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Fantastic Rally Entry and Weekend ahead for the ALMC Motor Club Stages Rally

Posted: June 30, 2015 8:42 AM

Over nine months of planning and preparation will finally come to fruition this weekend, as the members of ALMC Motor Club welcome a fantastic entry of competing Rally cars to the historic town of Trim, County Meath, for their annual Stages Rally. Now an established round of the REIS MSA Asphalt Rallying Championship and the Loughransigns.com Midlands East Rally Championship, once again the challenging stages of Co. Meath await competitors and crews from all over Ireland, the UK, and even the Channel Islands and Germany.

The Rally weekend will begin in Trim with a Rally Ceremonial Start beside the Cannon at Trim Castle on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. A selection of the competing cars will attend, and this will be a fantastic opportunity for the general public to meet the drivers and co-drivers who will be taking part, as well as the chance to see the Rally Cars up close!

Rally Scrutiny, where the Rally cars are checked fully for Safety and Rules compliance, and the Rally Service Area, are both based in Oaktree Business Park, Trim, with the first competing cars returning for Service after the first loop of Stages on Sunday at 1150 approx.

The Rally sees a return to Ireland for many competitors from the UK, most of who are very familiar with the ALMC event, having competed at the event before. Seeded at No.1 will be Simon Mauger (Metro 4M4), followed on the road by Steve Simpson (Subaru WRC S12), and past winner Damian Cole (Ford Focus WRC), all of whom have vast experience of Irish tarmac stages, and are guaranteed to give it their all to win the Rally, and collect maximum points in the REIS MSA Championship.

Finishing off the top six seeded entries are Mark Straker (Darrian T90 GTR), Steve Wood (Subaru Impreza S10), and Alex Laffey (Ford Fiesta R5+).

Three of the top ten seeded entries, and absolutely sure to give the UK visitors a run for their money, are all from Co. Meath. Jack Newman (Ford Escort MK2), Pat Donegan (Ford Escort Mk2), and making a welcome return to his home stages, Trevor Mulligan (Ford Escort MK2), all know what it takes to set fast times on Irish tarmac, and this weekend will certainly give them that opportunity.

Other Meath drivers entered into this year-s ALMC Stages Rally are Peter Wilson (Ford Escort MK2), Mark Nangle (Subaru Impreza), Paul Clarke (Ford Escort Mk2), James Cassidy (Ford Escort MK2), Pa Bellew (Ford Escort MK2), Paul McCann (Ford Escort Cosworth), Martin Tracey (Ford Escort Mk2), Ed Colton (Mitsubishi Evo 6), Danny McCormack (Vauxhall Corsa), John Reid (Ford Escort Mk2), Tom Holton (Honda Civic), Anthony Masterson (Ford Escort RS2000), Brian Ward (Peugeot 206), Brian Brady (Honda Integra), Thomas McCann (Ford Fiesta), Wayne O-Reilly (Ford Escort Mk2), Martin Geraghty (Honda Civic), Dermot Hassett (Chevrolet Kalos), Philip Grall (Opel Corsa) and Aidan Devlin (Suzuki Swift GTI).

With many other competing crews from all four provinces of Ireland and parts of the UK, accommodation in the Trim and Navan area has been booked out for months in advance of the Rally. ALMC are also hopeful that the combination of a unique entry, fine weather and a compact loop of three Special Stages will bring large crowds to the event from all over the country, bringing with them a significant boost to the local economy.

Full details of the Rally can be found on the Rally web site at www.almcstagesrally.com, or by following the Club and Rally on Facebook and Twitter.

A full list of Rally Programme outlets can also be found below, with 17 outlets on or near the Rally Route.

As always, ALMC would like to remind those attending this year-s Rally that Safety is paramount to the Club. Always

Rally and Club Information

The ALMC Stages Rally is a round of the REIS/MSA UK Asphalt Championship (www.asphaltrallying.co.uk) and the Loughransigns.com Midlands East Rally Championship (www.mercrallychampionship.com), and ALMC Motor Club are looking forward to welcoming competitors from all parts of Ireland and the UK, Service crews, supporters as well as Motorsport Ireland officials, Timekeepers and volunteer marshals to Trim and County Meath on Rally weekend.

ALMC Motor Club is an affiliated Motorsport Ireland (MI) Club, and fully supports the ongoing initiatives between MI and the Road Safety Authority to make our roads safer, especially for younger road users.

Local Sponsors and Rally Supporters

The ALMC Stages Rally is supported by many different businesses in the local area, including,

This year, the nominated Stages Charity for the Rally is the Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre, Trim, which helps people living with MS in the North East.

We are also extremely appreciative of support from Meath County Council, its staff, local Councillors and the Meath Community Tourism Diaspora Initiative.

Time and Distance Schedule available

Posted: June 29, 2015 11:40 AM

ALMC Stages Rally

Seeded Entry List

Posted: June 29, 2015 4:01 AM

No Driver/Navigator (Car) [Class] Category
1 Simon Mauger/Jonathan Hawkins (Metro 4M4) [20] MAIN
2 Stephen Simpson/Patrick Walsh (Subaru Impreza WRC S12) [7] MAIN
3 Damian Cole/Jack Morton (Ford Focus WRC) [15] MAIN
4 Mark Straker/Michael Coady (Darrian T90 GTR) [14] MAIN
5 Steve Wood/Keith Moriarty (Subaru Impreza WRC S10) [7] MAIN
6 Alex Laffey/Andrew Roughead (Ford Fiesta R5+) [5] MAIN
7 Graham Coffey/Jenny Gaebler (Ford Fiesta WRC) [14] MAIN
8 Brendan Cumiskey/Ronan O'Kane (Subaru Impreza WRX Sti) [4] MAIN
9 Jack Newman/Andrew Browne (Ford Escort Mk2) [13] MAIN
10 Tomas Davies/Eurig Davies (Ford Escort Mk2) [13] MAIN
11 Pat Donegan/Alan Keena (Ford Escort Mk2) [14] MAIN
12 Trevor Mulligan/Sean Hayde (Ford Escort Mk2) [14] MAIN
13
14 Jack Maguire/Andy Hayes (Ford Escort Mk2) [14] MAIN
15 Barry McKenna/Mac Kierans (Ford Escort Mk2) [13] MAIN
16 Bob Fowden/Paul Williams (Subaru Impreza N12B) [20] MAIN
17 Simon Chapman/Alex Lee (Proton Satria Millington) [20] MAIN
18 David Hardie/John McCulloch (Subaru Impreza) [20] MAIN
19 David Turnbull/Tom Woodburn (Subaru Impreza WRC S11) [7] MAIN
20 Stephen McCann/Killian Reilly (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [20] MAIN
21 David Tinn/Giles Dykes (Proton Satria Millington) [20] MAIN
22 Liam Howlett/John McGrath (Ford Escort Mk2) [13] MAIN
23 David White/Mathew White (Subaru Impreza N12B) [4] MAIN
24 Neil Tohill/Gerard Tohill (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4] MAIN
25 Peter Wilson/Karen Kelly (Ford Escort Mk2) [13] MAIN
26 Mark Nangle/Brian Duggan (Subaru Impreza WRX) [20] MAIN
27 Tristan Pye/Stewart Merry (Subaru Impreza WRX) [20] MAIN
28 Roger Moran/Ashley Trimble (Ford Escort Mk2) [14] MAIN
29 Tony Rees/ Clatworthymarc (Darrian T90 GTR) [14] MAIN
30 Larry Brady/Benny Dowling (Ford Escort Mk2) [14] MAIN
31 Paul Clarke/Philip McEntee (Ford Escort) [13] MAIN
32 Andrew Fanning/Derek Gibbs (Ford Fiesta Evo) [20] MAIN
33 Nigel Feeney/Phil Sandham (Subaru Impreza WRX Sti) [20] MAIN
34 Adrian Spencer/Mark Hewitt (Subaru Impreza) [20] MAIN
35 Gavin Kelly/Eamonn Gillespie (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4] MAIN
36 Jeremy Straker/Aileen Kelly (Darrian T90 ) [13] MAIN
37 Gary Cairns/Justin Coyle (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [4] MAIN
38 James Cassidy/Brian Cassidy (Ford Escort Mk2) [12] MAIN
39 Calvin Beattie/TBA (Ford Fiesta R2) [2] MAIN
40 Paul Evans/Den Golding (Ford Escort Mk2) [14] MAIN
41 Richard Felgate/Mark Mason (BMW M3) [14] MAIN
42 Jeff Simm/Matthew Daniels (Subaru Impreza) [20] MAIN
43 Andrew Hockridge/Aled Edwards (Citroen DS3 R3) [12] MAIN
44 Shane Cullen/Elaine N? Sh? (Ford Escort Mk2) [13] MAIN
45 Pat Price/Andy Curran (Mitsubishi Evo 6) [20] MAIN
46 Richard Slinger/Ben Slinger (Mitsubishi Evo 6) [20] MAIN
47 Joe Gallagher/MO Downey (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [4] MAIN
48 Pa. Bellew/Martin Byrne (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R] MAIN
49 Tommy Kelly/Barry Foyle (Honda Civic) [11F] MAIN
50 David Fleming/John Falvey (Honda Civic) [11F] MAIN
51 Paul McCann/Paddy Plunkett (Ford Escort Cosworth) [15] MAIN
52 Shane O'Rourke/Alan McGovern (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [4] MAIN
53 Darren Underwood/Sue Underwood (Ford Escort G3) [13] MAIN
54 Josh Payton/Marcus Mizen (Ford Escort Mk2) [13] MAIN
55 Chris Rice/Craig Cameron (Subaru Impreza) [20] MAIN
56 Fraser Mulholland/TBA (Ford Fiesta) [2] MAIN
57 Seamus Branniff/Aaron Johnston (Subaru Impreza N12B) [4] MAIN
58 Martin Tracey/Martin Costello (Ford Escort Mk2) [12] MAIN
59 ED Colton/Trisha Hogan (Mitsubishi Evo 6) [20] MAIN
60 Danny McCormack/TBA (Vauxhall Corsa) [11F] MAIN
61 Steven Corey/Vinne Boyd (Ford Escort Mk2) [13] MAIN
62 Alistair Fingleton/Debbie Fingleton (Ford Escort Mk2) [13] MAIN
300 John Reid/Enda Shiels (Ford Escort Mk2) [18] HISTORIC
63 Cathan McCourt/TBA (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [4] MAIN
64 David McLoughlin/Wayne McLoughlin (Mitsubishi Evo 6) [4] MAIN
200 Tom Holton/Alan Dolan (Honda Civic) [16] JUNIOR
65 Declan Byrne/Gary Deegan (Honda Civic) [2] MAIN
66 Tim Flood/TBA (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R] MAIN
67 Pauric Sheridan/Sean Brunton (Ford Escort Cosworth) [20] MAIN
68 Ian Copping/Dave Rowley (Ford Focus 4x4) [20] MAIN
69 Anthony Masterson/Chris Armstrong (Ford Escort RS2000) [12] MAIN
70 Billy Cowe/Seamus McTigue (Subaru Impreza STI) [20] MAIN
71 Alan Barry/Peter Barry (Ford Escort Mk2) [11R] MAIN
72 Mike Taylor/Peter Grant (Lotus Sunbeam) [14] MAIN
73 Brian Ward/John Egan (Peugeot 206) [1] MAIN
74 Pat O'Connor/Kieran Reid (Toyota Celica GT4) [15] MAIN
201 Brian Brady/Leonard Tuite (Honda Integra) [16] JUNIOR
202 Tomas McCann/Thomas McCann (Ford Fiesta) [16] JUNIOR
75 Colin Currid/Paul Gallagher (Ford Escort Mk2) [12] MAIN
76 Philip Smith/Daniel Byrne (Honda Civic) [2] MAIN
77 Ian Barnard/Richard Bonner (Vauxhall Nova) [9] MAIN
78 Brendan O'Reilly/TBA (Ford Escort Mk2) [9] MAIN
79 David Earthy/Claire Williams (Citroen C2R2MAX) [2] MAIN
80 Michael Coffey/Gerry Ryan (Ford Escort Mk2) [12] MAIN
81 Royston Carey/Bridge Carey (Renault Clio) [13] MAIN
82 Mathew Roberts/Llion Tractor Williams (Citroen Saxo) [11F] MAIN
83 Raymond Nash/TBA (Honda Civic) [11F] MAIN
84 Tim Seipel/Mathew Smalley (MG ZR) [10] MAIN
85 Kevin Cole/Matthew Kirwan (Ford Escort Mk2) [12] MAIN
86 Ian Kelly/Margaret Kelly (Nissan Micra) [9] MAIN
87 Louise Walsh/TBA (Ford Escort Mk2) [13] MAIN
88 Gene McDonald/TBA (Ford Escort Mk2) [9] MAIN
89 Fergal Kelly/Tim Maher (Ford Escort G4) [13] MAIN
90 Barry Mahon/Ultan McGowan (Honda Civic EK4) [1] MAIN
91 Joe Moffitt/Eddie Moffitt (Honda Civic) [1] MAIN
92 Simon Greene/Michael McEvoy (Ford Escort Mk2) [10] MAIN
93 Wayne O'Reilly/Niall Farrelly (Ford Escort Mk2) [10] MAIN
94 Martin Geraghty/TBA (Honda Civic) [1] MAIN
301 Niall Keane/Conor Keane (Talbot Sunbeam) [18] HISTORIC
302 Malcolm Pedlow/Ivor Ferguson (BMW 2002) [18] HISTORIC
95 Padraig Connolly/Padraig Corrigan (Peugeot 106) [10] MAIN
96 Pat McDaid/TBA (Ford Escort Mk2) [14] MAIN
97 Gerry McIntyre/Aaron McIntyre (Toyota Starlet) [11R] MAIN
98 Cathy Sewart/Colin Stephens (Talbot Sunbeam) [14] MAIN
99 Mark Allen/Robert Allen (Honda Civic 1.6VTI) [11F] MAIN
100 Stephen Brown/Paul Stringer (Nissan Micra) [9] MAIN
101 Dermot Hassett/Niamh Power (Chevrolet Kalos) [9] MAIN
102 Thomas Boylan/Louise Currie (Peugeot 205 GTi) [10] MAIN
103 Adrian Beattie/Declan Ryan (Honda Civic eg6) [11F] MAIN
203 Philip Grall/Ciaran Grall (Opel Corsa) [16] JUNIOR
204 Patrick Lawlor/Kevin Rohan (Honda Civic) [16] JUNIOR
104 Gerard Corey/Patrick Corey (Ford Escort Mk2) [12] MAIN
205 Christopher McLaughlin/Niall O'Donnell (Toyota Corolla) [16] JUNIOR
206 Colm Kearney/Sean Kearney (Peugeot 106 GTi) [16] JUNIOR
207 John McCabe/Darren O'Brien (Honda Civic) [16] JUNIOR
208 Jenna McCann/James McCann (Peugeot 106) [16] JUNIOR
105 David Keane/Owen Gibbons (Peugeot 205 GTi) [10] MAIN
106 Aidan Devlin/Tony Curran (Suzuki Swift GTI) [9] MAIN

Thomas Maguire Memorial Award

Posted: June 26, 2015 7:48 AM

ALMC want to announce that we will be launching a new Award on this year's Stages Rally.

The SS 3/6/9 Stage will pass by the family home of Thomas Maguire who passed away in a tragic accident on the 2010 Donegal Rally. ALMC will be awarding a special award to the fastest FWD crew on SS9, in memory of Thomas. ALMC would like to acknowledge the kind agreement of Thomas's family when awarding this special award.

With over 23,000 people reached (and rising) reached on the club's Facebook page since this announcement, it really does show how important Thomas was to so many people involved in our sport.

ALMC look forward to presenting this award to the winning crew at the Rally Prizegiving on Sunday 5th July at Rally HQ, the Castle Arch Hotel in Trim.

Thomas Maguire R.I.P.

Rally Programmes

Posted: June 25, 2015 4:34 AM

Entries Received (Updated)

Posted: June 16, 2015 9:35 AM

Available at:

ALMC Stages Rally

Rally Launch - (Wed) 10 Jun 15

Posted: June 8, 2015 2:53 PM

ALMC Motor Club is delighted to announce that the Official Launch of the ALMC Motor Club Stages Rally will take place on Wednesday 10th June, at the Rally Headquarters, the Castle Arch Hotel in Trim, Co. Meath, at 8 p.m.

The Rally Launch is open to all, and will be attended by ALMC Club members, Event Sponsors, Councillors and other local bodies and groups that have supported the ALMC Stages Rally since its move to the beautiful town of Trim in the Boyne Valley in 2014. Further details of the Rally will available on the Launch night.

The ALMC Stages Rally is a round of the REIS/MSA UK Asphalt Championship (www.asphaltrallying.co.uk) and the Loughransigns.com Midlands East Rally Championship (www.mercrallychampionship.com), and ALMC Motor Club are looking forward to welcoming competitors from all parts of Ireland and the UK, Service crews, supporters as well as Motorsport Ireland officials, Timekeepers and volunteer marshals to Trim and County Meath on Rally weekend.

The ALMC Stages Rally is supported by many different businesses in the local area, including,

ALMC Motor Club is an affiliated Motorsport Ireland (MI) Club, and fully supports the ongoing initiatives between MI and the Road Safety Authority to make our roads safer, especially for younger road users.

This year, the nominated Stages Charity for the Rally is the Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre, Trim, which helps people living with MS in the North East.

We are also extremely appreciative of support from the by Meath County Council, its staff, local Councillors and the Meath Community Tourism Diaspora Initiative.

We look forward to welcoming everyone to the Rally Launch.

Entries Received

Posted: June 5, 2015 7:34 AM

Available at:

ALMC Stages Rally

The ALMC Stages Rally 2015

Posted: June 5, 2015 6:49 AM

The excitement is starting to build as we approach the weekend of July 4th & 5th and the annual ALMC Stages Rally. This year ALMC Motor Club returns, after a very successfully move last summer, to Trim, Co. Meath and we are delighted to announce that again the Cusack Hotel Groups' Castle Arch Hotel will be the Rally Headquarters. Trim proved an ideal base last year with stages available to the team that are of an exceptional, challenging standard and all 3 stages, run 3 times, are in close proximity to the town. This year is already shaping up to be even more promising event from all perspectives, feedback from competitors last year was that they welcomed the reduced road sections, competitive stages and of course enjoyed the hospitality and facilities of historic Trim. Expected strong attractions for competitors again in 2015 is that the road section mileage is low, facilities in the town and surrounds cater well for visiting crews, spectators, service needs as well as parc ferme & scrutiny requirements. To top it all off Trim Castle provides a beautiful back drop to the planned ceremonial start on Saturday 4th July at 8pm.

This year's Rally is supported by many local businesses, including www.smartpart.ie, one of Meath's main suppliers of car parts, based in Trim, as well as the Rally main accommodation provider and Sponsor, the Cusack Group of Hotels, including, of course Rally HQ, the Castle Arch Hotel.

A very strong entry of the top UK and Irish crews and 120 km's of challenging stages will no doubt ensure that all aspiring winners will have no choice but to battle from start to finish to be in with a chance of taking home the ALMC Stages Rally honours. Last year boasted a very strong entry of many of the top UK and Irish crews. Hugh Hunter, with Andy Marchbank on the notes, were to come out top in the overall battle but the event wasn't without drama. Fermanagh's Gary Jennings fought out an early lead in the event but retired mid-way with engine concerns. Tyrone man Frank Kelly, renouned all over Europe for his aerial mastery, took the 2WD honours in his Mark II escort and 6th overall. Steve Simpson was in strong contention for the overall win but changing weather conditions and an unforgiving bale chicane were enough to shorten his day. A similar fate befell MK II ace Adrian Hetherington also retiring. Damian Cole put in a blistering performance towards the end of the the event to take 2nd place honours just ahead of the the former national forest champion, Mick O'Brien. John Stone was 4th and was delighted to break his run of bad luck at ALMC.

Also with Trim Castle imposing itself on the busy river Boyne settlement, and as the backdrop to the ceremonial start, it might even be fitting that this now annual battle will commence at the location of the infamous Battle of York in the blockbuster movie 'BraveHeart".

ALMC Motor Club is comprised of members from Dublin, Meath and Louth and the enthusiasm and work rate of the rally team is unquestionable and the organisers are really excited about the stages they have picked for this year. Clerk of the Course, John Carroll, noting, that he is 'delighted again to see so many international, national and in particular local entries have been received with over a month to the rally itself. Last year was a great success and we all are really looking forward to an even bigger event this year, particularly as the ALMC Stages Rally will be a round of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship in 2016".

Duleek based Brian Byrne, ALMC Chief Marshal, noted that 'a great draw to the ALMC Stages Rally for volunteer marshals and spectators is the sheer quality of the cars and crews in action. In particular it's a real meeting of UK WRC teams, who are registered in the REIS MSA Championship, with top WRC crews from this island. Where else would you see these teams go toe-to-toe like this. it's a great rivalry that is building year after year. Motorsport is exciting to watch but please always obey the marshals and put safety first at all times at events."

Current point's leader in the REIS MSA Asphalt Rally Championship, Simon Mauger will be coming to keep up the championship pressure on point's front runners and nearest rivals Damien Cole, David Hardie and Alex Laffey. Entries are still arriving from the UK, national and many local crews and club members so we can expect to see some great battles between contenders for class and championship honours on the day with what is already promising to be a really entertaining mix of top rally machinery.

Entries are still very welcome by the club, for entries visit the club website, www.almc.ie or rally site www.almcstagesrally.com where you will find the entry form or on results.shannonsportsit.ie for an online entry, our sites will continue to be updated with all the latest information on the rally and details required by competitors. Also the club Facebook page (ALMC Motor Club) and Twitter (@almcmotorclub) will carry regular updates and rally news. Rally programmes will be available in shops in the Trim area and around the County on Wednesday July 1st, at Rally H.Q and also in the service area in the town. Seeding of entries will take place on Wednesday night before the rally and will be published shortly thereafter.

ALMC Motor Club and the Cusack Hotel Group look forward to welcoming competitors and spectators alike to the historic town of Trim, Co. Meath.

ALMC Stages Rally is a counting round of the REIS MSA Asphalt Rally Championship and the Loughran Signs Midlands East Rally Championship.