IRISH NOTES 27^TH JULY 05

 

Kenny McKinstry is the latest top driver to enter the 13^th August Triton Showers Lurgan Park Rally.  Kenny took his Impreza WRC S9 to Kirkistown last Thursday for a test session and said. “Although I’m in and out of rally cars all the time I haven’t actually had a crash helmet on for months and it was a useful exercise. I really want to do Lurgan Park again, but obviously I have to get through the Manx first.”  Kenny is a 10 times winner in Lurgan, but has been frustrated on the Manx over the years, his best result 2^nd overall. 

 

Probably the furthest travelled competitor on this week’s Manx is Carrickfergus man Alan Courtney.  He is travelling back from India to compete on the event in his Lotus Cortina.  Alan has finished on the podium on the Manx Historic section for the last 4 years. As an aside, Alan has bought himself a brand new Royal Enfield motor bike out in India to play with, for the princely sum of £1200!

 

Willie Fannin has withdrawn from the Manx because of pressure of work in his building company, but has put in a late entry for this Sunday’s North East Mini Stages.  Willie currently leads Group N on the Dunlop National series and indeed is the current GpN Champion. In preparation for the  Clonmel based Stonethrowers Rally 2 weeks hence, Willie is anxious to give his Impreza a shakedown.

 

Eugene Donnelly’s Corolla WRC has had new differentials fitted plus a new turbo in preparation for the Manx Rally.  On last year’s Manx Donnelly had little or no experience of the stages, but he is a lot more confidence this time. 

 

Top entries for the North-East stages include Adrian McElvaney (Impreza 555), Tom Holton (Celica GT-4), Donagh Kelly, James Cullen and Brendan Kelly, all in GpN Lancers. One of the stages employed is a variation of the old Termonfeckin stage from Circuit of Ireland days.

 

Magherafelt MC’s Davagh Stage Rally is based in the Greenvale Hotel Cookstown this time and Camillus Bradley heads the entry in his rapid Mk2 Escort. Martin Doherty (Impreza), Seamus Donnelly (Lancer), John Cairns (impreza) Brian Muldoon (Corolla) and Declan McNaughton (Escort) make up the top six.

 

The next round of the NI Championship is the Limavady based Dogleap Rally, and it has been confirmed that current NI Champion Kevin Lynch has, despite his back injury, submitted an entry in his Impreza WRC.

 

The new WRC aspirant Rally Ireland has concluded a deal with the Cork ’20’ International to give guaranteed entries to the first 60 drivers who have competed on the Cork event. The Cork ‘20’ is the final round of the Pirelli Tarmac Championship, but despite bonus points for starting, there is a concern that the Cork entry will suffer over Rally Ireland, which seems to be catching the competitor’s imagination. The Cork ‘20’ is just two weeks before the 15^th/16^th October Rally Ireland .

 

Last weekend’s Cork Forestry was round 2 of the new Ka-Motions series. On the Saturday leg Colm Forde opened a 1 minute buffer from Sharon Power with Martin Buckley 6 seconds adrift. On leg 2 Forde’s KA got stuck in a ditch. Buckley survived a broken engine mounting and gearbox selection difficulties on his example and came through to win and extend his series lead. Sharon Power suffered a misted up screen in the wet conditions and came 2^nd.

 

Brian Patterson.