Posted: February 11, 2018 9:56 AM - 9902 Hits
Round 5 - 2017 Northern Ireland Rally Championship
Round 6 - 2017 Irish Forest Rally Championship
Posted: November 6, 2017 6:15 AM
Josh Moffett and Stephen Thornton in their Ford Fiesta R5 took a convincing thirty-one-second victory on the Enniskillen Motor Club’s Lakeland Stages Rally, round five of the 2017 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship. “We just went flat out today and had fun!” said the young Monaghan driver. “The stages were really good, some loose gravel on the first loop, which may have affected Sam more but an excellent rally.” In second place was Jonny Greer in his R5 Citroen DS3 with Sam Moffett third, and looking set to take the title with just one round to go. “We were mindful of championship points today. It was quite loose on the top surface on the first loop, but it cleaned up in the afternoon and it was a good day in the Fermanagh forests” said Sam.
Championship leader going into this round was Ger Lucey in the Evo 8, and he would claim fifteenth overall, enjoying the stages, feeling he could commit more to the jumps but was delayed with a misfire which came in on stage three, and his title challenge is slipping away as we head for the final round in Omagh. It was a difficult day for Adrian Hetherington whose new R5 Fiesta broke down on stage one, as did Enda McCormack’s although he re-joined later in the day and enjoyed the forgiving handling of the R5. Jonny Leonard had been tenth on his home stages into the first service but dropped back to forty-ninth with problems on stage four. There were no such issues for David Condell making an exciting debut in a hired Ford Focus WRC. “It’s a great car, just a problem with a dash display not working, but it’s like a big arm-chair compared to the MK2 Escort down the bumpy straights!” said David.
Niall McCullagh was the early Group N leader in the Evo 9 dominated class, but Jordan Hone went on the attack on the second loop and took the category, by just seven seconds from McCullagh to strengthen his championship lead. Liam Regan debuting an Evo 9, instead of his 4x4 Peugeot took third on a tie-break from Cathan McCourt, in what was a closely fought category.
In the Valvoline two wheel race, David Crossen in the MK2 Escort powered into a commanding lead from the start. “I had done the first two stages a few times and we had a good run on those, but the third one was more difficult with the jumps and bumps so we went a little easier. I wasn’t really thinking about the championship at this stage, we were just having a go and enjoying ourselves” said the County Down driver. It ended up another fine result, ninth overall and a dominant two wheel drive win for David and co-driver Damien Fleming, a result which sees them crowned as two wheel drive champions with one round to go. Behind them, on the Lakeland there was some drama as John Gordon dropped two minutes with an off road excursion, and Hugh McQuaid, Damian McGuaran, and Owen McMackin all retired.
The Valvoline Junior Section, was even more dramatic, especially on the first loop! Shane Kenneally inverted his Honda Civic on stage two, and Johnnie Mulholland did the same thing in his R2 Fiesta on stage three, after a fast start. On the final stage, there was drama for Jonny O’Sullivan who picked up a puncture in his R2 Fiesta, and Stephen Dickson in his similar machine who survived an off road excursion after a jump but was near the tail of the field. For Derek Mackeral and Muireann Hayes in the Vauxhall Nova, it was a well-deserved victory, and they narrowly missed out on the overall class win which was taken by a charging Ruari Maguire in his Vauxhall Corsa.
Again we would like to give special thanks to all our championship sponsors – Valvoline, Andrew Fanning Motor Factors, M. O'Brien Plant Hire, Suirway Group Forklifts & Farm Machinery, Jelf Motorsport Insurance, Exact Signs & Graphics, Pottinger Machinery, Ears Motorsport / Kumho Tyres, Colton Pump & Heating Services, Coillte, Concept Fire Services Ltd, Gordon Automotive Services, Barron Pix & SVS Incar Cameras.
Now there are three weeks to re-fettle the forest chargers before the final round- the Omagh Motor Club’s Bushwhacker Rally on 23rd September.
Posted: November 6, 2017 6:14 AM
Josh Moffett made up for the disappointment of coming second on last year’s Lakeland Stages Rally by taking an emphatic win this year. Co-driven by Stephen Thornton, Josh in a Ford Fiesta R5 showed his gravel prowess by opening a 27sec lead over the opening loop of three stages, by the end of the six stages the Monaghan pair had been fastest on all six stages and had extended their lead to 31secs. In second overall were Jonny Greer and Kirsty Riddick in their Citroen DS3 R5, they gained maximum points in the McGrady Insurance Northern Ireland Championship. Taking third overall were the winners for the past two years Sam Moffett and James Fulton. Sam also on a Fiesta R5 took second place points in the Vavoline Irish Forestry Championship behind his brother Josh. This point’s haul has given Sam an excellent chance of collecting the title on the Omagh based Bushwacker Rally in three weeks time; it is the final round of the Championship.
The Moffett brothers are Monaghan men but they completed their education in Portora Royal School so the Lakeland Rally is almost regards as the brother’s local event, they have dominated the results over the last few years. Other Fermanagh based crews were not so fortunate; Jon Armstrong and Shane McGirr had to withdraw before the event as they both had mechanical issues to contend with. Connor Woods and Chris Corry were top local finishers in their Mitsubishi Evo 9, Father and son duo Raymond & Mark Johnston took victory in the historic class as well as finishing in the top 30.
Gerry Cavanagh Clerk of the Course for this year’s Trailer Parts and Spares.com Lakeland Stages Rally paid tribute to everyone who has helped out at the Rally, “The officials, marshals and crews here today have all contributed to one of the best forestry rallies Ireland has seen in a few years” Gerry went on to say “The feedback from crews has been excellent, everyone said the stages were a real challenge and are the best we have raced on this year”. Gerry also would like to thank the Forestry Commission for all their help and assistance, without it this event would not have been possible. Planning for next year’s Rally will start as soon as the dust has settled on this year’s event.
Posted: November 6, 2017 6:09 AM
Victory on the Lakeland Stages Rally for Monaghan driver Josh Moffett in his R5 Fiesta was a significant success, but more significant for the 2017 MSA ANICC McGrady Insurance Northern Ireland Rally Championship battle was Jonny Greer’s second place finish in his Citroen DS3 R5, just over half a minute behind. The Enniskillen Motor Club event ran over classic forestry stages including Lough Navar, Big Dog and Ballintempo and in near perfect conditions a record entry of over one hundred cars tackled the six special stages, with sixty-eight crews making the finish.
From the start it was Josh Moffett in front of his brother Sam in a sister R5 Fiesta, with Jonny Greer close behind, but significantly moving ahead of Sam on the long third test. Championship leader Derek McGarrity was having his first run in an R5 Skoda Fabia and impressively slotted into fourth place, a position he would finish in, as once again the Mossley driver illustrated his uncanny ability of stepping into a strange rally car and going very quickly. Destined to finish seventeen seconds behind him was Banbridge ace Kenny McKinstry in his Impreza WRC, the rally veteran having been tied on time with Derek after three stages, but dropped back off the pace in the afternoon loop.
Strabane’s Martin Cairns brought his WRC Fiesta into sixth, just one second ahead of Derek McGeehan in the Mini WRC, who in turn was just one second in front of David Condell in ninth in his first drive in a Ford Focus WRC. Another driver in a new vehicle was Omagh’s Alan Smyth in a Mitsubishi Evo X, and he completed the top ten.
The Group N battle was won by Claudy’s Jordan Hone in his Evo 9, finishing eleventh overall. Niall McCullagh was second with Belfast’s Liam Regan in a new Evo 9 taking third in Group N on a tie-break on time from Dromore’s Cathan McCourt.
In the two wheel drive battle Comber’s David Crossen in his MK2 Escort was first home in a fabulous ninth overall, with Donal Sweeney’s MK2 next up in eighteenth place, and third was Historic winner, local driver Raymond Johnston whose RS1800 BDA Escort provided a glorious sound-track through the Fermanagh forests.
Other class winners were: Ian Dickson- class 1 (Ford Fiesta), Ruari Maguire- class 3 (Vauxhall Corsa), Gary Kiernan- class 4 (MK2 Escort), Chris Simms-class 5 (MK2 Escort), Niall Henry- class 8 (Evo 10).
In just three weeks the Omagh Motor Club hosts the famous Bushwhacker Rally, and this event could decide the destiny of the 2017 title. For seven times champion Derek McGarrity it could unlock title number eight. However Jonny Greer is hungry for his first title, and with the original final round in the Down Forests cancelled and a decision awaited to see whether Magherafelt Motor Club run their reserve rally on 4th November. It’s a decision that’s important for the Carryduff driver as points scoring opportunities are rapidly running out.
Posted: November 6, 2017 5:43 AM
Cathan McCourt & Brian Hoy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) SS6
Jonny Leonard & Arthur Kierans (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) SS6
Alan Carmichael & Ivor Lamont (Subaru Impreza WRC S14) SS5
Ruairi Maguire & Grace O'Brien (Vauxhall Corsa)
Graeme Colfer & Dave Woodcock (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) SS5
David Kerr & Jordan Murphy (Peugeot 106) SS5
Donall Sweeney & Dean O'Sullivan (Ford Escort Mk2) SS6
Posted: November 6, 2017 5:40 AM
1 Josh Moffett/Stephen Thornton (Ford Fiesta R5) 31:17
2 Jonathan Greer/Kirsty Riddick (Citroën DS3 R5) 31:48
3 Sam Moffett/James Fulton (Ford Fiesta R5) 32:13
4 Derek McGarrity/Noel O'Sullivan (Skoda Fabia R5) 32:45
5 Kenny McKinstry/Kenny Hull (Subaru Impreza WRC S14) 33:02
6 Martin Cairns/Rory Kennedy (Ford Fiesta WRC) 33:08
7 Derek McGeehan/Ciaran Geaney (Mini WRC) 33:09
8 David Condell/Michael Coady (Ford Focus WRC) 33:10
9 David Crossen/Damien Fleming (Ford Escort MkII) 33:33
10 Alan Smyth/Mac Kierans (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) 33:37
Class Winners
Class 1: Ian Dickson/Steven Monaghan (Ford Fiesta ST)
Class 2: Jordan Hone/Paul Hone (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
Class 3: Ruairi Maguire/Grace O'Brien (Vauxhall Corsa)
Class 4: Gary Kiernan/Darren O'Brien (Ford Escort)
Class 5: Chris Simms/Mo Downey (Ford Escort MkII)
Class 6: David Crossen/Damien Fleming (Ford Escort)
Class 8: Alan Smyth/Mac Kierans (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X)
Class 9: Kenny McKinstry/Kenny Hull (Subaru Impreza WRC)
Class 10: Josh Moffett/Stephen Thornton (Ford Fiesta)
Class 12: Raymond Johnston/Marc Johnston (Ford Escort RS1800)
Leaders After:
SS1-6 Josh Moffett/Stephen Thornton (Ford Fiesta R5)
Stage Winners
SS1 Josh Moffett/Stephen Thornton (Ford Fiesta R5)
SS2 Josh Moffett/Stephen Thornton (Ford Fiesta R5)
SS3 Josh Moffett/Stephen Thornton (Ford Fiesta R5)
SS4 Josh Moffett/Stephen Thornton (Ford Fiesta R5)
SS5 Josh Moffett/Stephen Thornton (Ford Fiesta R5)
SS6 Bogey Beaten
Posted: August 31, 2017 11:33 AM
This Saturday the 2017 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship, heads for its penultimate round in the Fermanagh forests, for the Enniskillen Motor Club’s Lakeland Stages Rally. Over sixty special stage kilometres lie in wait over famous stages such as Ballintempo, Big Dog, and Lough Navar, and with the gravel tracks reported to be in fine fettle, the entry assembled is truly mouth-watering!
Championship leader Ger Lucey armed with his Mitsubishi Evo 8 will make the long trip up from Ballyvourney, but his slender two point advantage is over an 'on form' Sam Moffett in his Fiesta WRC. “We were in a very similar position at this stage last year,” said Ger. “It was my first time on the Lakeland Stages, and I really enjoyed the rally, and hopefully that experience will help for Saturday. All we can do is do our best and see what happens around us.”
Sam Moffett now crowned the Irish National Tarmac Rally Champion, also looks set to clinch the Irish Tarmac Championship in Cork, and the Forest series would complete an extraordinary treble for the Monaghan driver. Winner of the last round in Cork, one of Sam’s main rivals on Saturday will be brother Josh who lost out to Sam in a dead heat on this rally last year. Josh will be in his R5 Fiesta, whilst new to an R5 Fiesta this weekend is Adrian Hetherington, as he samples the more modern four wheel drive machine, after a frustrating event in Cork with the Corolla WRC.
With Northern Ireland Championship crews, such as Derek McGarrity in an R5 Fabia mixed in, the four- wheel drive contingent is serious and one to watch on his home rally will be Jonny Leonard in his Evo 6 fresh from his second place in Cork, whilst Jon Armstrong after a fine R5 showing on Rally Germany also wheels out an Evo. Regular championship contender Enda McCormack from New York is entered in a Fiesta R5 and Patsy Keenan also travels from the USA to pilot his Evo 9. Indeed the Mitsubishi's are in their droves with Niall McCullagh, Niall Henry, Ian Graham, Liam Regan, Darren McKelvey all entered, whilst the Group N Championship race is hotting up with the leader Jordan Hone and Conor McCourt just one point apart. Another interesting entry is David Condell who is switching from his MK2 Escort to a Ford Focus WRC.
In the two wheel race, David Crossen’s impressive season in his MK2 Escort sees the Comber driver hold an incredible third place in the series after finishing in that overall position on the last round. Mickey Conlon is the closest challenger, with John Gordon also always in contention, and they will be joined by many top runners from the N.I series.
The Valvoline Junior Section (Class 16), and Mallow’s John O’Sullivan in his R2 Fiesta is very much on form after a win last time out. Waterford’s Shane Kenneally too has shown great speed in his Honda Civic and County Antrim’s Johnnie Mulholland (second in the championship) is getting faster by the mile in another R2 Fiesta. Derek Mackeral is always rapid but can the little Nova hold together, whilst championship leader Stephen Dickson in his R2 Fiesta is aiming to hang on to his points advantage with that Billy Coleman Award nomination up for grabs at the end of the season for the first eligible competitor. Already a Billy Coleman Award nominee this year, with his performances on sealed surfaces- Jonny Treanor has entered in his Honda Civic. The Monaghan mechanic is pitting his skills against the loose surface competition on Saturday.
The M. O’Brien Plant Hire Junior 1000 class for 16-18-year-olds was decided in Cork and Jason Murphy took the title on this first exciting season of Junior competition. Now a media / demonstration day is being planned by the organisers and with interest from crews from Scotland and afar, the class for the youngest forest chargers could take off in 2018, an important step for the future of rallying.
Again we would like to give special thanks to all our championship sponsors – Valvoline, Andrew Fanning Motor Factors, M. O'Brien Plant Hire, Suirway Group Forklifts & Farm Machinery, Jelf Motorsport Insurance, Exact Signs & Graphics, Pottinger Machinery, Ears Motorsport / Kumho Tyres, Colton Pump & Heating Services, Coillte, Concept Fire Services Ltd, Gordon Automotive Services, Barron Pix & SVS Incar Cameras.
Posted: August 30, 2017 3:52 AM
1 Sam Moffett/James Futon (Ford Fiesta WRC) [9]
2 Josh Moffett/Stephen Thornton (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
3 Jonathan Greer/Kirsty Riddick (Citroen DS3 R5) [10]
4 Derek McGarrity/Noel O'Sullivan (Skoda Fabia R5) [10]
5 Adrian Hetherington/Gary Nolan (Ford Fiesta R5) [8]
6 Martin Cairns/TBA (Ford Fiesta WRC) [9]
7 Kenny McKinstry /Kenny Hull (Subaru Impreza WRC) [9]
8 Derek McGeehan/Ciaran Geaney (Mini WRC) [9]
9 Jon Armstrong/Emmet Sherry (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) [2]
10 Alan Carmichael/Ivor Lamont (Subaru Impreza WRC S14) [8]
11 Gerard Lucey/JJ Cremin (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) [8]
12 Jonny Leonard/Arthur Kierans (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [8]
14 Enda McCormack/Colin Fitzgerald (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
15 Niall McCullagh/Ryan McCloskey (Mitsibishi Lancer Evo IX) [2]
16 David Crossen/Damien Fleming (Ford Escort MkII) [6]
17 Vivian Hamill/Ronan O'Neill (Ford Escort MkII) [7]
18 David Condell/Michael Coady (Ford Focus WRC) [9]
19 Paul Britton/TBA (Subaru Impreza) [2]
20 Jordan Hone/Paul Hone (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
21 Andrew Bustard/David Young (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [8]
22 Robin Phillips/Laura Phillips (Subaru Impreza WRC S10) [9]
23 Niall Henry/Aaron Johnston (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) [8]
24 John Gordon/Thomas Wedlock (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
25 Mickey Conlon/Ciaran McPhillips (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
26 James Kennedy/Heather Kennedy (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
27 Gareth Mimnagh/J Barry McCarney (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 5) [2]
28 Clive Kilpatrick/Jay Colville (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
29 Cathan McCourt/Brian Hoy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
30 Darren McKelvey/Aaron Johnston (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [8]
31 Dermot O'Hagan/Pierce Jnr Doheny (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [8]
32 Liam Regan/David McElroy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [2]
33 Conor McCourt/Caolan McKenna (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [1]
34 Alan Smyth/MacKierans (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) [8]
35 Patrick Keenan/Martin Brady (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
36 Raymond Johnston/Marc Johnston (Ford Escort RS1800) [12]
37 Hugh McQuaid/TBA (Ford Escort Mk2) [5]
38 Anthony Cairns/Mark Preston (Subaru Impreza) [8]
39 Damien McGauran/Darren Curran (BMW 320) [6]
40 Chris Simms/Mo Downey (Ford Escort Mk2) [5]
41 Owen McMackin/Lee Taylor (Ford Escort Mk 2) [6]
42 Ashley Dickson/Lorcan Moore (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
43 Connor Woods/Chrissy Corry (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [8]
44 Colm McFall/Dermot McCafferty (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
45 Frank O'Brien/Stephen O'Brien (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [8]
46 Kevin McBride/TBA (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [2]
47 Brian Tolan/Colin Irvine (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [1]
48 Ian Graham/Liam McIntyre (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [8]
49 Conor McCrossan/Chris Melly (Skoda Fabia S2000) [10]
50 Niall McGonagle/Paddy McCrudden (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [1]
51 Gary Kiernan/Darren O'Brien (Ford Escort MkII) [4]
52 William Herron/Geoff Patterson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [2]
53 Robert McKelvey/Declan Campbell (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) [2]
54 Stephen McKenna/Mark Donnelly (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [8]
55 Trevor McConnell/Shaun Lafferty (Subaru Impreza) [8]
56 Niall Magee/Sean Devlin (Subaru Impreza) [8]
57 Joe Hegarty/TBA (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [8]
58 Gerry Farmer/Declan McGee (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [2]
59 Derek Jobb/Barney Mitchell (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [2]
60 Kyle White/Sean Topping (Peugeot 208 R2) [4]
61 Chris McGurk/TBA (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [8]
62 Sean W. Benskin/Joe Fitzgibbon (Ford Escort MKII) [5]
63 Ruairi Maguire/Grace O'Brien (Vauxhall Corsa) [3]
64 Stephen McFerran/Martin McBrearty (Ford Escort) [5]
65 Jonny Treanor/Karl Egan (Honda Civic) [3]
66 Derek Mackarel/Muireann Hayes (Vauxhall Nova) [3]
67 Paul McCann/Paddy Plunkett (Ford Escort RS Cosworth) [8]
68 Pauric Sheridan/Sean Brunton (Ford Escort RS Cosworth) [1]
69 David Kerr/TBA (Peugeot 106) [4]
70 Stephen Dickson/Tommy Hayes (Ford Fiesta R2) [5]
71 Dominic Leonard/Martin Baxter (Honda Civic) [4]
72 Paul McShea/Stephen Griffith (Ford Escort Mk2) [5]
73 Neil Harron/Mark Thompson (Suzuki Swift) [3]
74 Drew Chambers/Wendy Blackledge (Talbot Samba) [3]
75 Mervyn Wilson/Ricky Gamble (Ford Escort) [3]
76 Mervyn Galbraith/Aine McGuigan (Vauxhall Nova) [3]
77 Brian Little/Andrew Wedlock (Ford Escort g3) [5]
78 Ian Dickson/TBA (Ford Fiesta ST) [1]
79 Stephen Cullen/Seamus O'Grady (Toyota Corolla) [8]
80 Ruari McCaffrey/Lauren Kelly (Ford Escort) [5]
81 Mike Garahy/Iarla McCarthy (Ford Escort Mk2) [3]
82 Michael McCarroll/Ronnie Craig (Ford Fiesta ST) [1]
83 Jamie Grant/TBA (Toyota Starlet) [5]
84 Darren Connelly/Cathain Colton (Vauxhall Nova) [3]
85 Jason Dickson/Jared Gill (Ford Fiesta ST) [1]
86 Graeme Colfer/Dave Woodcock (Mitsubishi Evo6) [8]
87 John O'Sullivan/Kaine Treanor (Ford Fiesta) [4]
88 Gareth Deazley/James Duffin (Honda Civic) [1]
89 Lukasz Czapnik/Piotr Szadkowski (Subaru Impreza) [8]
90 Michael McGarrity/Damien Garvey (Ford Fiesta R2) [4]
91 Eamon McNabb/Davy Turkington (Mitsubishi Evo 6) [8]
92 Andrew McCormick/Rudy Tate (Vauxhall Chevette) [6]
93 Ashley Rutledge/Brian Robinson (Honda Civic) [1]
94 Shane Kenneally/Jer Connors (Honda Civic) [4]
95 Seamus Goodfellow/Christopher McLaughlin (Subaru Impreza) [8]
96 Karl Fallis/Tony McGovern (Honda Civic) [1]
97 Keelan Maguire/TBA (Honda Civic) [1]
98 Gemma Kerley/Andy Curran (Subaru Impreza) [9]
99 Sean McConnell/Declan Gaffney (Honda Civic) [4]
100 Paul McMahon/Pradraig Deasy (Honda Civic) [3]
101 Derek Robinson/David Forde (Toyota Corolla) [1]
102 Seamus Heaney/Michael Culleton (Honda Civic) [3]
103 Benny Quinn/Paddy O’Brien (Ford Escort) [5]
104 Johnnie Mulholland/Jeff Case (Ford Fiesta) [4]
105 Adrian Beattie/Declan Ryan (Honda Civic) [4]
106 Donall Sweeney/Deane O'Sullivan (Ford Escort MK2) [6]
107 Ryan Murray/Adrian Kielt (Peugeot 205 GTI) [3]
108 Mark McAleer/Jonny McAleer (Citroen Saxo) [1]
109 Darryl Sproule/Chrystal Culkeen (Vauxhall Astra) [1]
110 William Graham/Seamus McTigue (Vauxhall Corsa) [3]
Posted: August 20, 2017 5:35 PM
Press Release Two Trailer Parts and Spares Lakeland Stages
The countdown is well and truly on for the Trailer Parts and Spares Lakeland Stages Rally. With entries open for just over two weeks Gerry Cavanagh and his team are delighted with the level of interest. Forty plus entries received and many more have expressed their intentions to submit their entries in the coming days, it has the making of one of the most competitive rallies of the year.
The leading contenders from both the McGrady Insurance Northern Ireland Rally Championship and Vavoline Forestry Chanmpionship are expected to roll over the start ramp on Saturday the 2nd of September. Enniskillen Motor Club members have been working hard behind the scene, ensuring all the stages and the service area is in the best possible condition for the competitiors.
Closer to the event the motor club will provide a programme which will be available locally. This will have full details of the location and time of the stages, plus the entry list. With rallying throughout Ireland and the UK going through a difficult time the organisers are asking any spectators who intend coming along to obey the marshals and officials who are there to help and assist. Safety is of the utmost importance and the team would have no hesitation in cancelling stages if they felt safety is being compromised in anyway. It is important to be aware that cars can throw up stones, can run wide and indeed crash so it is important to expect the unexpected.
“Remember only a safe rally is a good rally”!
Gerry and is team are looking forward to giving a warm Fermanagh welcome to, competitors, their crews, officials and marshals. Gerry said
“I am slightly biased but I fell we have the best team here and we intend to organise the best rally of the year” Gerry went on to say “Northern Ireland Championship leader Derek McGarrity intends debuting his Skoda Fabia R5 with us, Adrian Hethrington has an entry submitted in a Fiesta R5 and no doubt his committed style will see him close to the top of timesheets, also Lauren Kelly daughter of the legend Frank Kelly has returned from baby blues latest foreign adventure to sit with Ruari McCaffrey. Gerry continued
“There is always a large local interest in the Trailer Parts and Spares supported Rally and this year is no exception. Jonny Leonard is flying high after the last round of the Forestry Championship he took a highly commended second overall, Connor Woods is stepping up to a GpN Mitsubishi Evo9 and Drew Chambers will return in his Talbot Samba. All the classes have exceptional quality and I would like to encourage competitors to get their entry forms completed as soon as possible”.
Posted: August 9, 2017 7:02 AM
Enniskillen Motor Club [EMC] are delighted to announce the continuing sponsorship from rally diehard Hugh McQuaid for their upcoming annual forest rally. Saturday 2nd September sees the forests of Fermanagh host the, ‘Trailer Parts and Spares Lakeland Stages Rally 2017 – supported by TuffMac Trailers’. Entries are now open for this popular and exciting event which is a counting round of both the McGrady Insurance MSA ANICC Northern Ireland Stage Rally Championship and the Valvoline Irish National Forestry Rally Championship. Once again the rally will be broadcast by ‘On The Limits’ TV programme. The same EMC organising team of recent years are once more following their very successful format of using the Service Park on the Coleshill Road on the outskirts of Enniskillen town with just a short distance to the famous Fermanagh forests such as Lough Navar, Big Dog and the long, challenging and furiously fast Ballintempo complex. The crews will get a chance to compete on over 60kms of the finest gravel roads and we have kept road mileage to minimum.
Clerk of the Course Gerry Cavanagh and his team have been working getting the stages in the best possible condition, Gerry said
“competitors are in for a real treat as the stages are in A1 condition” Gerry continued “The Fermanagh Stages are regarded as some of the best forestry stages in Ireland and we look forward to welcoming crews from across the island of Ireland and beyond” Thus rally fans and competitors are sure to be in for a super day of rally action come September 2nd.