Irish Notes 20th June ’07.

This weekend’s Ravens Rock Rally is a round of three major championships, the Dunlop National, the 023 Tiles Southern Four and the Triton Showers South East, resulting in a top class and oversubscribed entry. Aaron MacHale opted to miss last weekend’s Donegal event to make sure everything was right for the Kilkenny based Ravens Rock. Aaron (Focus WRC) is the current Dunlop series points leader, by just one point, from Glenn Allen (Corolla WRC). Patrick Elliott is seeded at 2 and switches to an older model Impreza WRC this weekend, as his Impreza WRC S11 is still being repaired. Michael Barrable (Focus WRC) has had a good run on recent Dunlop rounds, and he could be a threat to the points leaders.

Liam McCarthy and Denis Cronin in their respective Impreza WRC’s promise to be the main players in the Southern Four Chhampionship battle on the Ravens Rock, McCarthy is on somewhat of a crest of a wave following his Circuit of Munster win.

Michael Curran is the current GpN leader on the Dunlop series, and following his 2nd GpN place on last weekend’s Donegal International should be in top form this weekend, although he will be looking over his shoulder at Donegal GpN winner Seamus Leonard, who is just 3 points behind in the Dunlop series standings.

Willie John Dolan’s son Peter is hoping to move up from the 1600 class to one of the family’s GpN Subarus and is seeking an entry on the popular 1st July ALMC Stages. The rally’s 9 asphalt stages are all in Co. Meath and the HQ is in City North Hotel on the motorway 30 kms north of Dublin.

Magherafelt Motor Club was hoping to run the 28th July ‘Mini Sperrins’ rally through the Banagher and Moydamlough forests, but it would appear now that, because of some difficulties in the forests, the event will take place over the asphalt driveways of Davagh.

Roy White has been forced to withdraw his entry for the Ypres Rally, due to work pressures.

Last weekend’s Shell Donegal Rally looked at times as much like a helicopter rally than a car rally, with 38 ‘choppers’ registered for the weekend. Brendan Kelly was the man landed with the responsibility of making sure the all went smoothly in the helicopter department, and he brought in a professional controller to oversee the operation.

Danny Caddye and his co-driver Hazel Russell came out of rally retirement to compete on the Shell Donegal Rally, driving a Honda Civic. The pair whose objective was to raise funds for the ‘Helping Hands’ cancer charity, completed the course. Dannye was overwhelmed by the genourisity of all displayed during rally and when the final tally is made expects to have raised many thousands of euros.

Andreas Mikkelsen retired from the Donegal Rally on the Saturday morning when he put his Focus WRC off the road on the Fanad Head stage, at Fishers Bend. There was little damage, and Andreas rejoined the fray on the Sunday leg, and turned in some competitive times, generall equivalent to 3rd fastest, and it was all valuable experience for the young Norwegian who has just completed a series of exams and hadn’t really done any rallying since his great run on the Killarney Rally of the Lakes.

Regards, Brian Patterson.