Irish Notes 25^th Sept. ’06.

 

Guy Wilks signed on for the early Cork ‘20’  recce last Saturday. The Rally Finland Junior winner was anxious to get a look at the Irish roads before he went testing this week in Co. Antrim. He elected to split his reconnaissance between last weekend and the day before the rally.

 

The Impreza S11 earmarked for Guy by Derek McGarrity still isn’t quite ready following its Manx accident and instead Guy will drive the Pirelli test Impreza WRC. The nearest Guy has got to Impreza WRC motoring was a test session with Barry Johnston in Norway, so he is on a steep learning curve for Cork. Noel Redmond’s Impreza S11 was to be driven by Stephen Murphy on the Cork ‘20’, but it won’t be ready either, so Murphy has withdrawn.

 

The Ryder Cup dominated all the sporting headlines in Ireland last week. Austin MacHale was very much involved, the Dubliner carrying out a major golf course development in America in association with Arnold Palmer. Austin is hopeful of taking his place in the Cork ‘20’ line-up with his Focus WRC, but admits it is going to be a tight schedule.

 

The Cork ’20 organisers have arranged a forum this Wednesday evening in rally HQ, the Rochestown Park, and several of the top drivers including the FitzSamuel Insurance team of Marko Martin and Mark Higgins, along with Tarmac Champion Eugene Donnelly.

 

As well as being the final round of the Pirelli Tarmac series, the Cork ‘20’ is the penultimate counter in the 023 Tiles Southern Four series. Welshman Melvyn Evans has had his Subaru totally rebuilt for the event, and is up against local man Denis Cronin in an older model Subaru WRC in the race for the title.

 

Colm Murphy (Impreza) and Roy White (Lancer) are the two drivers fighting for Pirelli Tarmac Championship GpN honours in Cork, but there are a host of other GpN contenders, such as Seamus Leonard, Alan Ring and Willie Fannin, who could upset the points balance.

 

Trevor Culbert drove his Escort to a start to finish win on last Sunday’s Carlow Stage event. Early wet roads dried as the day progressed and the smoothly run rally finished in fine conditions.James Coleman was 2^nd also in an Escort, while Terence O’Shaugnessy was 3^rd in his Corolla. No 1 seed Willie Whitty was pushing hard for the lead but his Escort engine expired.

 

Kris Meeke is scheduled to give the spectators a treat as he is driving a course car Escort on this weekend’s popular Bushwhacker Rally. The Omagh based event is a round of the NI Stage Championship, with top contenders Kevin Lynch, Glenn Allen, Raymond Johnston and Kevin O’Kane just some of the top names in a strong entry. Robbie McGurk makes a welcome return to the stages, the local man always the red hot favourite on the Bushwhacker. Top GpN seed is Brian McGiillin in his Subaru, while Paul Barrett, fresh from his BTRDA success on the Plains, heads the two wheel drive brigade.

 

Rally Ireland has appointed Westport bank manager Tom Walsh as Clerk of the Course, with Fred Gallagher, originally from Holywood, Co.Down as deputy. Tom Nolan, who, as Clerk of the Course has carried the rally through from its inception, has been offered the role of route co-ordinator.

 

Latest news on National Forestry Champion John McCarthy is that he is out of intensive care and is off sedation. He is coming round and progressing slowly but still has a long way to go. Thomas White remains in a critical condition.

 

Brian Patterson.