| 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. |
Tenth Podium of the Season for Duffy in Cyprus
In truly imperious form, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Giovanni Bernacchini in their Ford Fiesta RRC clinched victory and a ninth Middle-East Rallying Championship in the CNP Asfalistiki Cyprus Rally 2013.
The best battle of the three day event however was between Emirati driver Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi and Qatari Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, who entered Sunday’s final eight stages with only 1.6 seconds separating them.
Al-Kuwari, who as usual had Mayo’s Killian Duffy navigating, suffered a puncture early on the final day. Determined, the pair promised to drive flat-out in the afternoon and that is exactly what they did. Unfortunately for Seashore Ford Fiesta crew they came within four seconds of Al Qassimi and had to settle for third, which is the same position they currently hold in the Middle-East Rallying Championship.
The result adds to an amazing tally for Duffy in 2013. Twelve rally starts, resulting in ten podium finishes.
MAYO MEN MAKE THEIR MARK IN SLIGO
Report by Justin Ryan
There were a number of Mayo competitors in action last Sunday in the Sligo Loose Surface Autocross, achieving some impressive results.
Ballina’s Padraig Roache in his Ford Escort Mark II had a great run and eventually finished in 7th overall and 3rd in class 4.
Padraig put in three impressive and consistent times and he finished just over ten seconds off the winner of the event, Philip Harte in his Vauxhall Nova.
Mervyn Deane, from Williamstown, finished just outside the top 10 after three steady times to come home in 11th overall.
Next Mayo competitor home was Derek Bolton. The Ballaghadereen man enjoyed his day, winning class 9 in his Subaru Impreza and finishing 29th overall.
Then there was the “Battle of the 206” as three Mayo & District Motorsport Club members’ treble-drove a Peugeot 206 Cup Car. Bekan’s Sean McHugh, Alan Moran and James McGreal, both from Foxford, had the 206 out for the first time and the fight was on to see who would be quickest of the three drivers. After a tight battle all day, the experienced McHugh eventually came out on top, by less than a second over young gun Moran, with McGreal a further three seconds back.
Finally, Gavin and Ray Carroll from Killala had their class 1 Vauxhall Nova out in action. They enjoyed their day in Sligo and finished 33rd and 54th overall respectively.
Duffy’s Delight Down Under
Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and Killian Duffy were victorious in the WRC 2 class of Rally Australia and have moved to the top of the FIA championship standings.
The Qatari and Mayo partnership that rally the Seashore backed Ford Fiesta RRC, began Sunday’s last leg of the four day event with a comfortable 1min 13sec lead over Ukrainian, Yuriy Protasov. They lost just 0.4sec of this margin by the end, claiming top WRC2 crew and finishing in tenth place overall.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for the pair, after moving into the lead on stage 12, they continued to push hard, sometimes a little too hard. They were lucky to get away with a spin on stage 15 that seen the fiesta end up in a field. With calm restored they headed for service in Coffs Harbour, not relinquishing their lead again.
It was the third WRC 2 victory of the season for Al-Kuwari and Duffy who also took maximum points on the other long-haul rounds in Mexico and Argentina. The pair now lead the WRC 2 drivers and co-drivers standings respectively.
“Three wins this year, leading again and I equal my best result which was 10th in Greece, so it’s feeling really good,”said Al Kuwari.“I’m pleased to have made top-10 in an RRC car, my pace was really good, even against the top drivers, and every time the gap is getting closer. The team did a great job, as did my co-driver Killian, it’s been a very nice weekend.”
The WRC 2 does not have a fixed calendar. Instead, teams and drivers competing in the series are free to contest any of thirteen rallies that form the 2013 World Rally Championship. They must nominate up to seven events to score points in, and their best six results from these seven events will count towards their final championship points score.
There are three events left in the 2013 calendar, and Al-Kuwari and Duffy’s last nominated event is also the last event of the series, Rally GB in November. While nothing is decided yet, the pair have put themselves firmly in the driving seat.
Mathematicians in the Mayo and District Motorsport Club already have the calculator’s at-hand, hoping that over the remaining rounds, the Claremorris based Crossmolina man can hold onto his co-drivers lead to become World Champion.
