Irish Notes 5^th March ’07.

Stephen Moore opened his scoring on the Hankook Irish National Forestry Championship in a most impressive manner, taking his new Focus WRC, co-driven by Tony McHugh, to a clear cut win on last Sunday’s Willie Loughman Memorial Forestry Rally. Stephen had done some forest testing, along with Mark Higgins, in Conagher forest, on the Friday immediately before the rally, but in quite good conditions. Then the rally was dreadfully wet to start with and Stephen made a cautious enough start. He had an engineer over from M-Sport to help with the servicing, and he was able to alter the diff settings to suit the conditions. Over the latter stages he was able to step up the pace. Stephen, who celebrated his 29th birthday last week, is planning to contest both the NI Championship and the Irish forestry series this year. Having won Kirkistown, he couldn’t have made a better start.

Ballymoney’s John McKeown took his immaculate Escort WRC to a narrow victory over Brian Dowey in a similar car on Mid Antrim Motor Club’s Stephen Mawhinney Motors Stages Rally last Saturday. Kieran Graffin was 3^rd in a Lancer.

The Dunlop National Championship swings into action this weekend with the Mayo Stages Rally. The series has again attracted a really top class entry. Ray Breen won the Dunlop title two years ago, and he is  committed to trying to win again this year. He drives his usual Focus WRC and is the No1 seed in Mayo,with Patrick Elliott (Subaru) at 2, Aaron MacHale (Focus) at 3, Glenn Allen (Corolla) at 4,Niall Maguire (Subaru) at 5.  Martin Doherty (Subaru) rounds off the top six.

The St Patricks weekend West Cork Rally has not only attracted a top class entry, but also some interesting names for a forum, scheduled for

the Clonakilty HQ on the Friday night.  Kris Meeke and Tarmac Champion Eugene Donnelly, along with former Champions Austin MacHale and Billy Coleman, are just some set to make an appearance. RTE’s Michael O’Carroll is the host.

The recent Birr Rally was a round of Rory Galligan’s Irish 205 Challenge, with Barry Mahon taking his first victory in the series, finishing 41 seconds ahead of Kenneth Keyes, Dermot McNeill overhauling Donal Crooke for third on the final stage, when the latters’ map light gave up the ghost and the co-driver couldn’t read the pace notes.

Paul Barrett, co-driven by Dermot Colgan,  had a great result on last Saturday’s Malcolm Wilson Rally, finishing 12^th overall and best 2 wheel drive in their Escort G3. The team then got the midnight ferry to Belfast and travelled all night to just scrape into Carrick on Suir in time for breakfast and to sign on for the Willie Loughman Rally. Over the opening stages Paul was a few of seconds down on the flying Frank Kelly,  Paul was hampered slightly as his engine was sucking in a drop of water from the flooded roads. It all came to naught anyway as the Escort’s differential then cried enough.

Gemma Curley/Edel Mackey took the special Ladies Award on the Wm Loughman Forestry Rally. Sarah and Amy Moynihan, normally front runners in their class and also in the running for the award, were debuting a newly acquired, ex Shaun Gallagher/Skip Brown Peugeot 206. Having set some good fast times, the crankshaft oil seal blew and Sarah was forced to call it a day. The Mallow girls now have four rallies in as many weeks – Mayo, West Cork, Tipperary Forest and Circuit of Kerry. Emma McKinstry had a good run on the Wm Loughman, and overcame some wayward handling difficulties, possibly down to a faulty differential, to bring her Lancer into 14^th overall and well up in GpN. Emma was not of course eligible for the Ladies crew award, as Kenny Hull was, as usual, co-driving.

Willie John Dolan made the Wm Loughman a real family affair, as he was driving a new Impreza N12B, one of his son’s Stephen, was driving their  older GpN Impreza and another son, young Richard, was competing in a Peugeot 206. Willie John loved his new Subaru, despite struggling at times in the ‘brutal’ conditions. He finished 12^th overall, 5^th in GpN. Stephen was few seconds ahead of his dad by stage 5, but then his Impreza’s gearbox packed in. Young Richard had to do one long stage with his 206’s front strut smashed up through the bonnet, but still managed a 4^th in class.

Former British and Irish Tarmac GpN  Champion Trevor Cathers, for long associated with road haulage, is also now involved with Willie John Dolan in a construction site at Monaghan. Trevor was making a rally comeback this year in a new Lancer built by his son, and was getting on the GpN pace on the Galway International, but has just had the misfortune to break his arm in an accident, not in any way related to rallying. Trevor’s rally comeback will now unfortunately have to be put on the long finger.

Brian Patterson. 

Obituary

Irish Rallying was last week mourning the passing of Tom White. Tom, just 38 years old and from Newcastle West outside Limerick, was very seriously injured in an accident on last October’s Clare Stages Rally.  Sadly despite great attention and love, he  never recovered. ‘Tommy’, as he was mostly called, was a great motorsport enthusiast. He won many hot rod trophies before he came into rallying. He was, along with his brother Richard, one of the leading class contenders in the West Coast Rally Championship and was a very popular competitor. He enjoyed autotesting and quarry events. Tommy was physically a big man, but considerate and pleasant also. He really will be sadly missed.  We extend our very deepest condolences to Tommy’s widow Brigetta and his son Thomas, as well as his large family circle.

Brian Patterson.