Cookstown company Meteor Electrical, whose MD John Conway is a sometime rally co-driver with Charlie Donnelly, was announced this week as title sponsor for the 2005 Enniskillen based Circuit of Ireland.

The Circuit will take place again at Easter (26^th/27^th/28^th March 2005) and will be round 2 of the Tarmac Championship. The event will also feature a National/Historic section plus have an ‘Easter Stages’ content catering for the NI Championship.

Derek McGarrity and Eugene Donnelly start this weekend’s Cork ‘20’ tied at the top of the Pirelli Tarmac Championship points table. It is a simple matter of whoever comes out in front takes the title, Cork being the final round.

Donnelly will drive his usual Corolla WRC. McGarrity’s Subaru has been sold, and he will drive an ex Mike Oates Impreza WRC S9. McGarrity has decided not to continue with the appeal against his Ulster Rally exclusion, the outcome of which would have had no bearing on the title race in any case.

Kieran Murphy, whose Murphy Construction company sponsors the Cork ‘20’, will co-drive for Liam McCarthy as usual, the pair this time driving the McKinstry Impreza WRC S9 normally campaigned by Andrew Nesbitt, in place of their Corolla WRC.

Last year’s winner Eamonn Boland is No.1 seed in Cork, driving his new right hand drive Impreza S9. Donnelly is at 2, McGarrity at 3, Donie O’Sullivan at 4 in his Focus WRC, Tim McNulty (Subaru) at 5, and Liam McCarthy at 6. The rally has a full 151 entries, plus Historics.

Four times Cork ‘20’ winner Austin McHale is 3^rd in the Pirelli Tarmac points, that position unlikely to change even though he is missing Cork to defend his British Championship position on the Yorkshire Trackrod.

Cork is the final double header round of the Ford Ireland KA series, with Enniskerry’s Daniel Barry leading the points from Cashel’s Pat O’Connell and Cork’s Brian O’Mahony 3^rd.

Andrew Purcell took his Nissan Sunny Gti to victory on last Sunday’s Monaghan Stage event over Cooley Mountain, with Donegal man Paul Gallagher 2^nd in his Corolla and Eddie Power (Clio) 3^rd.

Brian Patterson.