Action from Rally de Portugal with club member Killian Duffy who finished 5th WRC 2 co-driving with Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari
Podium for Duffy in Jordan
Killian Duffy’s success in the Middle East continued on Friday last, when the Claremorris based Crossmolina man co-drove Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari from Qatar to second place overall on the Jordanian National Rally.Ford Fiesta crew put in another huge performance on the event which they used as a test ahead of next weekends WRC Rally Argentina.
Celebrations were brief for the pair as they flew from the desert kingdom on Saturday morning and made their way toAires, for whatregarded as one of the toughest events on the WRC trail.
The pair will take a few days to acclimatise as’s Southern Hemisphere location means the rally will take place in early autumn, which will increase the challenge facing the crews as they negotiate the testing terrain in colder and wetter conditions.
Duffy survives last minute scare to win on Argentine debut
Killian Duffy and Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari were fastest on 8 of 10 stages and took a commanding lead of over 10 minutes into Saturday’s final leg of the WRC 2 category of Rally Argentina.
With such an advantage over the rest of the field, the biggest challenge facing the pair was avoiding the hazards that had caught out so many of their WRC 2 rivals.
“We have a good gap so there is no need to push, instead we have to keep our concentration,” said Al-Kuwari, at the start of 23Km Mina Clavero stage, on the last morning of the four day rally.
And just that they did. Killian kept things under control from the Co-Drivers seat of the Seashore Qatar Rally Team Ford Fiesta. The pacenotes rolled faultlessly of his tongue, guiding the pair through a string of long and demanding stages, until the last stage. All was not well with the handling of the Fiesta, and what the pair initially felt was a puncture turned out to be a broken rear cross member.
They gave away some of their advantage with a cautious approach through the rocky repeat of El Condor to take the win from Peruvian driver Nicolas Fuchs by over 13minutes.
“I’m very happy,” said a relieved Al-Kuwari. “It’s our second WRC 2 win of the year and we are now leading the championships for drivers, teams and co-drivers.”
On the back off their current good form, and with their plane tickets already booked for the upcoming Acropolis Rally in Greece on the first weekend of June, the Qatari and Irish pairing have more than a few eyebrows raised in the competitive world of International Rallying.
A Patrick’s Weekend to remember!
Rally driver Brian O’Mahony from Carrigaline, Co. Cork and co-driver John Higgins from Kiltimagh, Co.Mayo will not forget St. Patrick’s weekend 2013 anytime soon. The pair won the annual West Cork Rally, a gruelling event that takes place over two days on 200km of West Corks most difficult tarmac roads.
With a new car to adapt to, it was always going to be a difficult rally. The latest specification McKinstry Motorsport Subaru S14 WRC is a league ahead of their previous car, with John exclaiming “It’s a rocket ship” and Brian commenting that “It’s unlike anything I have ever driven”. This new machine, coupled with some of Ireland’s most demanding tarmac stages, ensured that it was always going to be an uphill battle for the pair.
The rally got underway on Saturday and consisted of six tough stages to test the drivers. Brian and John were fastest out of the blocks recording quickest time on the opening stage. When they reached the end, all was not well inside the car. Brian noted “We lost some time at the beginning of the stage due to some confusion, I am still getting the feel for the car”. The next car onto the stage was Kevin Kelleher in his Subaru but towards the end of the test, his car caught fire and the following competitors had to stop to assist. This meant that the following crews were awarded Brian’s fastest time for the stage.
Stage two saw the duo drop to second place behind fellow Subaru driver Denis Cronin. They were set to drop even more time to Cronin on stage three, when the car stalled on the start line and dropped them roughly ten seconds. At the first service of the day the pair had dropped from first after stage one, to fourth after stage three, over twenty seconds behind rally leader Cronin.
With the car was fully checked over by the McKinstry Mechanics in service and a fresh set of DMack tyres fitted, it was out to the next loop of three stages. Being unfamiliar with the new car showed, as Cronin continued to take time from them. When they re-entered service after the three test, Cronin had a massive twenty-eight second advantage. As day one of the rally came to a close the Cork-Mayo duo would have to claw back time on day two of this iconic event to claim the victory.
A beautiful sunny morning greeted the spectators and crews on day two of the West Cork Rally. Brian and John had it all to do and only six stages to do it, as they were trailing Denis Cronin by twenty-eight seconds. Stage seven of the rally started well for the two who ended the stage only point one of a second behind Daragh O’Riordan in his new Ford Fiesta WRC. This illustrates how close it is at the top of Irish Rallying, only point one of a second separated the two drivers after seventeen kilometers of flat out rallying!
On stage eight, the duo recorded their second fastest time of the rally, a staggering nineteen seconds faster than Cronin to slash his lead down to four seconds, with four stages remaining. Brian commented at the end of the stage that “Yes we are going well now! We have softened the suspension and altered the center differential, it feels much better”. Another fastest time on stage nine left them trailing Cronin by two seconds heading into the final loop of three stages.
The stage wins kept coming and on stage ten they moved into the rally lead, but it was short lived as stage eleven Cronin fought back and was fastest to move into the lead going into the final stage. It was going to be a photo finish.
Brian’s father, Frank a rallying legend in his own right, had never won the West Cork Rally, despite coming close on multiple occasions. There was pride and ego at stake going into the final stage. They lined up on the start line, knowing that they had to complete the seventeen kilometer test five seconds quicker than Cronin to win the rally. They blasted off and pushed hard, towards the end of the test they came across the stricken Subaru of Cronin, who had rolled out of the rally, thus handing them the victory!
Upon reaching the end of the stage the emotions were palpable, as Frank congratulated his son, and Brian and John celebrated their first West Cork Rally win! A Patrick’s weekend to remember indeed!
Report by Sean Hassett
Photos courtesy of Paul McIlroy
No Siesta for Duffy in Mexico
He’d never been to Mexico before. He’d never contested a WRC 2 round before. He’d never Co-driven a Fiesta RRC on a WRC round before. And he’d certainly never won by nine minutes before. Crossmolina man Killian Duffy managed all of the above last weekend when he landed the biggest win of his career. Duffy summed the week up for himself and rising Qatari rally driver Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, when he said: “It’ll be hard going back to reality on Tuesday…”
Al-Kuwari dominated the WRC 2 category to bring his Ford Fiesta RRC home 9min clear of Mexico’s Nicolas Fuchs. The Qatari won 21 of the 23 stages on his Rally Mexico debut.
“I thought it would be very difficult here, but we started well and continued to do a good job,”said.“There were no mistakes and no problems with the car. Killianco-driver)a great job. Four hundred kilometres on the pace notes and no mistakes.”
Video of Killian in action in Mexico:
Locals Report From Midlands Rally
By Justin Ryan
Barry Cuffe and Shane O’Brien were highest placed Mayo finishers on this year’s Abbey Hotel Midland Moto Stages Rally. The Castlebar pairing got progressively quicker throughout the day and finished 39th overall in their Escort. Ciaran Kennedy and Pat O’Hora just missed out on a class 2 win in their Honda Civic after leading for much of the day. They finished 42nd overall after just being pipped on the final stage. John Warren and Ruthann O’Connor had a fantastic start to the day and after stage 4 were 12th overall. But after a brush with the scenery in their Corolla on stage 5 they lost 10 minutes to their rivals which they were unable to claw back. They eventually finished in 48th overall.
Unlucky not to finish the event was Niall Morley from Knock who was co-driving for number one seed Daniel McKenna. Suspension damage on stage one put an early end to their day.
A tight finish to the rally saw Chris Armstrong from Cavan come out on top over Rodney Wilton. The pair battled for the top spot throughout and only 3 seconds separated them at the finish. Pat Donegan rounded off the top 3 in a podium dominated by Ford Escort Mark II’s.
Podium for Duffy as Mayo Co-drivers make their mark on Qatar Rally
The sand and heat may have made for an alien environment compared to the wintry wind and rain of home, but for the two Mayo & District Motorsport Club co-drivers who tackled the Qatar International Rally at the week-end, it was quickly a case of business as usual. Both Killian Duffy and John Higgins navigated their respective Middle East drivers Abdulaziz Al Kuwari and Majid Al Shamsi to challenge for overall and category wins on the difficult desert rally. While the Al Shamsi / Higgins pairing ultimately failed to reach the finish, it was podium joy for Al Kuwari and Duffy, bringing their Seashore Qatar Rally Team Ford Fiesta home in a superb third place overall.
Killian Duffy and Abdulaziz Al Kuwari
Based in the Qatari capital of Doha, the Qatar International Rally was the opening round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship, and attracted all the top local drivers including current World Rally stars Nasser Al Attiyah competing on his home event, and the UAE’s Shaikh Khalid Al Qasimi. For Killian Duffy, it was a return to familiar haunts, the Crossmolina native having competed in the Middle East series for a number of years, and hoping for a strong result alongside last year’s rally winner Al Kuwari.
John Higgins and Majid Al Shamsi
For reigning Irish National Rally Champion co-driver John Higgins though, this was a whole new ball-game, the Kiltimagh man making his desert rallying debut alongside Majid Al Shamsi as part of the same Abu Dhabi Racing team as former Ford works driver Khalid Al Qasimi, but competing in a more showroom specification Subaru Impreza. Speaking after the recce before the rally started, John was looking forward to his first Middle East event. “It [the recce] was quite different than what I’m used to, as in the navigation is quite challenging. Sometimes it can be difficult to see what track you should be on – or even see a track!”
From the start, the established World Rally stars of Al Attiyah and Al Qasimi set the pace, with the latter perhaps surprised to lead the event at the half-way point ahead of the multiple previous winner and former Dakar rally winner. Al Kuwari and Killian Duffy suffered from too stiff suspension on their Fiesta on the opening stages, and were effectively out of contention for overall honours by the second stage after going off track and losing one and a half minutes. Nontheless they still managed to hold on to third place overall by the end of the first day.
It was also a strong day for Al Shamsi and John Higgins, impressing observers to finish the first day in the lead of the Group N category.
Day two saw Nasser Al Attiyah come home to record his tenth Qatar International Rally success after Khalid Al Qasimi suffered a puncture, while after the dramas of the opening day, Al Kuwari and Killian Duffy consolidated their podium place to record an excellent result behind the two established World Rally drivers. Speaking at the finish, Killian was happy with the week-end’s actvities, noting that once they had sorted their suspension on day one, things had gone well, including a second overall fastest time on stage 5.
“We were too far behind the leaders to catch them and we had a comfortable advantage over 4th place, so we set a safe pace. Our times were still in touch with the leading drivers but the time loss on day 1 was impossible to make up. 3rd overall is a great start to the championship, the next round is Kuwait in March, but firstly we do a 1 day local rally in Kuwait in February, and WRC Mexico, so a busy few months ahead!”.
After their strong opening day performance, Al Shamsi and John Higgins were disappointed to have to retire on the opening stage of leg 2 with rear suspension failure on the Subaru Impreza. “We didn’t hit anything but the rough stages on day 1 took their toll I would say” said a philisophical John, after what was an eye-opening but encouraging Middle East Rally debut. “The rally was extremely challenging. I never concentrated so hard on stages before. You have to call the notes as normal, but the road might have completely different lines on it after a few cars pass, meaning some corners are more open and faster, and some will have disapeared altogether. You have to make sure that we stay on the rally route using the GPS at the same time. Then you can’t always see the road! Tough going, but overall very enjoyable”.
Like his fellow Mayo co-driver, John will be seeing a lot more of the desert in 2013, as he has signed up to do the full seven round FIA Middle East Rally Championship with Majid Al Shamsi and the Abu Shabi Racing Team. His next event will be the Kuwait International Rally in March.
Pre Event Report:
Mayo Co-drivers head for Qatar
Amid wintry showers and the promise of snow in the west of Ireland, two Mayo lads have headed for the Middle East.
Killian Duffy from Crossmolina and John Higgins from Kiltimagh, both members of Mayo & District Motorsport Club, left Ireland in the last few days to compete in next weekend’s Qatar International Rally.
Killian is co-driving again this year for Qatari driver Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari in a Seashore Group sponsored Ford Fiesta RRC. Last year, they narrowly missed out on winning the Middle East Rally Championship in a Mini JCW RRC. This year, they are contesting the full Middle East Rally Championship, and also the WRC-2 Championship.The first of six rounds of the Middle East Championship kicks off with Qatar. Then it’s off to Kuwait in March, Jordan in May, Lebanon in September, Cyprus in October and Dubai in November. The Middle East car is brand new and is prepared by Motortune in Lebanon.
They are also competing in three warm-up local rallies, in Kuwait, Jordan and Lebanon. In WRC 2, which is the new title for the super 2000 World Rally Championships, Duffy and Abdulaziz are contesting at least six WRC events, starting with Mexico in March, Portugal in April, Greece in May, Sardinia in June, Germany in August and Spain in October. Their car will be run by the Ford M-Sport World Rally Team for the WRC 2 campaign.
It will be a busy year also on the home front for Killian as he hopes to develop further the Ultimate Rally News website, and Ultimate Rally News TV shows, and his own commercial pacenote business requires a lot of time and work, where he is Ireland’s leading supplier of commercial rally pacenotes for every rally in Ireland.
John Higgins, who holds the prestigious, 2012 Dunlop Irish National Rally Co-driver Champion title, is swapping Irish tarmac for the challenge of the Middle East desert. He is joining Majed Al Shamsi as part of the Abu Dhabi Racing team, in an N15 Subaru Impreza. He is looking forward to the opening round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship, and hopes that a good solid performance will lead to more rounds on the 2013 campaign.
John, who was recently heard use the phrase that Killian Duffy coined a few years ago “Have gear — will travel” readily acknowledges Killians’s support and the help that www.onthepacenote.com will give him in helping him get acquainted with his new surroundings, and teaching him on how to deal with the huge differences between rallying in deserts, and rallying on the Irish stages which he is more used to.
Galway International Rally 2013
Photos courtesy of Rally through a Lens
The Irish rally season, and more specifically the Irish Tarmac Championships, roared into action over the weekend with the Safety Direct Galway International Rally. The event took place over a challenging, eight special stages, ran in a one day format.
Triple British Rally Champion, Keith Cronin, from Cork, really showed his talent through the day’s slippy and tough stages, by upping his pace on virtually every stage to win the event, ahead of former, multiple Irish Tarmac Rally Champion, Eugene Donnelly.
Declan Boyle from Donegal rounded off the top three in a Subaru Impreza S12 WRC, behind Cronin’s Subaru Impreza WRC S11 and Donnelly’s BMW Mini WRC.
Local Mayo interest was with Bekan’s Sean McHugh and his co-driver Liam Healy from Achill, who started well in the National Rally, before the Achilles Heel of their BMW M3 Compact – a broken driveshaft – brought early retirement on the third stage.
Faring better was Niall Morley from Knock, Co-driving for Pat Hibbitt from Galway. The pair brought their Honda Civic home in 35 place in the National section, having got progressively quicker throughout the day.
Bringing home crystal from Galway were Justin Ryan from Headford and his new navigator Garry Collins from Cong. The pair brought their Honda Civic home in third place, in the junior section of the Rally. After a sluggish start on stage one, they steadied the ship and found themselves in contention for a podium after no mistakes over the remaining stages.
attention now turns to the Mayo Stages Rally which takes place on March 10th, with entries already coming in rapidly for the Ballina based event.
West Limerick Mini Forest Rally
Two Mayo Motorsport Club Members took part in the West Limerick Mini Forest Rally on Sunday last, which was Round 1 of the 2013 Irish Forest Rally Championship
David Carney from Westport finished 30th overall and 2nd in class 9 in his CITREON C2R2 MAX and Niall Morley from knock, finished 49th overall and 3rd in class 1 in a Ford Escort mk2.
