IRISH
NOTES
6th APRIL 2005
This
Saturday’s
Fivemiletown
Forest
Rally may be non NI Championship, but it has still
attracted an interesting entry, testimony to how well
the event and the stages are appreciated by the
competitors. Just
one of the top drivers promises to be Robbie McGurk in
his Group N Lancer. He will be co driven by none other
than Junior World Rally Championship star Kris Meeke.
The rally is based in the Valley Hotel, Fivemiletown.
Young
Gareth MacHale’s points tally after the opening 2
rounds of the Forestry series is 40, Glenn Allen is on
34, as is Pat Norris.
John McCarthy is on 30 and Stephen Moore leads
Group N and has 28 points, with Jonny McKenna next up on
25.
Indications
are that Austin MacHale will take his Focus WRC to the
Killarney Rally of the Lakes, and the opening round of
the Pirelli British Championship, the Rally of
Wales
. There is
speculation that Gareth MacHale will expand his
programme, but the decision has not yet been finalised.
Patrick
Elliott’s second place on last weekend’s Circuit of
Kerry Rally moves him into the lead of the Dunlop
National Championship. The next round is Elliott’s
home Cavan Rally on the 29th May.
Brian
O’Mahony battled against illness on the last day of
the Circuit of Ireland to take his Chris Birkbeck
prepared Puma to a great class win, and top 20 overall
place. Brian
was hospitalised when he got back to Cork, and what
appeared initially to be food poisoning remains a
mystery. We
wish him a speedy recovery.
Brian was one of a team, along with his father
Frank and sister Emily, raising funds for the
Temple Street
Children’s Hospital in
Dublin
. Final
figures are as yet unknown but believed to be
substantial.
Last
weekend’s
Tipperary
Forest
event at Mitchelstown was the final round of the Irish
205 Challenge. Although
Graeme Colfer retired from the event, he had done enough
earlier in the series to take the title and the 2000
Euro cheque from championship sponsor Rory Galligan.
Seamus O’Grady was 2nd in the
series, Adrian McBride 3rd.
Adrian McElhinney was the best of the 205’s on
the event.
Sean
Gallagher is the top seed on this Sunday’s Carrick on
Shannon
based
Midland
Mini Stages Rally.
There are 90 stage miles on offer over a mixture
of fast interesting asphalt roads.
The event has attracted a top class entry, and
interestingly although it is not a round of any major
championship has a capacity entry plus reserves.
Brian
Patterson
