March 6, 2015 2:07 PM

Midland Moto Stages Rally 2015 returns to Roscommon after a successful event last year. Midland Motor club are delighted to be included this year a round of the Triton Showers National Championship and there is heightened anticipation around the midland counties to the arrival of the event in Roscommon.

Rally HQ will be based as usual in the four star Abbey Hotel who together with Caseys Topaz are the main sponsors of the event.

The rally will run a 3 x 3 stage format with limited road mileage between stages.

COC Jeremy O’Connor and his team have been working hard over the last few months to ensure the successful running of the rally. Entries are now open with a closing date of 18th March so competitors are encouraged to get their entries in as soon as possible. As well as being a round of the National championship the rally is also a round of the Loughran Signs Midlands East Rally Championship and Johnston Toy Town Club championship.

Midland Motor Club are grateful for all the support and co-operation around the Roscommon region particularly the stage and associate sponsors. A big thank you to all the residents and landowners along the stages who without their co-operation the rally would not run. More information including regulations and entry form can be obtained from Midlandmotorclub.com, link below.

Launch Photo

Posted: March 6, 2015 1:55 PM

Photo by Andrew Fox

Regulations / Details

Posted: February 20, 2015 11:52 PM

Midland Motorclub