Irish Notes 21^st August ’06.

 

Killarney Lakes winner Tim McNulty has entered his Impreza WRC S11 for this Sunday’s Galway Summer Rally, as a warm up for the following weekend’s Ulster Rally. McNulty was forced to miss the Jim Clark because of illness and wasn’t scheduled to compete on the Manx, so this will be his first outing since Donegal. He is anxious to shake off the rally cobwebs, but is not registered for the Dunlop series so should not interfere in the battle between points leader Patrick Elliott in his Subaru and Charlie Donnelly (Corolla WRC). Interestingly, this will not be McNulty’s first foray into the Dunlop series this year. He entered the Circuit of Kerry as a test in his then newly acquired Impreza WRC S11, and won.

 

Derek McGarrity was sounding a bit more like his usual self late last week as he recovered from his Manx accident, and scotched rumours of his rally retirement, stating that as soon as he  is back to full fitness, with his broken arm and shoulder fully mobile and strong,  he plans to start rallying again.

 

Camillus Bradley once again showed his brilliance, as well as his superiority, over the asphalt drives of the Davagh forest complex by taking his stunning Mk2 Escort to a clear victory on Cookstown MC’s Lafarge Cement Ireland Stages Rally last Sunday. Paul McKenna was 2^nd in his Lancer, Charlie Toner in a similar Mitsubishi 3^rd. Camillus has entered the National section of the Philip Whyte Tyres supported Ulster Rally and although he is a previous winner, will find the going somewhat tougher this time as the event is also a round of the Tarmacadam series and he will face an assorted array of four wheel drive turbo machinery. The national section of the Ulster is heavily oversubscribed and has 20 reserves, with many more turned away.

 

Emma McKinstry has entered the Ulster International Rally and intends to drive an Impreza WRC instead of her usual GpN Lancer. So far as we are aware, this will be the first time a lady driver has tackled a round of the Tarmac Championship in a WRC machine.

 

Seamus Leonard reckons that he will in good shape for the Ulster Rally, although he will have to wear a light splint on his wrist, hurt in his fairly massive Manx accident. Castlederg civil contractor Seamus commented, “The splint doesn’t cover the palm of my hand, so gearchanging will be OK .Stan (Harper) will have the car ready somehow.” When asked about trying to get on the pace of the British series drivers, Seamus went on, “On the Jim Clark it was demoralising, we were 2 secs a mile off the pace, but I didn’t give myself a chance there, and the car was down on power and blew up. On the Manx it was a lot closer and we had the edge on the other Tarmac drivers. But then that’s no good either if you crash! We’ll have to get a gravel crew, and make our own tyre choice. That’s what really went wrong on the Manx. It’s a fast pace certainly, but maybe home ground will help us. There’s more in us, but a big difference is that they can step out of a wreck, we’ve to gather up the bits and pieces, that’s all the Irish boys!”

 

Monaghan MC is running an Autocross event on 10th September in Latton Quarry with the target of raising €10,000 to donate towards a trip to China for Chris Rogers to undergo stem cell treatment. Chris was badly injured in a rally accident on the ‘04 Monaghan stages, where his co-driver Shane O’Neill was tragically killed. The total cost of the trip will be £50,000 and just one of the main backers is Cahal Rogers. All support will be greatly appreciated.

 

Pirelli Tarmac GpN Champion Garry Jennings is intending to change to a right hand drive Prodrive/McGarrity Subaru Impreza WRC for the Ulster Rally. Monaghan man Enda Sherry will co-drive.

Brian Patterson.