Loughgall Stages Rally - NEW DATE (Sat) 21 Aug 21

N.I. Rally Championship Battle Heats Up in Loughgall Country Park

Posted: August 20, 2021 11:29 AM

Motorsport returns to Loughgall Country Park this Saturday for round three of the McGrady Insurance Motorsport UK N.I. Rally Championship - and for the first time since March last year, spectators will be permitted to attend!

The PRM GROUP and RPM MOTORSPORT backed Loughgall Stages Rally has received a capacity entry of 100 crews that will battle for the spoils within the beautiful confines of the County Armagh park. They will tackle a total of six stages, all based in the park, providing an exciting and adrenaline-fuelled day out for spectators at the North Armagh Motor Club organised event.

It will be the first time that the rally has hosted a round of the Championship and for many of the title contenders, it will be their first visit to the potentially tricky venue. The tree-lined stages can be slippery in places and will favour those brave drivers who are fast and precise.

The Contenders

The battle for the 2021 Championship title is really beginning to heat up with just four points separating the top four crews. All of the contenders have entered Loughgall with former champions, Jonny Greer and Kirsty Riddick, starting the event with the coveted 'number one' on the doors of their Citroen C3.

Greer won the opening round of this year's series at Bishopscourt and was on course to take another win at round two until a final stage puncture dropped him down the order at Shackleton. That disappointment has left him with a two-point championship lead.

Desi and Mark Henry claimed that last gasp win at Shackleton, making up for their opening round retirement in their Hyundai i20 R5. They start Loughgall at number two and can't afford another non-finish as they bid to get their title campaign back on track.

Reigning champion, Stephen Wright, holds second in the championship battle, only two points adrift of Greer. Navigated by Liam Moynihan in his Fiesta R5, the County Monaghan driver starts at number three ahead of Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes who should be match fit in their Hyundai R5 after their fifth-placed finish at last weekend's British Championship Grampian Stages.

Derek McGarrity is the most successful driver ever to contest the Northern Ireland series. With eight championship titles to his credit, he is in the hunt for number nine but has had a challenging start to the year. Navigated by Paddy Robinson, misfiring issues with his Fiesta WRC set him back at the second event of the season but he still holds fourth in the series standings, four points adrift of the leaders.

Aaron McLaughlin and Darren Curran have perhaps been the surprise of this year's series. Two top-five finishes, including second at Shackleton, have left them third in the championship battle with their Fiesta R5. The Redcastle driver starts the Loughgall event at number seven, behind former event winners, Damian Toner and Denver Rafferty.

The Loughgall event has predominantly been a two-wheel-drive-only rally for many years and Toner is the driver who has dominated in recent times. With five consecutive victories to his name, he has intimate knowledge of the venue. He could spring a surprise in his Ford Escort MkII as he fights to stop the dominance of Barry Morris' Darrian who heads the championship's two-wheel-drive category standings after very convincing victories at the opening two rounds.

Other leading lights include Peadar Hurson (Fiesta WRC), Niall Henry (Fiesta R5) and Ian Millar (Fiesta R5) while the two-wheel-drive category includes John Bradley (Escort MkII), Adrian Hetherington (Escort MkII), James Kennedy (Escort MkII) and Marty Toner (BMW).

Timetable

The rally starts at 9.30am with all six stages held on tarmac roads within Loughgall Country Park. Admission to the event is £10 for adults (which includes a programme) while accompanied children under the age of 16 will be admitted free of charge.

Seeded Entry List

Posted: August 20, 2021 11:23 AM

No Driver/Co-Driver (Car) [Class]
1 Jonathan Greer/Kirsty Riddick (Citroen C3 R5) [10]
2 Desi Henry/Mark Henry (Hyundai i20 R5) [11]
3 Stephen Wright/Liam Moynihan (Ford Fiesta R5) [11]
5 Derek McGarrity/Paddy Robinson (Ford Fiesta WRC) [10]
6 Damian Toner/Denver Rafferty (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
7 Aaron McLaughlin/Darren Curran (Ford Fiesta R5) [11]
8 Peadar Hurson/Damien Connolly (Ford Fiesta WRC) [10]
9 Niall Henry/Barney Mitchell (Ford Fiesta R5) [11]
10 Ian Millar/David Burns (Ford Fiesta R5) [11]
11 John Bradley/Ryan Crozier (Ford Escort) [6]
12 Barry Morris/Dylan Doonan (Darrian T90 GTR+) [7]
14 Adrian Hetherington/Ronan O'Neill (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
15 James Kennedy/Heather Kennedy (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
16 Marty Toner/Kyle Diffin (BMW M1) [7]
17 Gareth Irwin/Justin McCauley (Ford Escort) [6]
18 Michael McGarrity/Damian Garvey (Ford Fiesta R5) [11]
20 Peter Bennett/Joe Comerford (Skoda Fabia S2000) [9]
21 Aidan Wray/Kieran McGrath (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
22 Andrew Bustard/Kenny Bustard (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [8]
23 Chris McGurk/Andrew Wedlock (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
24 Simon Michael/Ivor Lamont (Citreon DS3 R5) [10]
25 Jason Black/Karl Egan (Toyota Starlet) [6]
26 Shane Cullen/Connor O'Loan (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
27 John Devlin/John McCarthy (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
28 Michael Conlon/Martin Byrne (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
29 Alastair Cochrane/Ian Kidd (Ford Escort) [6]
32 Jt Warnock/Sean Warnock (Ford Escort) [6]
33 Jamie Grant/Ben Teggart (Toyota Starlet) [6]
34 William McClurkin/Joanne McClurkin (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
35 Anthony Cairns/Mark Preston (Subaru Impreza) [9]
36 Ian Graham/Liam McIntyre (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
37 David Riddles/Harry Johnston (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
38 Seamus Connolly/Gary McCrudden (Toyota Corola) [4]
39 Nicky Caughey/Graeme Stewart (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [9]
40 Andrew Gillespie/Joe McNulty (Ford Escort) [6]
41 Sam Adams/Michael Johnston (Ford Escort) [5]
42 Stephen Peoples/Kieran Burke (Ford Escort) [6]
43 Philip Greenlee/Oisin Sherlock (Ford Escort) [7]
44 Joe Hegarty/David Turkington (Ford Escort) [7]
46 Seamus Morris/Jarlath Kelly (Darrian GTR) [7]
47 Gareth Black/Connor Dunlop (Toyota Starlet) [6]
48 Darragh Cairns/Garry Monteith (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [8]
49 Raymond Nelson/Dessie Wilson (Ford Escort) [1]
50 Andrew White/Paul Hughes (Ford Escort Mk1) [7]
51 Conor Lavery/Chris Simms (Ford Escort) [6]
52 Shane Quinn/Tommy Hayes (Ford Fiesta R2t) [4]
53 Arthur Kierans/Conor Maguire (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
54 Adrian Grant/Olivia Coulter (Ford Escort Mk2) [5]
55 Shane Murray/Gary Hade (Ford Escort) [6]
56 Darragh O Donovan/Eric Calnan (Honda Civic) [4]
57 Derek Gurney/Alan Conor (Ford Sierra RS Cosworth) [6]
58 Raymond Johnston/Marc Johnston (Ford Escort) [5]
59 Paul McKenna/Nial McKenna (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [9]
60 Colum Tennyson/Owen Magee (Ford Escort) [6]
61 Jody McManus/Conor Duffy (Ford Fiesta R2) [4]
62 Cathal Mulgrew/Kieran Mulgrew (Ford Escort) [6]
63 Paul Britton/Niall Burns (Subaru Impreza N16) [2]
64 David Christie/Alastair McComb (Ford Escort) [5]
65 Richard Hall/Declan Campbell (Ford Escort RS1800) [1]
66 Joe Kelly/Conor Boylan Boylan (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
67 Hugh Murdoch/Dion Coyle (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
68 Kevin Wilson/Martin Farren (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [9]
69 Ryan McArdle/Ronan Comerford (Ford Escort Mk2) [5]
70 Philip White/Brian Rowan (Nissan Micra) [3]
71 Gareth Deazley/Ashley Boulton (Honda Civic) [4]
72 Richard O'Lone/Aidan Campbell (Ford Fiesta R2) [4]
73 Seamus Goodfellow/Joel McFarland (Honda Civic) [2]
74 Roger Kennedy/Wendy Blackledge (Peugeot 306 S16) [6]
75 Steve Benton/John Henderson (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
77 Drew Wylie/Dean Beckett (Ford Escort RS1800) [1]
78 Terry Donnelly/Gareth Donnelly (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [9]
80 Marshall Kennedy/Davy Young (Peugeot 306 GTi6) [2]
81 Owen Percy/David Percy (Ford Escort) [6]
82 Brendan Cunningham/Ciaran Harte (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [8]
83 Andrew Mackarel/Derek Mackarel (Opel Ascona) [6]
84 Philip Wylie/Lewis Dunlop (Ford Escort RS1800) [1]
85 John Adams/Noel Watt (Ford Escort) [1]
86 Niall Carey/Ciaran Carey (BMW Compact) [7]
89 Ewan Murdoch/Paul Reid (Ford Escort) [4]
90 Conor Wilson/Emmett Kelly (Ford Fiesta R2) [4]
91 Alexander Cochrane/Chris Johnston (Ford Escort) [6]
92 Kyle Elder/Mark Elder (Honda Civic) [2]
93 Michelle Morelli/Rachael McCullough (Honda Civic) [4]
94 Tommy Maxwell/Sam McMullian (Ford Focus) [7]
95 Joel Eakin/Sean Doherty (Honda Civic) [2]
96 David Porter/Declan Boyle (Subaru Impreza) [8]
97 Barry Fitzsimons/Patrick McMullan (Subaru Impreza) [8]
98 John Gordon/Thomas Wedlock (Ford Escort) [6]
100 Malcolm Pedlow/Billy Regan (BMW 2002tii) [1]
101 Arnie Lutton/Saffron Thomas (Ford Ka) [3]
102 Philip Gault/Jim Ayre (Vaxuhall Nova) [4]
103 Anthony McCann/Damien McCann (Ford Escort) [5]
104 Andrew McGaffin/Matthew McGaffin (Ford Escort Mk1) [5]
105 Gary Murphy/Tony McGovern (Ford Escort) [6]
106 Michael Nutt/Neil Monaghan (Honda civic) [2]
107 Lee McLaughlin/Aaron McCarron (Honda Civic) [6]
108 Ronnie McConnell/Rachel McConnell (Honda Civic) [2]

Entries open Sun 1 Aug @ 7pm

Posted: August 1, 2021 11:35 AM

Regulations and entry forms will go live on rallyscore.net at 7pm on Sunday 1 August.

Competitors will have the opportunity to walk or cycle the stage from 4-9pm on Friday 20 August and from 7-8.30am on Saturday 21 August.

On Line Entry System by RallyScore

Loughgall Stages Rally to Host N.I. Championship Event!

Posted: August 1, 2021 11:33 AM

This year's PRM Group and RPM Motor Sports backed Loughgall Stages Rally will host a round of the McGrady Insurance Motorsport UK N.I. Rally Championship for the first time!

Taking place on Saturday 21 August, the North Armagh Motor Club Ltd organised event will host round three of the Championship and will be held within the beautiful confines of County Armagh's Loughgall Country Park.

PRM Group and RPM Motor Sports have agreed to sponsor the event for the first time. Managing Director, Philip Morrow, said:

"I am delighted to be associated with such a high-profile motorsport event in Northern Ireland. It provides the perfect fit for our business interests and as a keen car enthusiast, I am looking forward to seeing some of the fastest drivers in the country compete for the spoils in what is a stunning location."

Competitors will tackle a total of six stages, all based within the confines of the park. The event's Clerk of Course, William Fullerton, said:

"We are most grateful to PRM Group and RPM Motor Sports for their generous support, and also to Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, DAERA, AFBI Government Departments and the N.I. Forest Service for the use of Loughgall Country Park.

"We had originally planned to include a closed road stage but due to Covid restrictions imposed by the Northern Ireland Executive, unfortunately we couldn't make it work. Instead, we will run two stages within the confines of the park that competitors will tackle three times, providing a stern challenge for all crews.

"We are also delighted to announce that spectators will be permitted into the venue but we must advise that all spectators follow the guidance issued by the Northern Ireland Executive with regards to Covid-19. The latest guidance can be found online at nidirect.gov.uk/campaigns/coronavirus-covid-19."

Formerly a two-wheel-drive only event, the Loughgall Stages has been won on the last five occasions by Damian Toner in his Ford Escort MkII. However, August's event is expected to attract a host of powerful four-wheel-drive machinery that could dominate.

The likes of former champions, Jonny Greer and Derek McGarrity, as well as a number of other championship contenders, are expected to continue their battle for the 2021 McGrady Insurance crown in Loughgall.

Regulations and entry forms will be available from Sunday 1 August. Competitors will have the opportunity to walk or cycle the stage from 4-9pm on Friday 20 August and from 7-8.30am on Saturday 21 August.

The action will start at 9.30am with all six stages held on tarmac roads. Admission to the event is £10 for adults (which includes a programme) while accompanied children under the age of 16 will be admitted free. For more information, visit the club website, link below:

Club Website

Posted: May 29, 2021 5:40 AM

North Armagh Car Club
Association of Northern Ireland Car Clubs - www.motorsportni.org