A brand new season of the Dunlop National Rally Championship opens with a vibrant entry for the Hotel Ballina/Kennedy Motors Mayo Rally on Sunday next.Reigning champion and last year’s winner in Mayo, Declan Boyle (Subaru WRC) heads an impressive entry with no fewer than seven World Rally Cars in the line-up for the nine stage event.
It is the first time since 2008 that the Mayo club host the opening round of the popular series.Last year, although not a round of the Dunlop series, the rally returned to Ballina for the first time since 2003 when it was won by Eugene Donnelly (Subaru).In the intervening years, the rally was based in Castlebar and Claremorris.
Not since Patrick Elliott in the 2008/2009 seasons has a driver won back to back Dunlop titles.Boyle will have a tough task in trying to emulate the Cavan driver and the quartet of Jer Buckley (1979/1980), Bertie Law (1983/1984), Stephen Murphy (1995/1986) and John Gilleece (1997/1998).
Five victories in six outings in last year’s Dunlop campaign saw Boyle take the title on round six in Tipperary.As he begins his title defence on Sunday, Boyle reflected on his 2013 campaign, “There were no easy rounds last year.When the weather was changing, it made it tough but Niall Maguire was there all the time and has loads of experience and is hard to beat.My toughest event was Sligo as the tar was melting and was very slippy”.
The Donegal driver admitted he knows little about Hugh Hunter, “I don’t know how quick he is, we never competed against him, but from what I hear he is not going to be easy.”
Welsh ace Hugh Hunter (Subaru WRC) was an impressive winner of the recent Abbeyleix Manor Hotel Rally.He won last year’s Dunlop round in Galway and then led the final round in Bantry until transmission problems put an end to his rally.There is little doubt that he is a serious title contender, how he fares against Boyle is just one of the many fascinating aspects of the Hotel Ballina/Kennedy Motors Mayor Rally.
It’s been ten years since Niall Maguire (Subaru WRC) won the national series, the three time champion is undoubtedly one of the most ardent supporters of the Dunlop series and he would really like to add that unprecedented fourth title.
Clonmel’s Roy White (MG ZR) occupies the number four berth in Mayo. superb season last year where he took third overall, he also led the recent Abbeyleix Rally after the opening stage but an encounter with a chicane bale brought a hasty exit.
Another Dunlop regular, Kevin Barrett will drive his S14 Subaru WRC, the Maynooth driver won in Mayo in 2011, his last victory in a round of the Dunlop series was the Galway Summer Rally in 2009.
Like Hugh Hunter, Tyrone’s Paddy McVeigh (Subaru WRC) will tackle the Dunlop series and also used the recent Abbeyleix Rally as a shakedown – finishing third overall.
Wexford’s James Stafford on board the nimble Darrian T90 returns to Dunlop action, he was another driver that competed in Abbeyleix as preparation for Mayo, he was second to Hugh Hunter.
The top ten is completed by the Mitsubishi trio of Sam Moffett, Josh Moffett and Daniel Barry.Former Billy Coleman award winner, Sam reverts to his Group N car for Mayo.The Monaghan driver won his home round of the Dunlop series last year.Opposition from his younger brother Josh will, as usual, be frenetic.Daniel Barry’s performance will be watched with interest.Monaghan’s Shane Maguire has acquired the ex-Stephen Wright Mitsubishi EvoIX, he knows that it will take a few events before he comes to terms with his new acquisition.The showroom category also features Trevor Bustard, former Dunlop champion Aaron MacHale and Pat Kirk, all in Mitsubishi EvoIX’s.
Current Irish Forest rally champion London based Cork driver Michael O’Brien (Ford Focus WRC) has decided to make the Dunlop series his number one priority this year as former winner of the popular “Drive of the Day” award, British driver Steve Wood steps up from a Citroen C2R2 to the ex-Darren Gass Subaru WRC.
Meanwhile, the chase for the Dunlop Mk. 2 Ford Escort Champions Trophy begins in Mayo where the main protagonists are Camillus Bradley, Russell Woods, Fergus O’Meara, Brian Brogan, Jack Maguire and Vivian Hamill.
Popular Longford driver Tommy Doyle competes in his Renault Clio R3 that has undergone a number of changes to the suspension and transmission systems.
From a local perspective, the 140 car entry includes Westport’s David Carney (Citroen DS3 R3T), Ballinrobe’s John Warren (Toyota Corolla), Hollymount’s Colin Loughney (Ford Escort) along with Shane Buckley (Honda Civic) from Ballyhaunis, Derek Bolton (Subaru) from Ballaghdereen and Knockmore’s Kenneth McHale, also in a Subaru.
Elsewhere, Clare’s Niall O’Sullivan (Citroen C2) and Cavan’s Damian O’Reilly (Ford Escort) head the Junior entry list.
Chairman of the Dunlop National Rally Championship Committee, Richard Talbot remarked, “We are delighted to have Dunlop on board for the season ahead and we are looking forward to having another quality field of competitors in all categories contesting the 2014 series.It is fantastic to see over 140 crews in Mayo, I think it proves the popularity of the Dunlop championship.It is hugely encouraging to see that our Dunlop champions, Declan and Brian Boyle are making a defence of their title.”
EVENT DETAILS:
Organising Club: Mayo & District Motorsport Club.
Clerk of the Course: Padraic Roche.
Rally Headquarters: Hotel Ballina. Tel: 096 23600
First Car Away: Hotel Ballina. 9.30am.
S.S. 1, 4& 7: Cloonta (9.14km.) 10.17, 12.54 & 14.29.
S.S. 2, 5 & 8: Lough Brohly (17.30km.) 10.37, 13.14 & 115.51.
S.S. 3, 6 & 9: Ballymore Lough (10.48km.) 11.14, 13.51 & 16.28.
Service: Ballina Mart. 9.40, 11.52 & 14.29.
Finish Ramp: Hotel Ballina. 16.58.
Top 10 Starters:
1. Declan Boyle/Brian Boyle (Subaru WRC S12B)
2. Hugh Hunter/Andy Marchbank (Subaru WRC S11)
3. Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry (Subaru WRC S11)
4. Roy White/James O’Brien (MG ZR S2400)
5. Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally (Subaru WRC S14)
6. Paddy McVeigh/Gary McElhinney (Subaru WRC)
7. James Stafford/Amy Ryan (Darrian T90)
8. Sam Moffett/James O Reilly (Mitsubishi EvoIX)
9. Josh Moffett/John Rowan (Mitsubishi EvoIX)
10. Daniel Barry/Gordon Noble (Mitsubishi EvoX)
The 2014 Dunlop National Rally Championship will consist of the following events:
1.Mayo Rally (Ballina) March 9.
2.Circuit of Kerry (Tralee) April 6.
3.Carlow Rally, May 11.
4.Circuit of Munster June 1.
5.Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally, August 10.
6.Galway Summer Rally, August 31.
7.Clare Rally, September 21.
8.Donegal Harvest Rally, October 11th.
Competitors will be able select the best six scores from the eight events and the Historic and Junior competitors can utilise the best four scores from eight events.
Qatar International Rally 2014: Rally, Sand, Sun!
Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah is used to driving under pressure, but he and Italian co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini were pushed all the way to the finish of a thrilling Qatar International Rally, the opening round of the 2014 Middle East Rally Championships, by fellow countryman Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari on Friday and Saturday last.
Separated by just 5.5 seconds at the start of the second day, Al-Attiyah pressed home a slight advantage once Al-Kuwari and Mayo navigator Killian Duffy suffered a drive shaft breakage. The nine-time MERC champion, driving a Ford Fiesta RRC, duly secured his 11th Qatar win in 12 years. His winning margin was 30.1 seconds from Al-Kuwari and Duffy who finished in second place.
“We’re happy with our performance, especially since this is our first event since WRC in Spain last October,” said Duffy. “Nasser’s record here speaks for itself and we are delighted to have pushed him so hard.”
Al Kuwari and Duffy spun on Thursday night’s opening super special and lost around six seconds, that along with a puncture on SS5 and the drive shaft trouble on SS9 meant it was very nearly a much needed, dream start to 2014 for the pairing.
They had intended to use a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution in this year’s event, but the Qatari took the decision to wheel out a Motortune-run Ford Fiesta RRC thanks to family financial support. 34-year-old Al-Kuwari is coming off a four-month forced hiatus away from rallying thanks to lack of sponsorship.
The Qatari Irish partnership had a big World Rally Championship (WRC) season in 2013. With little experience at the world level, they won three WRC-2 rallies—Mexico, Argentina and Australia—finishing second behind former Formula One driver Robert Kubica in the final season standings.
“I have made a lot of efforts. I have a lot of promises that I will get sponsorship. But I don’t know because the time is running out. Mexico WRC is starting in two weeks’ time. We are in the entry list but I don’t know if I will do it because the time is really short. We have to ship the car from UK to Mexico; it is a long distance. And we might also miss Portugal, where we raced last year. The entry is closing in two weeks. I am losing time, something will have to work out quickly,” Al-Kuwari added.
When asked if he ever thought of giving up the sport due to lack of sponsorship. “I have been racing for 11 years now. I have faced more difficult situations than I am in now. But I never gave up.
Kiltimagh’s John Higgins also made last weekend’s trip to Qatar. Not just there to keep Killian Duffy company on the 6000km plane journey, John had the role of navigating Qatari rookie Juma Al Falasi.
After undergoing extensive preparations over the last two months, Al Falasi got his first taste of competitive action in the desert! Competing in a Citroën DS3 R3, running as part of the Abu Dhabi Racing Team, the pair put in a solid performance over the two day event to finish in 11th place overall, gaining valuable experience along the way.
2014 Galway International Rally
Photos courtesy of Stefan Lassus www.facebook.com/Salmix – Fergus Hassett & Sean McHugh
The Irish rally season, and more specifically the Irish Tarmac Championships, roared into action over the weekend with the Colm Quinn BMW Galway International Rally. The event reverted back to a two-day format with the stages based in the south Galway area.
Clerk of the course Kieran Donoghue and his Galway Motor Club team did a heroic job in keeping the rally going through the flooded countryside, working with local residents and the local authorities to ensure the event went ahead with the forbearance and support of residents along the route.
Donegal’s cousins Declan & Brian Boyle won the event but they didn’t have things all their own way. Fellow county man and last years Irish Tarmac Champion Garry Jennings, with Rory Kennedy on the notes, had at one stage closed to within 0.2 of a second of Boyle, who had concerns about overheating coolant that led to the car lapsing on to three cylinders. Jennings though aquaplaned on Stage 8 and lost time, ending his hopes of grabbing the win. The Boyle’s kept their cool to make it a Subaru 1,2 and take their first International win.
The Ford Focus of Donagh Kelly & Kevin Flanagan, claimed third on the final stage after Sam Moffett clipped a rock and damaged a wheel rim, forcing him and his navigator James O’Reilly to settle for fourth.
Stephen McCann, in a Mitsubishi, won Group N and Declan Gallagher in a Toyota Starlet won the National category.
Local Mayo interest was with Bekan’s Sean McHugh and his co-driver Aidan Gannon from Tubbercurry, the pair, after a demanding two days brought their BMW home a splendid second in class 14 in the national section of the rally.
Kiltmagh native Eamon Walsh navigated Aaron McHale to finished just one place outside the top 10 of the International section and sixth in Group N.
Westport’s David Carney in his newly acquired Citroen DS3, had an unlucky start to the event, misjudging braking on stage 1 his DS3 came to rest on a bank, not causing much damage but a leaking radiator forced him and his navigator Ray Fitzpatrick to withdraw from the event.
Headford’s Justin Ryan had Andy Walsh from Ballinrobe on the notes in the junior section of the rally. The pair who contested the first six stages on Sunday got off to a blistering start in their Honda Civic. Sitting second in their class and third overall after stage 2, they were unfortunate on stage 3 when after a heavy landing an electrical problem stalled the engine. Losing a lot of time getting the car restarted the pair received the stage maximum time leaving them with a impossible mountain to climb, undeterred they went on to set some impressive times on their remaining 3 stages.
All attention now turns to the Mayo Stages Rally, which takes place on Sunday March 9th, with entries already coming in rapidly for the Ballina based event, the question on everybody lips is, with Declan Boyle’s good start to the year can he once again be the fastest around north Mayo and add to his 2013 Mayo win?
| Road Safety RoadshowA hard-hitting road safety message was delivered to over 1000 teenagers at the Royal Theatre in Castlebar, Co Mayo on Thursday last, when they viewed the AXA Insurance award-winning Road Safety Roadshow. The event was organised in conjunction with Mayo County Council, An Garda Siochana and the local emergency services. Before the Roadshow began a boisterous crowd of transition and senior year students hustled their way to their seats in the Theatre. But it wasn’t too long before a silence fell on the room. The show graphically depicts how a night out ends in tragedy for a teenager after a road traffic accident. The story was told by a Garda officer,a paramedic, a fire officer, an emergency consultant, an undertaker, a mother of a victim and Richard Alcorn from Donegal, who was paralysed following a road traffic collision a number of years ago. Richard has lost a number of friends in road traffic collisions and is keen to help deliver the road safety message to others in the country.
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Local Crews Ready For Action On Mayo Stages Rally
No fewer than 48 local competitors will be taking part on their home rally this weekend, all hoping for a successful and safe rally.
Mayo & District Motorsport Club members Aaron MacHale and Kiltimagh’s Eamonn Walsh head the local runners at number 17 in their Supermac’s backed Mitsubishi Evo 9.
At number 28 is David Carney from Westport in his newly acquired Citroen DS3-R3T. Having been highly successful in his Citroen C2R2, he is hoping to continue that form in the more powerful new mount backed by Carney Quarry’s.
At 30 are Ballinrobe based Sligo man John Warren, and Ruthann O Connor from Kilmaine, in their McHale’s Engineering sponsored Toyota Corolla, the pair set some impressive times in last year’s event. Two places behind them, Sligo’s Darragh Mullen is navigating for David Leonard in a class 20 Mistubishi Lancer. The class 12 Ford Escort of Colin Loughney is at 41. South Mayo based Colin is likely to be challenging for class honours.
Aidan Gannon from just out the road in Tubbercurry, navigates for Anthony O’Brien in a class 20 Evo 8 running at number 48.
Shane Buckley is in a class 11 Honda Civic running at number 52, navigated by Westport’s Keefe Kilcoyne.
There could be a battle for local honours in class 15 as Derek Bolton and Trevor O’Connell from Ballaghadereen come up against Kenneth McHale and Derek McCarthy from Knockmore. They will pit their very similar looking white Subaru Impreza’s against each other. James McGreal from Foxford makes a popular return to rallying in Mitsubishi Evo with Chris Mitchell on pacenote duties. Special mention also for Galway based, Knock native, Sharon Egan also competing in class 15, where she is navigating for Kieran Donohue.
UK based Westport man Ed Muldoon competes in a group N Mitsubishi Evo 9 running at number 72.
Joint main sponsor Ciaran Kennedy from Kennedy Motors, Ballina & Belmullet is at number 76 and has Paddy O’Hora alongside him on the notes.
Former Mayo Motorsport Club chairman Sean McHugh from Bekan, fresh from finishing second in his class on the Galway International, has his fabulous sounding BMW at number 85.
At 97 is Belcarra man Barry Cuffe and who takes his Cuffe Car Sales backed rear wheel drive Ford Escort out on his local event, along with Shane O’Brien on the notes.
Husband and wife team Keith and Sandra McFadden from Castlebar are at 101 in a class 7 Clio.
At 103 is the West Tyre Ballinrobe sponsored class 11 Corolla of Mayo & District Motorsport Club Chairman Matthew Murphy accompanied by his brother Ronan.
Club secretary John Duffy takes his class 7 Honda Integra out for his local event. The Crossmolina man has John Egan in the navigator’s seat.
Ballina pairing Tony Langdon and Eddie Quinn take on their home stages in a class 6 Honda Civic.
Former rally official David Doherty from Ballinlough has Cormac Lyons on the notes as he swaps the organising for competitive action in a Peugeot 306.
Darragh Devine with Paul McGee hope to repeat last year’s solid performance in their Honda Civic, number 134 on the road.
At 135 will be Patrick Durcan and James Gilmartin from Bonniconlon in their class 9 Vauxhall Nova.
The Greavy family from Bonniconlon are well represented on the entry list. Trisha, competing in her first ever event will be driving a Honda Civic, with Darren Gilmartin on the notes. Her brothers Terry and Brendan Greavy are one place ahead of their sister, at 138 competing in a class 9 Ford Escort.
Martin Cawley and Kenny Langan are yet another crew from Ballina competing on their home stages using a class 10 Peugeot 205 they have number 140 on their doors..
Junior Rally
The hotly contested Junior category sees many locals vying for honours. Defending his crown from 2013 will be Shrule’s Noel Murphy after winning the Mayo Junior category on his first foray into stage rallying 12 months ago. His confidence should be high after securing the Mayo Young Drivers title for 2013 in his M&R Motors/Westtyre backed Honda Civic. He will have some stiff local competition with two former Mayo Young Driver’s Champions also competing in the Junior category. Alan Moran from Foxford has a Peugeot 206 at his disposal, while Headford’s Justin Ryan will have Andy Walsh from Ballinrobe navigating him in their group N Honda Civic which is sponsored by Arrabawn, Talco Group, ProActive Security Systems Ballinrobe and Sweeney Oil. Experienced autocross competitor Stephen Doherty from Foxford makes the jump to stages rallying in his recently beefed up Moran Nurseries backed Opel Kadett. Stephen has Jared Gill from Bofeenaun, sitting with him for this event.
Best of luck and a safe day’s rallying to all the local competitors.
Before the flag drops….
Full details of maps and times will be available in the rally programmes which will be on sale in shops and garages around the Ballina area from Friday evening, priced at €5.
Online users can follow Mayo & District Motorsport Club’s Twitter and Facebook accounts which will be continually updated during the week and week-end with all the latest news, times and competitor quotes, or can check here on the club website.
Regular updates can also be heard on Mid West Radio during Sunday’s event as live links from the service park will run during the Sunday Sports show on 96.1 and www.midwestradio.ie
Click below for regulations,entry forms and results for relevant championships for Mayo autocrosses 2014:
Frank Harrington Challenge Regulations 2014
Young Driver Championship Results After Round 4 Provisional
Frank Harrington Challenge Results After Round 4
5 Star Catering National Loose Surface Championship Points After Round 5
| Bonds and Achievements with Middle East Rallying By looking at the title ‘Mayo and District Motorsport Club’, one would imagine that the ‘District’ takes into account the areas around the county, North Galway, West Roscommon and South Sligo, well the answer to this is not necessarily!. In keeping with the recent club drive of new ventures, two rally drivers from the United Arab Emirates have become members of the motor club. Majed Al-Shamsi and Bader Al-Jabri, products of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority’s Junior Driver Training Programme, started rallying in 2008. The duo competed in the Fiesta Sporting Trophy International in 2009, which ran on WRC events. They finished third and sixth in the standings respectively. They continued in the series in 2010, finishing second and fourth. In 2011 they competed in theProduction World Rally Championship and secured twelfth and thirteenth place in the overall series. In 2013 the pair returned to the Middle East Championship with Abu Dhabi Racing, both in a pair of identical Subaru N15s to contest the Group N category. Al-Shamsi, accompanied by Kiltimagh man John Higgins, the former Irish National Champion Co-Driver, had a luckless start to the year. While leading Group N on the opening event in Qatar they suffered suspension failure on the first stage of day two that forced them to retire from the event. |
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| The pair then had a narrow escape at the Jordan Rally, where they slid off a cliff face into a ravine.Going into the last round in Dubai last weekend they wanted to prove to everybody that they had the ability to deliver, if luck waited on their side for once. Al-Jabri, alongside his French Co-driver Nicolas Klinger, who after two top ten finishes earlier in the year, still mathematically had a chance of clinching the Middle East Group N title in Dubai. It was the Emariti-Irish partnership of Al-Shamsi and Higgins that had the best start to the event and after steadily moving up the leader board on the opening day, they went into the overnight break in seventh place overall, in the lead of Group N and one place ahead of Al-Jabri and Klinger. Day two seen Al-Shamsi build on his lead and finish the event in fifth place overall and win the Group N category by almost two minutes ahead of Al-Jabri, who finished the event in seventh. A result that seen him and Klinger secure third place in the championships. It was a great end to the season for the team mates and proves that they have the ability to deliver results at the top level. The next few weeks will tell what 2014 brings for the new Mayo & District Motorsport Club members. They hope to be part of a seven-car Abu Dhabi Racing challenge on the 2014 Middle East Championship starting in Qatar in January, which may even see the pair contesting in higher spec Citroen DS3’s.
It was also a great finish to a first Middle East Championship season for John Higgins, the Kiltimagh man making his desert rally debut in 2013 didn’t have it easy, from the DNF in Qatar to the big accident in Jordan, Speaking recently John said “2013 was quiet different to what I was used to, as in the navigation is quiet challenging. Sometimes it was difficult to see what track you should be on – or even see a track, not to mind the obstacles you come across, from Camels last weekend, to big drops like in Jordan. The year overall was extremely challenging. I never concentrated so hard on stages before. Tough going, but overall 2013 was very enjoyable”. |
Congratulations to Mayo’s own Killian Duffy who has won a Western People Sports Star for Motorsport.This is yet another major achievement for the Claremorris based Crossmolina co-driver and tops off a remarkable 2013 for him. We all wish Killian every success in the coming year.The awards will be presented at a gala function in Hotel Ballina on Friday 21st of February.
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Midland Autocross Photos by John Delaney It looked like “business as usual” at the first autocross event of 2014 as Adrian and Derek Deane were both inside the top 3, after the first run at the Midland Motorclub Autocross. But the brothers only completed one run before their afternoon took an unfamiliar twist. A broken drive on Derek’s second run followed by suspension damage on Adrian’s final run meant that both their first runs would count as their fastest run of the day. |
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| Finishing hot on the heels of McGreal was Bekan’s Sean McHugh, who while claiming third in class 4 said afterwards that 2014 was the year he was going to finally beat McGreal! Finishing third in class 2, while still learning his recently acquired Peugeot 206, was Alan Moran from Foxford. Alan has proved in the past that he has the ability to produce results on loose surface and 2014 should be the year that he knocks on the door even more loudly as the 206 is perhaps more suited to the loose surface than his former Opel Kadett. Finally a mention for Alan McGuire from Westport. An experienced mechanic and motorsport enthusiast, he got a different insight into the sport on Sunday, making his competitive motorsport debut behind the wheel of a class 2 Peugeot 205. He steadily improved his times on each of his runs, which seen him finish a very respectful sixth in Class 2. |
