This
time
last
year Tim
McNulty
was in
winning
form and
took his
Pierse
Construction
backed
Impreza
WRC to
victory
on the
Killarney
Rally of
the
Lakes.
He has
taken
plenty
of hard
rally
knocks
since,
his last
when
suffering
from
‘flu and
crashing
out of
the
Circuit
of
ireland.
Happily
the
damage
to his
Subaru
wasn’t
severe
and Tim
will be
fighting
to
retain
his
Killarney
crown
this
weekend.
Most of
the
other
top
‘Tarmac’
contestants
are due
to start
Killarney
this
weekend,
including
Eugene
Donnelly,
Mark
Higgins,
Eamonn
Boland
and
Kevin
Lynch.
Gareth
MacHale
and
Andreas
Mikkelsen
are also
reportedly
on
course.
Kris
Meeke’s
entry is
still in
place
but
negotiations
are
ongoing
to
secure
funding
to run
the
McKinstry
Impreza
WRC.
There is
also a
search
on for a
co-driver
for Kris
with
Scott
Martin
being a
strong
possibility.
The
entries
for
Andrew
Nesbitt,
Peadar
Hurson,
and Tony
Davies
have
been
withdrawn.
The
Lakes is
round
three of
the
Global
Tarmac
Championship
and Mark
Higgins
in the
‘Pirelli’
Impreza
WRC has
a
substantial
lead.
The
event is
also a
counter
in the
023
Tiles
Southern
Four
series,
with
Welshman
Melvyn
Evans in
his
Subara
intent
on
protecting
his
crown.
Seamus
Leonard
has a
new
Lancer
Evo 9
for this
weekend’s
Killarney
Lakes,
and will
face top
opposition
from top
GpN
drivers
Colm
Murphy,
James
Foley,
Garry
Jennings,
Alan
Ring,
Roy
White
and
Kevin
Kelleher.
Alastair
Fisher
is the
top seed
in the
Fiesta
Sporting
Trophy
section
of the
Killarney
Lakes.
The
Fiestas
will
compete
over the
Sunday
stages,
and the
competition
should
be
electric,
with
Tadgh
Buckley,
Jonathan
Greer
and
Conor
Harvey
just
some of
the top
names.
The
Junior
Section
will
also
tackle
the
Sunday
satges,
with
Barry
Ryan
(Escort),
Billy
McCarthy
(Micra)
and John
Splillane
(Peugeot
106),
the top
three
seeds.
Next
event
for
Stephen
Moore
following
his 3rd
place on
last
weekend’s
Roscommon
Moto
Stages
will be
the
Midleton
based
Moonraker
Forestry
Rally,
next
round of
the
Motorsport
Ireland
Southern
Forestry
series.
This
entails
Stephen
changing
the
set-up
of his
Focus
WRC, and
following
the
Midleton
based
event
the car
will
have to
be
rapidy
changed
back to
asphalt
specification
for the
Sperrins.
Looking
further
ahead in
the
forestry
series,
there
was a
slight
worry
over the
hen
harrier
situation
in the
Monaghan
forests,
but
assurances
have
been
given by
the
Monaghan
Club
that
everything
is on
course.
North
Armagh
Motorcycle
and Car
Club
Ltd., is
to
co-promote,
along
with the
Armagh
Lions
Club, a
Festival
of
Motorsport
at
Loughgall
Country
Park on
Saturday
2nd
June.
Central
to the
weekend
will be
the
popular
tarmac
special
stage
rally,
and
there
will
also be
an
‘applle
blossom’
autotest
and
historic
rally
car and
classics
displays.
Just one
of the
charities
set to
benefit
is the
Marie
Curie
Cancer
Care.
Loughrea’s
Sean
Lyons, a
former
winner
on the
West
Coast
Championship,
has
changed
his DOME
Mk5
Escort
for a
new
Prodrive
GpN
Impreza.
Sean
gave the
new car
its
shakedown
in
Kerry,
and
plans
now to
contest
the
Circuit
of
Munster.
Brian
Patterson.
