Higgins Highest In Qatar
Recent Dakar Rally winner Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah confirmed a record-breaking dusty dozen wins in the QMMF Qatar International Rally, round one of the 2015 FIA Middle East Rally Championship, which drew to a conclusion in Doha on Saturday afternoon.
Qatar’s Khalid Al-Suwaidi with Kiltimagh co-driver John Higgins restarted under Rally2, after damaging a front suspension arm on day one and reached the finish in fifth overall.
After two time consuming wheel changes on Friday, Qatar’s Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and Killian Duffy found a good pace on the first two specials of the final day. But they hit terminal engine trouble on the 10th stage and retired after moving into third place after stage nine.
Speaking after the event Higgins said “It’s a nice position to be in after the first event of the season, we were fortunate to be able rejoin after the damage on Friday and we were pushing quite hard on the second day and managed to avoid the punctures that affected the others and cost them time”.
Unlike previous years, the MERC from 2015 onwards will comprise of eight rounds instead of six after Iran and Oman were included in the regional series.
The expansion of the series means Al Attiyah will face a more serious challenge to the defence of his Middle East title this year.
Kuwait will host the second round of the championship from March 12-14.
Closer to home this weekend Donegal’s Donagh Kelly and his Derry co-driver Kevin Flanagan powered their Ford Focus WRC to victory in the Colm Quinn BMW Galway International Rally, the opening round of the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship, which was based around Gort over the weekend.
Multiple tarmac champions Eugene Donnelly & Paul Kiely were just 39.2 secs behind in second spot in a Mini WRC, after they edged out Sam Moffett and Karl Atkinson in a Fiesta WRC by just 0.7 seconds.
A three-minute road penalty imposed on Tarmac champions Declan and Brian Boyle in their Subaru proved crucial to the outcome as it dropped them well down the field.
Mayo members Aaron MacHale and Paul McGee finished eighth overall and won group N, the pair coming from behind in the class to take the top spot during the last few stages.
After holding on to seventh place and leading class five for most of the event Pauric Duffy and Kevin Glynn had a slight excursion in their R5 Fiesta which seem them drop down the leader board during the last few stages, still an excellent result for the Australian based Mayo members on their first season of top level competition.
In the junior section of the event Headford’s Justin Ryan with Ballinrobe’s Andy Walsh on the notes brought their Honda Civic home in fourth place after a steady run during Sundays foggy and slippy conditions.
Thanks to Rally Through A Lens for photos from the Galway International Rally
Some pictures from our recent co-driver training ran in the McWilliam Park Hotel in Claremorris.
Circuit of Ireland Rally organisers have announced that Westport man and well known rally official Tom Walsh, will take over the role of Clerk of Course for the 2015 event. Andy Gilmore, who managed the 2014 rally, has had to give up the role due to his work commitments.
Originally from County Limerick, Tom Walsh has been involved in rallying since 1969 when he took on his first marshalling role with a rally – the Circuit of Ireland. During the 1970’s and 1980’s Tom managed rally star Billy Coleman over a 14 year period helping him clinch three Circuit wins. Tom had a five year tenure as Chairman of the Tarmac Rally Organisers Association (TROA) and was Clerk of Course for the first ever Rally Ireland WRC in 2007 and Sporting Director for the 2009 Rally Ireland WRC. Tom is currently a member of the Motorsport Ireland Commission.
“I got hooked on rallying in the 1960’s when as a young lad I first watched the Circuit of Ireland close to my home in Co Limerick and later I became a marshal at the Circuit. Since then I have referred to it as my ‘iconic rally’ so when Bobby called me and asked if I could take on the Clerk of Course position I had no hesitation in accepting!” explained Tom Walsh.
Paying tribute to Andy Gilmore’s contribution to the Circuit of Ireland, event director Bobby Willis said, “As a member of the Circuit organising team and event Clerk of Course, Andy played a vital role in the management and development of the Circuit and has helped to make it such a hugely successful event which last year attracted a total of almost 74,000 spectators. On behalf of the committee I would like to thank Andy for all his hard work – it really has been hugely appreciated by competitors, organisers and all our marshals and other volunteers.
“Looking forward to early April we’re delighted to have secured Tom Walsh as our new Clerk of Course. Well-known and respected in the rallying world, Tom has a tremendous range of experience and expertise which he can bring to the Circuit of Ireland enabling us to further enhance the event for both drivers and spectators.”
The Circuit of Ireland Rally takes place from Thursday 2nd April until Saturday 4th April 2015 and will be the third of ten rounds in the 2015 European Rally Championship. The 2015 Circuit of Ireland will also be counting rounds of the 2015 Irish Tarmac Championship and the Northern Ireland Rally Championship.
Gearing Up for Hotel Ballina – Kennedy Motors Mayo Stages Rally 2015
Mayo & District Motorsport Club are delighted, under the guidance of clerk of the course Padraic Roche, to announce plans for the 2015 Mayo Stages Rally which takes place on Sunday March 8th.
It’s a mixture of old and new for 2015 as, for the third year in succession, the Mayo Stages Rally will be based in the North Mayo town of Ballina. However competitors will face the challenge of three entirely new stages, each to run three times. Offering a total distance of approximately 116 stage kilometres and 127 road kilometres, they look set to provide a challenging test for competitors.
The Club is delighted to welcome on board again Hotel Ballina and Kennedy Motors as joint main sponsors of the 2015 Mayo Stages Rally and thank them for their support.
Hotel Ballina is once again Rally headquarters for the weekend. Just off the N26, but close to the town centre and with scrutiny, trailer park and Parc ferme adjacent to the hotel, this modern four star facility is ideally situated for easy access from all locations, and has proved to be a popular location with competitors and visitors to the rally in the past two years.
Exceptional accommodation deals are available at Rally HQ, Hotel Ballina, for crews and followers alike. Bookings and information at 096-23600
After a Rally Show in Ballina town centre on Saturday, March 7th, the event proper begins on Sunday morning when the cars leave parc-ferme.
The event is round one of the 2015 Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship.
|
December Motorsport News Finishing off their 2014 season, Abdulaziz AlKuwari and Killian Duffy took part in the Dubai International Rally which was the final round of the Middle East Rally Championships, the pair finished third on the event and third in the championships, also competing was John Higgins who was navigating for Khalid Al Suwaidi. On their first event together, they capped off a great weekend with a fourth place finish. |
|
|
|
Three members brought their cars along to the recent MEC Rally sprint in Mondello Park, best of the pack was Michael Loughney who won his class in his recently built MK2 Escort, Sean McHugh in his Subaru Impreza and Tony Langdon in his Honda Civic also put in good times during the day. Photo credit Ray Corkery – Rnc Rally Pics |
|
At the Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Awards Ceremony held in Dublin on Wednesday, Derek Deane from Williamstown picked up his 2013 National Loose Surface Autocross Award, a series which he dominated in his Buggy, with a run of five overall wins from the opening five rounds. |
|
|
|
Also at the Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Awards, neighboring Galway Motorclub member Dean Raftery was named the Young Rally Driver of the Year. He was presented with the prestigious Billy Coleman Award and will receive €50,000 worth of support for the 2015 season where he intends to compete in the Fiesta Trophy in the World Rally Championship. Mayo & District Motorsport Club would like to offer him our congratulations and wish him all the best in the coming season. |
|
Duffy and Egan take home the Crystal |
|
|
|
In other motorsport news from the weekend it was heart break for Kiltimagh’s John Higgins who was taking part in the three-day Wales Rally GB. The event which came to a gripping end on Sunday, seen John, who was navigating for former British Junior Champion Marty McCormack retired with mechanical trouble in their Fiesta on the very last stage of the event. Photos by P Collier |
|
Closer to home five Mayo members made the trip to Ballycumber in Offaly for the final round of the National Loose Surface Autocross Championships on Sunday. Best of the locals was Derek Deane who brought his Buggy home in fifth place overall, one place ahead of his brother Mervyn., who was followed by the third Deane brother Adrian. Next best was Foxford’s James McGreal in his Subaru Impreza closely followed by fellow Foxford man Stephen Doherty, who was having his first outing in a four wheel drive car, double driving McGreals Subaru, the pair finished the day in nineteenth and twenty-seventh respectively. Photos by John Delaney |
|
|
|
Motorsport Club End of Year Awards
|
|
November Motorsport News
|
|
|
In other motorsport news form the weekend a large crowd from Mayo & District Motorsport Club turned out at the Sligo Park Hotel to support Derek Bolton and Trevor O’Connell on receiving their class award at the Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championships Awards night. Their first year taking part in the championships, the Ballaghaderreen/Ballina pairing were unlucky not to claim the top spot in Class 15 but after mechanical woes on the two final rounds of the championships curtailed their points scoring opportunities, they had to settle for the runner up spot in the class. |
|
|
October Motorsport News Photos courtesy of Declan Boyle( www.dbpics.net) and Brendan Flynn In the Donegal Harvest on Saturday last, Declan and Brian Boyle in their Subaru WRC emerged victorious on the rally and also victorious in the Dunlop National Rally championship which has left them double champions having just secured the tarmac championship a number of weeks ago. |
|
|
|
Speaking afterwards Paul said “You have to take your hat off to Seamus – his run in the S14 Subaru was his first time at the controls of a left-hand drive car. The stages were great,” he said. “Plenty of narrow steering – that’s what rallying is all about. We’re happy where we finished and we enjoyed the day.” Unfortunate not to make the finish where South Mayo’s John Warren and Ruthann O’Connor, who had been progressing well until an off road excursion forced their McHale’s Engineering backed Toyota Corolla into retirement. Ballaghaderreen’s Derek Bolton who had Ballina’s Trevor O’Connell on the notes, needed to finish top class fifteen crew to capture the Border Championships class honours but they also retired with mechanical difficulties whilst going well. |
|
Border Championship 2014: Moffett/Sherry grab 2014 Border Glory by Brendan Flynn The Monaghan pairing of David Moffett and Fintan Sherry have won the 2014 Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship after taking a 4 class win in a row on the Donegal Harvest Rally. Due to the championship’s class based structure, a number of crews were still in with a chance of taking the title going into the final round. Moffett/Sherry knew that a class win on the day would be enough to claim the title regardless of the opposition’s results. After a titanic battle all day, the pair came through on the final stage to secure the class win and the overall Border championship. Former Border Champions, Brian Armstrong/Mark Tierney secured 2 overall in the championship with a class 12 win with Gene McDonald/Kevin Reilly finishing 3 overall in the series. The Donegal Harvest Rally was based in Downings this year and included the classic Atlantic Drive stage as the 3 test of 3 with each test done three times. Slippy conditions were the order of the day making tyre choice critical. In class 11R, Moffett & Sherry were involved in a big battle with local crews Paul Carron/Andrew Browne and Paul Gallagher/Patrick Gallagher. Needing victory to secure the championship the pair traded the lead with their rivals throughout the day. Going into the final stage, Gallagher held an 11 second advantage, but the Monaghan crew would be 13 seconds quicker through the final stage to claim the class by a mere 1.2 seconds! Paul Carron/Andrew Browne finished 3 in class ahead of Kevin Bradley & Graham Henderson in 4. Brian Armstrong/Mark Tierney did all they could by taking victory in class 12 but it wasn’t enough for them to take the class in the championship. Martin Toner/Sharon Clarke kept the pressure on them all day to finish 2 in class just 8 seconds behind. The pair also secured 1 in class 12 in the championship. Gene McDonald/Kevin Reilly claimed 3 place in class 9 to secure 3 place overall in the championship. Class 1-8: Class 9-11R: Class 12-20: Another year for the Sligo Pallets Border Rally Championship comes to a close with David Moffett & Fintan Sherry becoming 1 time champions, adding their names to the long list of winners. The 2014 Prizegiving will take place on Saturday 1 November in the Sligo Park Hotel, Sligo. Once again the Border Championship has proven to be the one of the most well supported and competitive championships in Ireland. |
|
|
Cork 20 Report: Duffy’s guidance brings result
|
Australia based Irish men, Pauric Duffy and Kevin Glynn made the long trip home to compete at the Cork 20 International Rally over the weekend, in their recently acquired Ford Fiesta R5. The pair, who made their rallying debut on the Galway International Rally in February of this year, took on the challenge of the new car and the tough Cork Stages. Mayo man’s job between navigating on the World Rally Stage and running his successful pace notes business that all needs of the Australia based Irish Rally Team are meet using his vast experience in Motorsport and on-event support. |
|
Autocross news Photos by Maggie Bonner Closer to home this weekend seven members of Mayo and District Motorsport Club made the short trip to Saehan in Sligo for the Connacht Motorclub’s Autocross event. Best to finish was Padraig Mullen who won Class 9 and finished eighth overall in his Subaru Impreza, next up was Foxford’s Alan Moran who was double driving James McGreal’s Subaru. Alan unfortunately broke the golden rule and went faster than the man who lend him the car, finishing runner up in Class 9 and fourteenth overall, it will remain to be seen if James, who could only manage twentieth overall but third in Class will hand over the keys in the future! |
|
|
Other Recent Events: Photos courtesy of Rally Through a lens |
|
|
Alan McGuire who competed at a recent Galway Autocross
|
|
|
September Motorsport News Photos by John Delaney Donegal’s Declan and Brian Boyle are celebrating again after a start-to-finish victory at the Clare Stages Rally. Winners of the Mayo Stages Rally back in March, they have enjoyed a tremendous year to date. |
|
|
Returning to tarmac rallying following engine failure suffered at Midlands Rally last March, the pair showed no signs of cobwebs and after what was intended to be an easy run to bed in the new engine, they climbed the leader board all day finishing fourth in the very competitive Class 13 and 19th overall.
|
|
|
|
Podium for Duffy in Cyprus A majestic weekend of rallying came to an end on Sunday as Abdulaziz Al Kuwari and Killian Duffy claimed a very impressive third place finish on the 2014 Cyprus Rally. In what was a one-of-a-kind event, two sanctioned FIA rounds ran side by side with the 9th round of the ERC and the 5th round of the MERC both taking place on the same weekend. |
|
The result means that they close the gap to the championship leader, Nasser Al Attiyah to 6 points and set up what is bound to be a great fight at the final round in Dubai at the end of November.
|
|
|
Podium for Duffy in the Lebanon |
|
|
|
Hynes rues spinning in the rain |
Mayo Autocross: Report from August 24th
Deane Wins Mayo Autocross, Tynan Takes Championship Title
Adrian Deane from Williamstown in Co. Galway achieved a long-held ambition on Sunday by claiming his maiden victory on Mayo & District Motorsport Club’s final Autocross of the year. In doing so he became the third different winner of the popular loose surface series in as many events, in what has been an enthralling season of motorsport at the challenging 2.7 km circuit at Harrington’s Quarry near Swinford.
It was also a successful day for Monaghan man Martin Tynan, whose second place finish was enough to ensure he won the 2014 Frank Harrington Trophy for Overall Autocross Champion.
Driving his Mitsubishi Evo 8, Tynan faced last year’s champion Derek Deane in a shoot-out for the title, the two drivers having fought it out tooth and nail over the previous three rounds. Deane struggled early on, stopping on the stage on his first run with mechanical problems, While Tynan made his intentions clear, with a first run time five seconds ahead of local Foxford man James McGreal who lied in second place.
His buggy seminally restored to health, Deane took to the track for his second run, but again problems forced him to stop. Tynan seized the opportunity and improved his time by ten seconds; this time his closest challenger was Adrian, Derek Deane’s younger sibling, who stopped the clock four seconds behind Tynan.
On the last run Derek failed to sort out the gremlins in his JCR Rally Kart, more mechanical trouble brought his run to a premature halt, ending his hopes of adding to his two successive Frank Harrington Championship victories over the last two years. Tynan went faster still and as it looked like the event win was in the bag, Adrian in his JB Buggy managed to complete his lap one tenth of a second faster to steal the win and leave the Monaghan man in second place.
The result left Derek and Martin tied on equal championship points, Tynan claiming the title thanks to his higher place finish on the final round.
Behind the top two of Adrian Deane and Tynan on the day, Fermanagh’s Paul McDaid stole third with a blistering final run in his Buggy. Down’s Ronan Mackle also in a Buggy, secured fourth, less than one second ahead of James McGreal in his Subaru Impreza. Donegal’s Seamus Donnelly was sixth, just ahead of three other buggy drivers, Padraig Egan from Clare, James Cassidy from Derry and Donegal’s Danny O’Donnell. The top ten was rounded out by the class four Impreza of Ballymote’s Padraig Mullen.
Category winners included Ruairi Maguire from Castlederg who claimed class one honours in his Vauxhall Corsa ahead of Simon Hemphill, also from Castlederg, in a Vauxhall Nova. Cathan McCourt from Trillick was third in another Nova. Shrule’s Noel Murphy dominated class two, finishing more than six seconds ahead of second placed Michael Nevin in an Escort, while Achill’s Liam Healy grabbed a spirited third place in his Honda Civic. Murphy’s excellent performance in his Honda Civic, which seen him finish top front wheel drive, provisionally secures the Mayo Young Driver crown, retaining the title he won last year.
Class three was won by Declan Campbell from Trillick who topped a trio of Mk2 Escorts ahead of Killala’s Padraic Roche and Hollymount’s Colin Loughney.
Tynan was the class four winner, beating the Subaru’s of James McGreal and Padraig Mullen respectively. Class six was topped by aforementioned Paul McDaid with Ronan Mackle and Seamus Donnelly taking second and third.
Seventeen year old Patrick McEveney from Castlebar retained his stronghold on class seven with Crossmolina’s Lorcan Moore only setting one time before an off track excursion leaves him with some panel beating to be carried out on his Citroen Saxo before the 2015 season.
Other local competitors made up most of class two with Achill’s Joe Healy claiming the Mayo club award and a sixth place finish in class. Pater McManamon also from Achill finished eighth, four seconds ahead of Westport’s Alan McGuire, both in Peugeots 205’s. David Healy was twelfth in his Nissan Primera with Westport’s David Jordan a further nine seconds behind. Patrick McEveney (Snr) brought the triple family driven Toyota Corolla home in fourteenth, half a second ahead of Stephen McGreal in a 205. Shauna McEveney was sixteenth and won the ladies award.
Now that the 2014 Mayo Autocross has come to an end it leaves us all begging for more. It has been an incredible year in Harringtons Quarry Swinford. The Mayo and District Motorsport Club would like to sincerely thank the Harringtons for the use of their quarry, the marshals who turned out in all weathers for the four events and especially the team who ran the events during the year.
Until next year!
Watch footage from Mayo Autocross August 24th courtesy of MDsRally
