IRISH
NOTES 20TH MARCH 06
The
entry list for the Meteor Electrical backed
Circuit of
Ireland
is closing this week and so far there are 56
entries for the International plus 49 for the
National and Historics. The
event is round 2 of the Pirelli Tarmac
Championship and the top contenders including
Eugene Donnelly, Tim McNulty, Derek McGarrity
and Eamonn Boland have entered. There is no
entry for Andrew Nesbitt. Gareth MacHale has
entered in a Focus WRC.
Top
Group N names in the
Londonderry
based Circuit include Roy White, Seamus Leonard,
Garry
Jennings
, James Cullen and Phillip Morrow. A
seeded entry list will be available later this
week and the Circuit organisers are keen to
recruit more marshals to assist with the running
of the Easter event.
Young
Cork man Owen Murphy currently leads the McAuley
Trailers Forestry Championship and will be doing
his utmost to extend his lead on this
weekend’s Mitchelstown based Sean Conlon
Memorial Rally which is Round 2 of the series. Owen’s
group N Lancer has had every nut and bolt
checked since its Carrick on Suir success. The
rally has received over 100 entries with most of
the top forestry regulars in the list, one wild
card being
London
based
Limerick
man Ollie O’Donovan in an Impreza WRC who will
have David Moynihan co-driving. Another wild
card is Pete Willoughby who has hired a group A
Lancer from Derrick Jobb for this one.
Gordon
Coleman has entered for the Mitchelstown event
in his new Fiesta. Gordon said after the Malcolm
Wilson Rally. “It’s a long time since I
enjoyed a rally so much, the little Fiesta is
fantastic”. Paul
Kelly will co-drive in Mitchelstown.
Recently
we mentioned that young Welshman Gareth Jones
would be competing on the Circuit of Kerry Rally
as a shakedown in the JJ Fleming Focus WRC. That
deal has not materialised and Gareth has now
plumped for the Impreza WRC S10 that did belong
to Mike Oates. The
Subaru is scheduled for the Prodrive workshop
just prior to the Circuit of Kerry so the plan
to compete in the Kingdom is shelved but the
Circuit of Ireland, along with the rest of the
Tarmac Championship, is still on course.
Victory
in West Cork for Welshman Melvyn Evans and his
co driver Sean Mullally move them to the top of
the 023 Tiles Southern 4 Championship. Their
next planned outing in their Impreza WRC is the
Killarney Rally of the Lakes (28/30th
April) which is also a round of the 023 series.
Rally
Ireland
Clerk of the Course Tom Nolan and Rally
Secretary Claire Walsh volunteered their
services to help out the
West Cork
organisers and worked hard over the 2 days
helping to tape up junctions and gates.
It was good to see Nolan hasn’t lost
his grass roots enthusiasm.
On the subject of Rally
Ireland
Nolan was able to state that he had been assured
that the event met all the criteria required for
a candidate WRC rally. As regards the decision
on WRC inclusion it is now a waiting game.
Barry
Meade from Kanturk co driven by Colin Ftizgerald
won the Junior section
of last weekend’s
West Cork
Rally in his Escort with Jason Ryan/Bernard
McSweeney 2nd in their Honda. Don
Moynihan won the Historic section in his Mk1
Escort from Liam Sheehan.
Rosscarbery
man Bob Kelly is making slow but steady progress
in Castlebar Hospital following the unfortunate
accident on Mayo Rally and there is a fund
raising evening planned for this Friday evening
in the Celtic Ross, Rosscarbery.
Class
winners in
West Cork
included John Dalton (Darrian). Gwyndaf Evans
(Escort). Kevin Kelleher 9Lancer). Tim
O’Donovan (Corolla). Dave Randles (Almera).
Danny McEvoy (Escort). Niall Guinevan (206).
David Parle (Civic). Jerry O’Mahony (Escort).
Keith McMullan (Uno). Billy Hayes (306). Brian
Wilson (Nova).
Brian
Patterson
