Gass times for Darren with victory on Galway International Rally
Mayo competitors feature strongly
Cathal Doyle
Photos by Sean Hassett and http://www.fordefotos.com/
Armagh driver Darren Gass claimed his first international rally victory by the narrowest of margins on Sunday’s Galway International Rally, with a number of Mayo competitors also recording strong results on the opening round of the 2012 Tarmac Rally Championship.
Traditionally a two-day event, the Safety Direct Galway International was shortened to a day rally for 2012. In doing so it attracted one of the strongest entries seen on Irish events in some years, with large crowds thronging to the stages based around Headford in the north of the county, following the opening spectator special stage through the City centre.
A host of new drivers debuted new cars on the event, not least among them five times former champion Eugene Donnelly, The Derry man, with Paddy Toner co-driving, had one of the latest generation World Rally Cars, a MINI John Cooper Works WRC at his disposal, but had to give second best early on to reigning Tarmac and National rally champions Tim McNulty and Paul Kiely. The Meath driver, competing in his familiar Subaru WRC, had established a comfortable lead until the fifth of the ten stages when he clipped some bales at a chicane. He continued, but with damaged steering and suspension, was unable to maintain his earlier pace. Donnelly was also in trouble with a puncture on the following stage, allowing Darren Gass and his Monaghan co-driver Enda Sherry, competing in an older Subaru WRC, to move ahead.
With one stage to go, Gass had overtaken McNulty for the lead, but Donnelly, now some seventeen seconds back was on a charge, having taken chunks of time off the young Armagh driver on the previous two tests. His challenge fell just short though; despite another fastest time by 15.8 seconds on the final stage, Gass managed to hang on by a mere 1.3 seconds, to record the biggest result of his career to date. McNulty brought his ailing Subaru home in third ahead of the leading Group N competitor Gary Jennings from Fermanagh. Donegal’s Declan Boyle won the National section of the rally, while English visitor Ernie Graham was victorious in the Historic category. (Click on photos to enlarge)
Local competitors keep Mayo flags flying
The top Mayo finisher was David Carney from Aughagower who, with co-driver Ray Fitzpatrick, finished 15 overall in the International Rally, and the leading competitor in a Citroen C2 R2. Competing in the National Rally, Shrule brothers Matthew and Noel Murphy pushed hard all day to finish 33 overall and 6 in class in their Toyota Corolla TwinCam, a lack of power their biggest gripe on the day.
Finishing just four places behind them were a delighted Justin Ryan from Headford and his Ballinrobe co-driver Andy Walsh. Debuting a new Honda Civic, they got progressively quicker throughout the day as they fine-tuned the handling of their car, to finish a strong 9 in class 16, Andy even finding time to update Mid-West Radio on their progress in between stages! Also going well were father and son team Adrian and Aidan Fahy from Ballinrobe who had a new engine and gearbox fitted to their Ford Escort, and were happy to get to the finish in 50 overall and 6 in class 13.
Bekan’s Sean McHugh and his co-driver Liam Healy from Achill had been having a strong run, up to 21 overall in the National Rally, before the Achilles Heel of their MBW M3 Compact – a broken driveshaft – brought early retirement on the eighth stage. Mechanical failure in the form of a broken gearbox was also the cause of retirement after four stages for Claremorris co-driver Seamus Coffey in the Subaru of John McGeehan.
National and Border Prizewinner 2011
Liam Devaney, a Mayo club competitor, is pictured below receiving his award for 2nd place Class 10 in the Sligo Pallets Border Championship 2011. Liam also won 3rd place in Class 10 in the Dunlop National Championship 2011. He is delighted with his awards and would like to thank all who navigated and helped out with service throughout the season. He would also like to say thanks to John Munnelly Haulage for the use of his premises during the year.
Club Members compete at Carlow Rallysprint in Mondello Park on 27th December
Photos courtesy of Liam Mac Con Iomaire www.caoradubha.com
Club Person of the Year and Marshal of the Year announced at Club AGM Dec 2011
Pat Mc Guinness accepting Marshal of the Year award from Club President Tom Walsh
Club Person of the Year Cathal Doyle accepting his award from Club President Tom Walsh
Mayo racing driver Sean Hynes makes the podium
Mayo driver Sean Hynes secured his first ever podium finish when he claimed a hard-fought second place in the Formula Sheane race in Kirkistown in Belfast on Saturday last. Following his win in the inaugural ‘Mondello Park Become A Racing Drvier’ competition earlier this year, the Foxford driver – who is sponsored by Wick-low based carmaker Sheane Cars – competed in his first year in the very competitive Formula Sheane Championship. He was placed fifth on the grid after an eventful morning qualifying session.
Following a poor start he found himself demoted to last place in the scramble of cars which stormed into turn one. His difficulties were compounded at turn two when an excursion across the Ards peninsula grass damaged the nose cone which dragged along the track for the remainder of the race. The young Foxford racer stuck to his task however and, following a storming drive, he had climbed back up to fifth place when the safety car was deployed on lap six. He gained a further two places on the resumption of full-blooded racing and at the start of the final two laps found himself vying with veteran racer Brian Hearty for second place.
The two engaged in an extended wheel-to-wheel joust with Hynes coming out ahead on an extended passing manoeuvre on the long run into Colonial. He defended his position for the remainder of the lap to register his best result to date in the championship, chasing race winner Anton Savage to the chequered flag.
The Formula Sheane Championship reaches a conclusion with the doubleheader Leinster Trophy meeting in Mondello Park on September 17 and 18 next. It promises to be a spectacular meeting with racing across the full range of classes and is a must visit event for all motorsport enthusiasts.
Downloads October 2nd 2011 Click Here For The Results August 7th 2011 July 3rd 2011 June 12th 2011 May 15th 2011 |
Harrington Challenge Points after Round 5 Young Driver Championship Points after Round 5 Report from August Autocross (Scroll to bottom of page for all photos…)
Loose Surface Autocross organised by Mayo & District Motorsport Club. The JB Buggy driver’s margin of victory was far from a comfortable affair though – just 6/100’s of a second separated him from the Mitsubishi Evo 9 of Peter McCullagh at the end of three timed runs. The Maynooth driver was left rueing a half-spin on the last corner of the final run, when he had looked well place to consolidate the lead he had established after run two. Deane took full advantage, taking over five seconds off his previous best effort with a time of 4 minutes 7.12 seconds. It was enough – just. Club’s popular Autocross series held at Harrington’s Quarry near Swinford, the same could not be said about the quality of the field, the event continuing to attract some of the leading Autocross drivers from all over the country – and abroad. Bringing a touch of glamour to the paddock on this occasion was the impressive outfit of former British Rallycross Champion Ollie O’Donovan, his Buggy just one of nine to start the event. The London domiciled Limerickman wasn’t long getting into his stride, setting the third fastest time on his opening run, before eventually finishing fourth overall. |
Gareth Mimnagh made the journey from Omagh worthwhile with victory in class 1 in his Nova, finishing a very creditable 12th overall. Alan Moran’s second place consolidates his lead in Mayo Motor Club’s Young Driver Championship with just one round remaining, the young Foxford driver once again impressing with his pace in his Opel Kadett. John Burke from Galway, driving the Ford Focus of absentee Andy Walsh, took third in the category.
Donegal took class 2 honours courtesy of the Honda Civic of Michael Boyle, while Achill brothers Liam and Joe Healy battled it out to be best of the rest in their Honda Civic, Joe coming out on top on this occasion.
Matthew Murphy was the sole class three representative, but the Shrule man was as spectacular as ever in his Toyota Corolla, and was pleased to finish ahead of the leading class 4 contenders. The Toyota of Damien McGauran from Belleek was the winner of that category, with Trevor Elliott from Kesh in an Escort second, and Enniskillen’s Rodney Donaldson making it an all-Northern Ireland podium.
With one further Loose Surface Autocross event to run in October, the battle for the Frank Harrington Challenge to determine the overall Mayo Autocross Champion for 2011 is hotting up nicely, with Peter McCullagh Snr, Lionel Percy and James Lannon among those in contention to claim the title. The man on the move though is Derek Deane, and despite missing the opening round, the Williamstown driver is now firmly in the mix for championship honours. Can he make it a hat-trick of victories in October?
Photos from Aug 7th 2011…courtesy of Vincent Fahy, Whitethorn Photos and below courtesy of Cathal Doyle, Club PRO.
Rally Results
Barrett wins Mayo Stages Rally 2011
Celebrating at the finish of the Mayo Stages Rally:
Danny McHugh – McWilliam Park Hotel, Aaron MacHale – Mayo Motorsport Club, Kathleen Kennedy – Mayo Motorsport Club, Kevin Barrett, Sean McHugh – CoC, Mayo Stages Rally, Sean Mullally – winning co-driver, Seamus Coffey – Mayo Motorsport Club, Ella and Danny McHugh – Costcutters and Supermacs Balindine.
Masterful Display From Barrett on Mayo Stages Rally
A year ago Kevin Barrett was the bridesmaid, the runner-up who had to watch as Melvyn Evans sprayed the victory champagne on the finish ramp of the 2010 Mayo Stages Rally. Twelve months on and there was no watching from the sidelines. This time around the genial Kildare man not just won the Mayo Stages Rally, he dominated it.
A measure of his commitment could be seen from his time on the opening test Woodstock near Irishtown. Last year, this stage proved the difference between Evans and the Triton Showers sponsored Subaru, Barrett unable to match the Welshman’s times on any of the three runs. By the end of the first stage in 2011, the rest of the field knew that Barrett and co-driver Sean Mullally meant business. They had set a time twenty-five seconds faster than their nearest challengers Niall Maguire and Enda Sherry.
“Yes, we knew from last year that we needed to attack and have a go from the start” explained Kevin at the rally prizegiving on Sunday night. “Luckily it worked for us, they were tricky conditions, but we pulled a bit of time and it opened a bit of a margin for us.”By the end of the first loop that gap was extended to forty seven seconds, and from there on it was just a case of keeping the Subaru WRC on the straight and narrow.
Maguire mounted the occasional counter-attack but Barrett never allowed the Monaghan man get too close and while all around complained of wrong tyre choices, the number one seeds sailed serenely on to victory celebrations back at the McWilliam Park Hotel in Claremorris. Game Set and Match to the Kildare / Limerick pairing.Maguire struggled with tyre choices all day as did the man who finished third, Seamus Leonard in another Subaru. At least they finished though, the fourth member of the Subaru WRC clan Adrian McElvanney on his return to rallying after an extended absence forced to call it an early day when his gearbox cried enough.
The conditions were the talking point throughout the day, rain and sleet combining with muddy roads to make it extremely slippery for competitors. One of the first to get caught out was Welsh visitor Phil Collins who failed to get to the end of the first stage in his pristine Escort. It left the way open for Austin McHale to claim the award for the Rally of Legends Champion, and the five times Tarmac Champion didn’t disappoint in his wonderfully liveried Xtravision BMW M3, getting ever quicker throughout the day to finish in a more than creditable 11th overall.
In what was a difficult day for two wheel drive cars, Camillus Bradley’s Escort was the highest placed non-4WD after rally long battles with the similar class 14 cars of Declan Boyle and Trevor Mulligan. Ahead of them Trevor Bustard was fourth and the winner of Group N, but that was only after Stuart Darcy, who had last year’s Clerk of the Course Eamonn Walsh from Claremorris co-driving, suffered the cruel disappointment of a differential failure – as they went past the finish of the final stage. Rallying can be a cruel sport sometimes.Geoffrey Dolan put in impressive times all day in his Sunbeam, while Jonathan Folan belied his number 41 seeding to take ninth in his Subaru ahead of Michael Conlon’s Escort.
The Sligo Pallets Drive of the Day Award went to Meath’s James Cassidy and John Norris for their fastest time in class 12 on Special Stage Three while among the five winners of the Honda Challenge who each won prizes to the value of €500 was Ballinrobe’s Ciaran Walsh. Brothers Colin and Michael Loughney brought their Ford Escort home in 17th place to claim the prize for the highest placed Mayo & District Motorsport Club finisher despite late gearbox dramas.
A popular victory for Kevin Barrett and another hugely successful rally for Mayo & District Motorsport Club despite the challenging weather conditions.
Mayo Stages Rally 2011 Local Competitors
The 2011 Mayo Stages rally will go down in the history books as one of the toughest ever! With hail, sleet, snow and bucket loads of rain the elements were really working against the local competitors on their home stages. But this could not dampen their spirits, the resilient Mayo men and women battled on valiantly.
The first Mayo crew to cross the finish ramp at the McWilliam Park Hotel on Sunday evening were Colin & Michael Loughney, the Killala pairing finished in an excellent 17th overall and 2nd in class twelve. Colin was ecstatic at the finish, delighted to have finished what proved to be a very tough event. It wasn’t all plain sailing for the famous red Ford Escort though when it entered first service of the day after three stages it showed signs of an excursion, Colin takes up the story “We were passing a car that had gone off and was stuck in a hedge, Just as I thought we were gone by it I put the power on and the back of the car stepped out and hit the other car! Then the second stage we had another big moment. We were in second gear through a left right kink and the back of the car stepped out and touched the grass. I thought it was all over as we took both sides of the road with us, we were very lucky ” after that it was a steady run into the first service of the day.
After a fraught morning Colin was trying to take a steady approach to the next loop of 3 stages but it shows even when you are not on the limit accidents can still happen. Colin: “There was a fast approach into a chicane on stage 4 and the braking zone was extremely slippy. We locked up the brakes and were heading straight for the bales but somehow we found grip just as we neared them and I managed to get it around. We had a lucky escape. After clean runs over stage 5 and 6 Colin found himself in 19th overall and the highest placed Mayo & District Motorsport Club member. Now he just had to complete the final loop safely to claim one of his own personal best finishes.
The penultimate stage and all was looking good as they had a clean run but when they came to a stop car the wipers stopped working and then the gearbox came loose. It seemed like fate was conspiring against them but nothing could stop the Loughneys from finishing. They temporarily tightened the gearbox and made it through the final stage to be the fastest Mayo crew home.
Colin “I am delighted as it is my best finish ever!” and he had every right to be happy as they were the quickest Mayo crew in such challenging conditions and it was a credit to Colin & Michael and the team.
Next Mayo man home was James Culliney from Bekan, with navigator Andrew Grennan they finished in 23rd overall.
The pair had possibly one of most interesting drives of the rally. It all started well as there was just 5 seconds down on James Cassidy the class leader over the first stage. This was a very good time considering that the year before he only made it a mile into that stage before the car broke down. So he was happy to finish it. Stage 2 also went well, James sliding his immaculately prepared Ford Escort Mark 2 around the stage and was only 2 seconds slower than James Cassidy. The class battle was really hotting up.
Going into stage 3 there was only 7 seconds between the two James’s, but it all went wrong for the Bekan man, he was caught out on a very slippy section with the car sliding wide. James tried to correct it by applying the handbrake but it was too late.
He hit a rock which wrenched the steering wheel from his hands breaking his thumb in the process. Finally the car came to rest in a gate. Luckily there was not an awful amount of damage done and after help from spectators they got back on the road all be it loosing two minutes fifteen seconds in the process.
James fought through the pain on the road section back to service and once in service he and his team got to work on repairing the car.
The broken thumb seemed to have no ill effects on his stage times over the next loop as James reported that once the stage started and the adrenalin started flowing he didn’t even notice it. He decided not to take anymore risks and just get the car to the finish which he did, ending the day in an excellent 23rd overall and 3rd in class 12. James would like to thank Eugene Waldron & Associates and PC Plastering for there support.
The distinctive blue Toyota Corolla of Foxford’s Ambrose Gaughan had a tough day on the slippy stages but still managed to finish in 29th place overall. Ambrose who is navigated by Derek Molloy from Lahardane was hampered by a lack of heat in his tyres on the first three stages due to the cold conditions, This made him take a cautious approach and left him in 39th place overall after the first three stages. But the Mayo men were lucky to even make the rally as Ambrose had to call on Drifting legend Declan Munnelly to get parts from his gearbox to get the car up and running before the event. Luckily the car ran faultlessly throughout the rally and the team would like to profusely thank Declan for his generosity.
The dramas continued through stage 4 with the windsceen constantly fogging up in the immensely wet conditions. Then on stage 5 it looked like it was all over.
As Ambrose pushed through a tight right hand bend he was confronted with a silage bale in the middle of the road. The bale had been hit by a previous car and the marshals were struggling to get it back into position when Ambrose arrived. With no other option the Toyota ploughed straight through the bale. Ambrose was immediately fearful that the radiator might be damaged but when they got to the end of the stage it seemed that the damage was only cosmetic. A sigh of relief was had in the car and the pair were quite happy to make it back to the final service beside the McWilliam Park Hotel. Here they could do a few more checks before the last three stages.
Before leaving service Ambrose chose to use a soft compound tyre for the last loop which seemed to really work well as he climbed from 34th overall to a final 29th and 2nd in class 9 a brilliant result for the pair on there home stages. Ambrose would like to sincerely thank his navigator Derek Molloy, Declan Munnelly for his generosity and all his sponsors especially Treecare.ie .
Ballinrobe man Ciaran Walsh was hot on Ambrose’s heals finishing just sixteen seconds behind the Foxford man. Ciaran with Shane O Brien on the notes had a surprisingly trouble free day.
After winning the junior section of the Galway International Rally in February there was high expectations of Ciaran for the rally, and he delivered. Finishing in 30th place overall a claiming 3rd in the Honda Challenge, in the process picking up €500 worth of prizes, it was a great day for the Mayo man.
Ciaran: “I had a steady run, I was loosing time in the middle loop of stages as I wasn’t pushing too hard, I wanted to bring the car home in one piece after last year” On last years event Ciaran had a big accident colliding with a tree so it was a real bonus getting to the finish with not even a scratch on the car. Ciaran was the fourth Mayo & District Motorsport Member to the finish the event.
Nial Morley from Knock was next Mayo finisher in at 51st overall. Niall with navigator Cormac Lyons had an eventful day. After stage 1 and the pair found themselves languishing in 76th place overall this was due to an overshoot and a spin on the stage, Not an ideal start to the rally but Niall battled on, climbing back up the leader board on stage 2. But all his good work was undone on stage 3 as they went off the road in sight of the flying finish loosing 2 minutes.dropped him back to 80th overall leaving him a colossal amount of time to make back in the afternoon stages, but that’s exactly what he did. He steadily made his way back up the time sheets finishing the day in 51st place overall a credible result.
Derek Bolton and navigator Trever O Connell, had a very up and down day. The pair suffering teething problems with the new Subaru Impreza WRC. Stage 1 was to set the tone for the day, with cold brakes and tyres at the beginning of the stage Derek put the car into a ditch, luckily an army of Marshall’s and spectators descended onto the car, they push and pulled and eventually got the pair back on the road loosing about 2 minutes. After being passed by slower cars while he was in the ditch Derek had trouble being held up by cars, this hampered his recovery. After a few trouble free stages he found himself in 68th overall a brilliant recovery from being as far down the order as 97th.
But stage 6 of the rally almost saw the demise of the Bo-Drive run Impreza, After passing a competitor who had gone off the road the back wheel of the car touched the grass verge at high speed. Derek: “I passed the car and i stayed a bit to close to the grass and once the back wheel touched it I was a passenger! We ended up sideways across the road with drains in front and behind us, I had to do a six point turn to get pointing in the right direction again!” After that stage we just got quicker and quicker I was getting a feel for the car and it was all starting to click but we ran out of stages” Derek finished the rally in 56th place overall and took first in class 15 a great result for the start of the new season with a new car.
Right behind Derek was John Duffy & John Egan. The John’s were in flying form with a new sponsor in OnThePacenote.com the car was looking great at the start of the event and it was set to stay that way, as John didn’t put a foot wrong all day.first loop proved challenging as they had chosen the wrong tyres this severely compromised the grip levels in the wet conditions, leeding to the Honda Integra clouting a bale on stage 2 luckily no damage was done and the car came back to service in one piece.
It was an undramatic day for the pair, after a 12 month lay off from the sport John admitted to being a little rusty but was starting to get back into the swing of it over the final loop of stages. They finished the rally in 58th place overall.
In 66th overall were Brendan Corcoran & Jarad Gill after being as high as 57th a small error cost them fourteen minutes in penalties. As the timecard was handed out to be filled up at the end of stage 4 the pages got wet in the deluge that engulfed the stages. This lead to the pages getting stuck together and the pair using stage 6 time card instead stage 5 on stage 5. But this massive time penalty didn’t deter the Brendan he drove on and gained thirteen places in the overall standings to leave him in 66th overall.
The last Mayo crew to finish were Justin Ryan & Andy Walsh. It was a trying day for Justin, he showed great pace over the opening stages being as high as 63rd overall and beating much more experienced drivers like John Duffy. On stage 6 this was about to change though. On the start line of the stage he lost all gears, after a few frantic seconds the car was rammed into second gear and they set off into the stage.
With only the one gear it didn’t take long for them to be caught by the next car, and as they had lost both wing mirrors earlier in the day Justin could not see the car behind him. After holding the car up for a short period of time he saw a safe area to pull in in front of some houses, but unfortunately so did the car behind them, as Justin pulled in the car behind rear ended them and sent them careering towards the wall of the house. Luckily they didn’t hit the wall but there was substantial damage to the back of the car.
Considering that the car was stuck in second gear and now damaged in the rear Justin was ready to throw in the towel, but Andy was having none of it. They waited for the last car to go past and then they tried to complete the stage, luckily it was service just after the stage and Justin nursed the car back in. The team got to work temporarily fixing the car and it was just ready in time for the last loop of stages.
Justin and Andy finished in 69th overall after incurring a time penalty.
Unfortunately not all of the Mayo competitors were lucky enough to finish the event.
Eamon Walsh from Clarmorris was navigating for Stuart Darcy in his Mitsubishi Lancer. The pair had a flyer of a rally winning the Group N category of the rally and finishing 4th overall but there rally was to abruptly halt just after the finish of the last stage when the diff broke on the car stopping it dead in the road, It was a great shame for Eamonn as it would have been a great result but as the saying goes “That’s Rallying!”
Padraic Roche and Chrystal Culkeen were another crew who fell by the wayside. After Padraics excellent result on the Galway International Rally he was hoping to emulate that success in Mayo but it was not to be. They retired after 3 stages with gearbox problems.
Shrules Matthew & Noel Murphy retired less than a mile into the first stage. The WestTyre Toyota Corolla broke a timing belt, It was a great shame for the team and especially for Noel as it was his first time ever navigating.
Locals All Set For Mayo Stages Rally
No fewer than twenty-five Mayo & District Motorsport Club competitors will be taking part on their home rally this week-end, all hoping for a successful and safe rally.
Heading the local runners at number 33 is the class 12 Ford Escort of brothers Colin and Michael Loughney. Sponsored by Hillside Service Station, CBE, Griffiths Garage Claremorris, West Fest, Carnival Marquees, McEllin Plant Hire and Group 4 Fabrications, Ballyhaunis based Colin and Michael from Killala are likely to be locked in battle with the car directly behind them, the similar class 12 PC Plastering, Waldron & Associates Claremorris and Scanbitz sponsored Escort of James Culliney from Bekan at number 34.
At number 55 is the black Toyota Corolla of Foxford’sAmbrose Gaughan and Derek Molloy from Lahardane who will be hoping to continue their class 9 winning form from last year’s Border Rally Championship. They carry sponsorship from TreeCare, DM Tyres, Kennedy Motors Belmullet and Gusclad Steel Sheet Profilers, Boyle.
Another class winner last year on the Border Championship was Fergal Loughney, and the Kilfian man is again co-driving for Pauric McGee from Donegal in a class 2 Honda Civic at number 63. At 65Ciaran Walsh from Ballinrobe will be putting his accident on last year’s event behind him as he aims for a top finish in his class 2 Civic which is sponsored by David Walsh Jetting Services, Moran Butchers Belcarra, Brian Rodgers Car Sales, Enda Loughlin Truck and Car Repairs and Corrib Oil.
Another class 12 Escort joins the fray at number 75,Padraic Roche from Killala and Chrystal Culkeenfrom Castlebar competing in the Max Tyres, Killala Motors, Merricks Ballina, Carr’s of Ballina and Fortknox Security sponsored machine. At 76 is the West Tyres Ballinrobe and Shrule sponsored class 11 Corolla ofMatthew and Noel Murphy.
Brendan Corcoran from Castlebar and Jared Gillfrom Bofeenaun are next up at number 77 in a class 2 Civic, while Niall Morley from Knock wheels out his class 9 Escort at number 85. Crossmolina’s John Duffy and John Egan will be gunning for the Honda Challenge prizes at 87 in their class 7 Integra, while behind them Derek Bolton and Trevor O’Connellfrom Ballaghadereen have a class 15 Subaru Impreza in action.
At 95 is Mayo Motor Club’s Young Driver ChampionJustin Ryan from Headford who has Ballinrobe’sAndy Walsh co-driving in the Solar Signs Ireland, Flynn’s Pharmacy Claremorris and Arrabawn Fresh Milk sponsored Honda Civic. 96 is Padraig Mullenfrom Ballymote who is driving a class 6 Peugeot 206. At 102 Ballinrobe’s Adrian and Aidan Fahy wheel out their trusty class 13 Escort, while number 109 sees Liam Devaney from Enniscrone and Ray Carroll from Killala competing in a class 10 Peugeot 205 sponsored by John Munnelly Haulage Killala.
Not competing but providing the important role of course cars which run ahead of the main field to warn of the approaching competitors are Tubbercurry’s Pat McGuinness and Paul Kennedy, and Tony Langdon andEddie Quinn from Ballina, while also taking part in the rally is Gerry Ronan from Bekan who runs at number 32 in his class 8 Mitsubishi Evo 6.