Irish Notes 27th April 05.

Last year's Killarney Rally of the Lakes winner Derek McGarrity has confirmed he will have a new Impreza WRC S10 for this weekend, the car that Petter Solberg used on this year's Monte Carlo. McGarrity starts at 2, behind Andrew Nesbitt and ahead of Eugene Donnelly, Austin McHale, Peadar Hurson, Eamonn Boland, Tim McNulty and Denis Cronin.

Derek McGarrity leads the Pirelli Tarmac Championship points going into this 3rd round, with 25 points, Austin McHale has 19, Eamonn Boland 17, Eugene Donnelly 15, Tim McNulty 14, Andrew Nesbitt 12. Gary Jennings is next up with 9 and leads GpN.

Tim McNulty is the only other driver on the Killarney Lakes apart from McGarrity, to have the Impreza S10. McNulty has been carrying out extensive testing with his Pierse backed machine in an effort to get the suspension set up to his liking. Following both the Galway and Circuit of Ireland Internationals the Meath man felt it was getting better all the time, and reckons it could come right in Killarney.

Alan Ring, last year's GpN winner on the Lakes, will have Paul Nagle co-driving this time. Nagle was originally down to sit with Gareth McHale who has withdrawn to concentrate on the Forestry series. Munster Joinery man Ring has been carrying out testing on his Prodrive built Impreza N11. The suspension set-up has been changed since last year, and Alan feels that it is now coming right for Irish tarmac.

Roy White is hoping for a good run at last in his new Lancer Evo8, the former GpN Tarmac Champion having a fairly miserable time with he new car so far. Roy has Stephen McAuley co-driving this time.

Charlie Donnelly made the trip to Holland last weekend to collect a newly acquired ex Tobias Johannson Corolla WRC from Erik Wevers. Eugene Donnelly will drive this Corolla WRC in Killarney, not the existing one, which was damaged on the Circuit of Kerry.

The famous Molls Gap stage is used four times on the Killarney Lakes, so it will make up a substantive portion of the overall stage mileage. There is a possibility that the stage may have to be shortened, as road works progress on the downhill section after the gap itself.

George Cullen has confirmed he will drive a Fabia WRC on the Lakes, starting at 17 behind Nigel Hicklin in his Octavia WRC, while Denis Biggerstaff has been re-seeded to start at 15. Biggerstaff, who has never competed on the Lakes, originally intended to do the rally just for experience and entered in the modified section, but it has transpired that a WRC car is not allowed to run in the "modifieds".

New Yorker Liam Egan, formerly from Galway, is planning to contest the 21st May Sperrins Rally, next round of the NI Championship. Liam will drive one of the Eugene/Charlie Donnelly Corolla WRC's on the Maghera based event. Well known competitor Philip Shaw, who is Clerk of the Course of the Sperrins Rally, is, of necessity, well advanced in his plans for the event. Philip married Sharon last Saturday and is off on  honeymoon to Australia between now and the rally.

Co-driver Killian Duffy has a few busy weeks ahead of him. The young man from Crossmilina in Mayo navigates on the Killarney Lakes this weekend for George Tracy in his Peugeot 206 WRC. Immediately after the Lakes he flies to Jordan to compete with Ahmed Al Sabban on the fourth round of the Middle East Championship and the following week he sits his final exams at Sligo College.

Despite hurting his back earlier this week, Kevin Lynch has been confirmed as an entry on this weekend's Lakes Rally. Dungiven man Lynch will have Gordon Noble co-driving in his Impreza WRC and will slot in at 9 in place of Gareth McHale. Lynch is also planning to compete on the Middleton based Moonraker Forest Rally as a warm up for the gravel stages of the NI Championship Sperrins Rally.

Brian Patterson.