Eugene Donnelly takes on the world!! A fierce battle between Marcus Gronholm and our very own "Genie" ended badly when his car under steered off the road and put him out of the rally on the second last stage..  But he really did give the 2 time World Champion a run for his money!! Videos and Pictures!!

VIDEO has been uploaded!!

Some great pictures from Trevor Foster and Joe Lane

 Pictures uploaded to the Gallery! 

 

List of Programme Outlets

Greenville stage on Sunday (SS 9, 12 & 15) will not run

Revised Time and Distance Schedule for Sunday

Live Results

Check out some of our favourite clips from the Galway International here !! 

 Marcus Gronholm and Timo Rautiainen on the finish ramp (Photo thanks to Joe Lane)

Overall winners Marcus Gronholm and Timo Rautiainen (Photo thanks to Trevor Foster)

Overall winners Marcus Gronholm and Timo Rautiainen (Photo thanks to Trevor Foster) Is he yawning?

2nd overall Gareth MacHale and Paul Nagle (Photo thanks to Trevor Foster)

The peoples favourite Eugene "Genie" Donnelly and Paul Kiely (Photo thanks to Trevor Foster)

James Foley was on a real charge all weekend (Photo thanks to Trevor Foster)

Mark Higgans and Rory Kennedy (Photo thanks to Trevor Foster)

Brian Brogan and Joe Friel were absolutely flying in their mint MkII (Photo thanks to Trevor Foster)

Eugene Donnelly takes on the world!! A fierce battle between Marcus Gronholm and our very own "Genie" ended badly when his car under steered off the road and put him out of the rally on the second last stage.. But he really did the 2 time World Champion a run for his money!!

Have a look at the event photos here!

 

LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 17 Ballyfa – last stage

1st (1) Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen (Focus WRC) 1.57.14.6

2nd (2) Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Focus WRC) 2.00.06.2

3rd (3) Mark Higgins/Rory Kennedy (Impreza WRC) 2.00.56.5

4th (4) Eamonn Boland/Francis Regan (Focus WRC) 2.01.09.6

5th (8) Kevin Lynch/Gordon Noble (Focus WRC) 2.02.10.8

6th (14) Stephen Murphy/MJ Morrissey (Impreza WRC) 2.02.47.8

7th (11) Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Impreza WRC) 2.03.25.3

8th (16) Michael Barrable/Dermot O'Gorman (Focus WRC) 2.03.43.5

9th (6) Austin MacHale/Brian Murphy (Focus WRC) 2.03.58.9

10th (12) Ray Breen/Damien Morrissey (Focus WRC) 2.05.08.1  

Eugene Donnelly’s dream of winning this Galway International all fell apart in stage 16 when his Subaru reportedly under steered into a ditch and got stuck. Marcus Gronholm had turned in a stunning time on stage 14 and was just over a second behind Eugene starting that Eglish test. Initial reports that Gronholm’s Focus had also gone off proved to be incorrect and in fact the Finnish driver turned in a fantastic time 17s up on Mark Higgins.  We were told earlier that Marcus wasn’t very happy with the revised suspension set up on his Focus but as it transpired he was perfectly comfortable and found the car so much better. Marcus Gronholm commented at the end of the final stage “It was a difficult rally but we learned a lot, it was good to have Donnelly to push me. It was sad for him to go off, he was driving well”.   Gareth MacHale commented. “I’m happy enough, we were getting quicker throughout the rally as I got used to the left hand drive. I didn’t think I’d be that on the pace with the new car”. 

Mark Higgins’ late surge has promoted him to 3rd place which will almost certainly mean maximum Tarmac Championship points as neither Gronholm or Gareth MacHale registered for the series. Mark commented. “I was a bit happier towards the end but there is still a bit to do. It was a pretty dreadful rally for me, I hope we get more grip in Sweden. Still it was a great opportunity for me to drive the Pirelli car, we had a few worries on the last stage as it is showing low oil pressure but we got here”.  Further stories include; Kevin Lynch spinning his Focus on the penultimate stage. Ray Breen had power steering trouble at the nd. Austin MacHale had a front left puncture but lost little time and Gareth Jones crashed the Reid Motorsport Impreza at a crest into square right almost within sight of the finish. Gareth’s Focus had a puncture some distance before the accident so possibly this was a contributory factor.

In Group N James Foley and his co driver Paddy Robinson scored a great victory with Kevin O’Donoghue 2nd, Kevin Kelleher 3rd.  Current gpN champion Colm Murphy set a string of gpN fastest times today.

In the National part of the rally with 1 stage remaining Brian Brogan and Joe Friel led in their Escort from Manus Kelly in his Lancer and Tom Holton 3rd in his Celica. 

Young Tadgh Buckley led the Fiesta Sporting Trophy contenders from Jonny Greer with Alastair Fisher 3rd.

Martin McCormick continued to lead the Historics in his Escort from Martin Leonard with Niall Creighton 3rd. Finally for now many thanks to all the Galway organisers for a terrific event and to all who supported the RallyNews service.

Galway Parc Ferme Leg 1 Complete
 
LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 8 (End of Leg 1)
1st (5) Eugene Donnelly/Paul Kiely (Impreza WRC) 1.08.06.6
2nd (1) Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen (Focus WRC) 1.08.12.0
3rd (2) Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Focus WRC) 1.09.44.4
4th (4) Eamonn Boland/Francis Regan (Focus WRC) 1.10.01.3
5th (8) Kevin Lynch/Gordon Noble (Focus WRC) 1.10.15.2
6th (3) Mark Higgins/Rory Kennedy (Impreza WRC) 1.10.21.8
7th (14) Stephen Murphy/MJ Morrissey (Impreza WRC) 1.10.26.4
8th (16) Michael Barrable/Dermot O'Gorman (Focus WRC) 1.11.14.1
9th (12) Ray Breen/Damien Morrissey (Focus WRC) 1.11.33.0
10th (11) Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Impreza WRC) 1.11.37.0
11th (9) Gareth Jones/David Moynihan (Focus WRC) 1.11.45.8
12th (6) Austin MacHale/Brian Murphy (Focus WRC) 1.12.08.3
 
Marcus Gronholm was fastest through the final stage of the day as he tried to make up time for his delay in stage 7 when his Focus WRC sustained a puncture. The former World Rally Champion was in good spirits as he put the car into parc ferme and said. “A little bit of everything today, I touched the stone and got the puncture.”  When queried on just how hard he was trying Marcus said. “I have made some mistakes but still trying to do fast times. He is doing well this Donnelly!”  As for Eugene, he commented. “This new car is some yoke compared to the other one, the things you can do are amazing but we are still learning it.  I had a wee issue with the launch procedure. I think subconsciously I was trying to save the car and maybe lifting my foot a tiny fraction and semi stalling.  But I think we have it cracked now, the last 3 stages were fine. I still feel the car is set up a wee bit soft for me but overall its fantastic”.  Gareth MacHale in 3rd said. “We’re happy enough now, we dropped over a minute earlier on and I don’t think we can make that back but its going well now and we’re getting accustomed to the new car and the left hand drive”. 
 
In direct contrast Mark Higgins is still totally frustrated with his run today and said. “Never felt anything as bad at times, no grip, totally sideways in 5th gear, not good”.  Eamonn Boland remarked that he had a good day apart from one stage where he made a few mistakes, left his braking a bit late and had an overshoot.  Kevin Lynch in 5th told us. “I’m confused, the car is set up completely different to anything I’ve been used to, its just not my way but we’re getting sorted, the turn in is different we’ve got by without any panel damage. I haven’t driven on these tyres either, I’m hanging in there”.  Stephen Murphy recovered from his stage 7 spin and set a good time through 8 and held on to 7th place with Michael Barrable in 8th.  Ray Breen dropped a place when his Focus gave power steering problems on the final stage. 
 
Patrick Elliott rounds off the top 10 with Gareth Jones 11th and Austin MacHale 12th. Austin had been up into 4th for a while until a puncture and a broken brake pipe spoiled his run.  He told us he also had some 5th gear trouble over the last 2 stages today and the mechanics will change the gear cluster in the morning. He went on to say that this is the car that Gareth drove on the Monte and it has always been a good fast car even though there is a lot of mileage on the engine.
 
In Group N James Foley just got ahead of Roy White over the last couple of stages. James changed on to a softer compound tyre while Roy seemed to lose just that fraction of his bite at the end saying he fell asleep a little on the last stage. Garry Jennings said his Lancer needs a new turbo and there is a long road run in the morning with lots of time due to the cancelled stage, so they will fit it then.  The boost was down to .8 on the la

Live Results:  RallyConnect.ie RallyNews.Net

Revised Time and Distance Schedule for Sunday here

As a mark of respect to the late Mairead Meehan, the Greenville stage has been cancelled. Stage 9/12 and 15 will not be run. 6 stages only on Sunday. Saturday is not affected.

Programmes will be on sale on Wednesday January 31st in the following outlets.

There is no Spectator access at the Shakedown Stage.
The location and times of the Shakedown stage are not being published by the Motor Club.
www.galwayinternational.com

Ger O Connell ( First Choice Flooring MD) Mayor Niall O Brolchain, Dennis Murphy 

(President Galway Motor Club), Inspector Derek Gannon (Mill Street)  

John O Connell ( Rally COC) (Photo Joe Lane)

OFFICIAL ENTRY LIST!!

Car Driver/Navigator (Make Model) [Class]

International/National
1 Gronholm, Marcus/Rautiainen, Timo (Ford Focus WRC 06) [8]
2 MacHale, Gareth/Nagle, Paul (Ford Focus WRC 06) [8]
3 Higgins, Mark/Kennedy, Rory (Subaru Impreza WRC) [8]
4 Boland, Eamonn/Regan, Francis (Ford Focus WRC) [8]
5 Donnelly, Eugene/Kiley, Paul (Subaru Impreza WRC) [8]
6 Machale, Austin/Murphy, Brian (Ford Focus WRC) [8]
7 McNulty, Tim/Nestor, Anthony (Subaru Impreza WRC) [8]
8 Lynch, Kevin/Noble, Gordon (Ford Focus WRC) [8]
9 Jones, Gareth/Moynihan, David (Ford Focus WRC) [8]
10 Hurson, Peadar/Connolly, Damien (Subaru Impreza WRC) [8]
11 Elliott, Patrick/Goodman, Paul (Subaru Impreza WRC) [8]
12 Breen, Ray/Morrissey, Damien (Ford Focus WRC) [8]
14 Murphy, Stephen/Morrissey, Michael Joe (Subaru Impreza WRC) [8]
15 Ingram, Jon/Ian, Hllsop (Subaru Impreza WRC) [8]
16 Barrable, Michael/O'Gorman, Dermot (Ford Focus WRC) [8]
17 Doherty, Martin/Cullen, Andrew (Subaru Impreza WRC) [8]
18 Fleming, John Joe/Robbie, Ward (Ford Focus WRC) [8]
19 Davies, Tony/Walsh, Patrick (Subaru Impreza WRC S9) [8]
20 Cullen, George/Kelly, Jakes (Subaru Impreza WRC S9) [8]
21 Dohery, Hugh Martin/McBride, Michael (Ford Focus WRC) [8]
22 Murphy, Colm/McLoughrey, Ger (Subaru Impreza N12) [4]
23 Jennings, Gary/Sherry, Enda (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
24 Leonard, Seamus/McVeigh, Gerry (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
25 White, Roy/McAuley, Stephen (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
26 Foley, James/Tba, (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
27 McGlaughlin, John/Shinnors, Greg (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
28 Fannin, Willie/Courtney, Mick (Subaru Impreza N12) [4]
29 Kelleher, Kevin/Kelleher, Martin (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
30 McCarrick, Noel/O'Donnell, Eugene (Subaru Impreza WRC) [8]
31 Devine, Seamus/Casey, Stephen (Subaru Impreza WRC) [8]
32 Raftery, Darragh/Tba, (Subaru Impreza WRC) [8]
33 White, Paddy/Stewart, Grainne (Ford Focus WRC) [8]
34 McCarthy, Luke/Hogan, David (Ford Focus WRC) [8]
35 Bird, Mike/Keane, Kevin (Subaru Impreza WRC) [8]
36 Cullen, James/Harryman, Alan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
37 Donoghue, Kevin/O'Leary, Joe (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
38 Cronin, Keith/Connell, Anthony (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7) [4]
39 Murphy, Owen/Nolan, Garry (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [3]
40 Quinn, Graham/Costell0, Martin (figgy) (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
41 Cathers, Trevor/Wilson, Dessie (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
42 Oreilly, Ollie/Kierans, Arthur (Ford Escort G3) [13]
43 Ballantine, Stanley/Hyland, Richard (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8.5) [4]
44 Daly, Eamon/Young, John (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
45 Reid, Shaun/McAuley, Damien (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
46 Harris, Gavin/Lafferty, Shaun (Subaru Impreza) [4]
47 Holton, Tom/Kenny, Francis (Toyota Celica) [15]
48 Courtney, Mark/Tba, (Toyota Celica) [15]
49 Gallagher, Paul/Reid, Karl (Toyota Corolla) []
50 McGee, Martin/Crawford, Damian (Ford Escort) [13]
51 Hallinan, Enda/Ward, Ollie (Honda Civic) [2]
52 McDermott, P.j./Harris, Sean (Subaru Impreza WRC S9) [8]
53 Price, Pat/O'Connor, Seamus (Subaru Impreza N12 B) [6]
54 Purtill, Paul/Lyons, David (Ford Escort) [11]
55 O'Mahoney, Brian/Higgins, John (Renault Clio S1600) [6]
56 Bushe, Andrew/Tba, (Citroen Saxo) [6]
57 Spain, Pat/McMahon, John C. (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
58 Ward, Martin/Conroy-ward, Linda (Ford Sierra) [14]
59 Brogan, Brian/Friel, Joe (Ford Escort) [13]
60 Drury, Raymond/Lennan, Domhnall (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
61 McElhinney, Gary/Charlesson, Johnny (Ford Escort Mk2) [14]
62 Flanagan, Sean/Millar, Brian (Subaru Impreza) [4]
63 Dempsey, Paul/Tba, (Subaru Impreza N9) [4]
64 Kelly, Pat/Flynn, Martin (Subaru Impreza) [16]
65 Nolan, Enda/Lyster, Michael (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
66 McEnroe, Paul/Healy, Ger (Subaru Impreza) [4]
67 McElhinney, Adrian S./McMenamin, Martin (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [4]
68 Elliott, Paul/Brady, Martin (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
69 Curley, Tom/Horan, Paul (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [16]
70 Meegan, Eugene/Powell, Stuart (Honda Civic) [3]
71 Cunningham, Martin/Cunningham, Jonathan (Honda Civic) [11]
72 Reddington, John/Muldoon, Ed (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
73 James, Ceiros/Kiely, Patrick (Opel Manta) [13]
74 Haliday, Tom/Tba, (Ford Escort Mk2) [12]
75 Morris, John/Sylver, Declan (Ford Escort Cosworth) [15]
76 Callanan, Pat/Sheil, Kenneth (Honda Civic Type R) [3]
77 Melia, Brian/Tba, (Honda Integra) [3]
78 Cahill, Tom/Conneely, Philip (Honda Integra) [7]
79 Gormally, Tom/Forde, Ross (Honda Civic Type R) [3]
80 Byrne, Connor/Byrne, Niall (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [4]
81 McBride, Danny/McElhinney, John (Mitsubishi Lancer) [4]
82 Muldoon, Tomas/Tba, (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) [4]
83 Tourish, Damiem/Tba, (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [4]
84 Dolan, Willie John/Doherty, Brian (Subaru Impreza) [4]
85 O'Keeffe, Brian/Moroney, Sean (Subaru Impreza N10) [4]
86 Stafford, James M/Ryan, Amy (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
87 Pierce, Neil/Oleary, Enda (Honda Civic) [11]
88 Carty, Mike/Breen, Craig (Honda Civic Type R) [3]
89 McHugh, Sean/Gannon, Aiden (Subaru Impreza) [16]
90 Conlon, Michael/Boyle, Adian (Ford Escort Mk2) [13]
91 Moran, Robert/Cleary, Mike (Ford Escort) [11]
92 McMonagle, Garret/McGuire, Mark (Honda Integra Type R) [7]
93 Hayes, Billy/Doheny, Pierce Jnr (Honda Civic Type R) [3]
94 McKenna, Brian/Curley, Cian (Toyota Celica GT4) [15]
95 Mulholland, John Gerard/McGlade, Dessie (Skoda Fabia) [8]
96 McDaid, Paddy/Lunn, Timmy (Honda Civic) [2]
97 Hodgins, Gerard/Forde, Patrick Jnr (Ford Escort) [14]
98 Randles, David/Duggan, Con (Nissan Almera) [7]
99 McGreal, James/Loughney, Michael (Subaru Impreza) [4]
100 Burke, John/Ryan, Kim (Peugeot 206) [6]
101 Cunningham, Micheal/McInerney, Charlie (Ford Escort Mk2) []
102 McBride, Adrian/Hicks, Rodney (Peugeot 206) [6]
103 O'Brien, Tommy/Synott, Kevin (Honda Civic) [11]
104 Quigley, David/Feeney, Derrick (Honda Civic EK4) [11]
105 McHugh, John/Gallagher, Declan (Toyota Corolla) [11]
106 Gilleece, Raymond/Gilleece, Sean (Honda Civic Type R) [3]
107 Forde, Colm/Trill, Johathan (Peugeot 206) [6]
108 Brogan, Ciaran/Tba, (Ford Escort) [12]
109 Forde, Declan/Ollerenshaw, Jason (Ford Escort) [10]
110 Hynes, Ian/Sherlock, Des (Honda Civic Type R) [3]
111 Duggan, Timothy/Tba, (Seat Ibeza) [7]
112 Conneely, Johnny "disco"/Davey, Aidan (Ford Escort Mk2) [11]
113 Folan, John/Ollerenshaw, Paul (Ford Puma S1600) [6]
114 Cremhish, John/Waltkins, Nicholas (Subaru Impreza) [4]
115 McDonagh, Ger/Lee, Kenneth (Honda Civic) [16]
116 Conneely, Jarlath/Casserly, Declan (Honda Civic) [16]
117 Gamble, Andrew/Vaughan, Mark (Nissan Micra) [5]
118 Brett, James/Crotty, Patrick (Honda Civic) [16]
119 Ruth, John Paul/Kelly, Sorcha (Peugeot 206) [7]
120 Callanan, Dermot/Conneely, Michael (Honda Civic) [11]
121 Murphy, Kieran/Grimes, Aisling (Ford Escort) [10]
122 Cogan, Edward/Shannon, Tony (Peugeot 205) [13]
123 Browne, Andrew/Sheridan, Barry (Peugeot 205) [12]
124 Stafford, James Francis/Codd, Richie (Peugeot 205) [12]
125 O'Grady, Seamus/Collins, Billy (Peugeot 205 GTi) [12]
126 Kehoe, Simon/Kennedy, Enda (Peugeot 306) [7]
127 Kelly, Aiden/Brisco, Ollie (Peugeot 205 GTi) [10]
128 Greaney, Maurice/O'Boyle, Mike (Honda Civic) [11]
129 Stewart, Andrew/Gallagher, Tony (MG ZR) [5]
130 Connolly, Brian/Tba, (TBC TBC) []
131 Lenehan, Joseph/Gibbons, Alan (Honda Civic) [9]
132 Kinneavy, Ronan/Callanan, Padraic (BMW M3) [14]

Historics
H1 Cunningham, Frank/Forde, Arron (Ford Escort Mk1) [C2]
H2 Farrell, John/Shiels, Enda (Ford Escort Mk1) []
H3 McCormack, Martin/Tba, (Ford Escort Mk2) []
H4 Treacy, Sean/Regan, Billy (BMW 2002) [C2]
H5 Flanagan, Kevin/Wall, Patrick (Austin Cooper S) [C1]
H6 Johnston, Mervin/McBride, Geraldine (Austin Cooper S) [B2]
H7 Devine, Mike/Treacy, Kevin (Ford Escort Mk2) [C2]
H8 Frontinan, Vincente/Hackett, Michael (Austin Mini) [B2]
H9 Creighton, Niall/Roberts, Gregory (Ford Escort RS) [B3]
H10 Sheil, Tom Joe/Tba, (Ford Escort) [C1]
H11 O'Shea, Jack/Duggan, Tara (Austin Mini) []
H12 Todd, William/Campbell, Nigel (Austin Mini Cooper S) [B2]
H13 Keane, Niall/Henaghan, Sean (Hillman Avenger) [C1]
H14 Kerlin, Philip/Anderson, Noel (Austin Cooper S) [B2]
H15 Stewart, Ernest/Tba, (Hillman Avenger) [C2]
H16 Dalton, Alan/Dalton, Kiernan (Hillman Imp) [B1]

Juniors
J1 Cunningham, Patrick/O'Brien, Shane (Honda Civic) [J2]
J2 Stafford, John/Kennedy, Anne-marie (Vauxhall Corsa) [J1]
J3 McBrearty, Declan/Furey, Steven (Toyota Corolla RWD) [J2]
J4 Friel, Aidan/Tba, (Honda Civic) [J2]
J5 Price, Richard/Tba, (Honda Civic) [J2]
J6 Doherty, Niall/Tba, (Peugeot 206) [J2]
J7 McKenna, Darren/McKenna, Nicloa (Toyota Corolla) []
J8 Moran, Sean/Mulcahy, Con (Toyota Corolla) [J2]
J9 Convey, Connor/Barrett, Brendan (Ford Escort Mk2) [J1]
J10 McMenamin, Gavin/Tba, (Toyota Corolla) [J2]
J11 Kinirons, Mark/Tba, (Citroen C2) [J2]
J12 O'Meara, Darragh/O'Meara, Tommy (Ford Ka) [J1]
J13 McAree, Vincent/McKenna, Jason (Peugeot 106) [J2]
J14 McElhinney, Damien/McGowan, Kevin (Peugeot 206) [J2]
J15 Donoghue, Niall/Kennedy, Trevor (Honda Civic) [J2]
J16 Finnerty, Darren/Tba, (Toyota Corolla) [J2]
J17 Casserly, Dermot/O'Shaughnessy, John (Honda Civic EK4) [J2]
J18 Higgins, Allen/Conroy, Peter (Ford Escort Mk2) [J2]
J19 Ryan, David/Leonard, Orla (Peugeot 205 GTi) [J2]
J20 Doory, Padraig/Tba, (Suzuki Swift GTI) [J1]
 

“Gronholm for Championship opener in Galway”
A new year, a new Tarmac Championship and what a year its going to be!! The BP -Ford World Rally Team have confirmed an entry on The 2007 First Choice Flooring Galway International Rally, for Marcus Gronholm and Timo Rautiainen. The prospect of a former World Rally Champion competing on the stages in Galway is not to be missed.1second is all that separated Marcus from his third title in 2006. The pair will compete in a 06 spec Ford Focus WRC, run by M-Sport.

The latest spec Focus which will be in action in the rally!

Rautiainen has accompanied Grönholm to 25 WRC victories and world titles in 2000 and 2002. He stands second in the all-time list of WRC victories for co-drivers and has won his native Rally Finland on six occasions in the last seven years. The pair now have the longest running partnership in the WRC.

The rally will once again be the first round of the Irish Tarmac RallyChampionship and The Irish Historic Rally Championship. The Junior Rally will cover all 9 stages on the Sunday.
We are delighted to continue our association with First Choice FlooringLtd. as our main sponsor for the event and we are indebted to them for their most generous support.

The Rally HQ for 2007 has moved to The Clayton Hotel, Galway. You will be assured of a warm welcome and excellent entertainment during the weekend. Friday the 2nd of February will bring a new departure for the Galway International, with a ceremonial Rally start being planned for 8pm in Eyre Square. The organisers hope to have the Micro-Cam Big Screen in Eyre Square to broadcast the start and finish of the rally on Sunday evening.

The Rally will leave Galway early on Saturday morning for105 stage kms in a three stage configuration with centralised servicing in Portumna Mart and visiting Gurtymadden, Portumna and Eyrecourt areas. The focus on Sunday will shift to Ballinasloe with 140 stage kms running from the Caltra area to Ballyfa, centralised servicing will be in theBallinasloe Mart.

Current Irish Tarmac Champion, Eugene Donnelly will be in Galway to begin the defence of his “ Triple Crown”. The man from Maghera has retired his double championship winning, Corolla WRC and will make his first competitive outing in a newly acquired Subaru S12 WRC.

Gareth MacHale will tackle the demanding Galway stages in a new Ford Focus WRC. It will be his first competitive outing in the car, following a successful test with M-Sport, last December. Austin MacHale having won the Galway International 6 times, will have high hopes for Gareth.

Austin MacHale, Mark Lovell and Eugene Donnelly are the only drivers to have back to back wins in Galway. Eugene Donnelly and Austin MacHale have both won Galway and gone on to win the Tarmac Championship. Former Tarmac Champion, Bertie Fisher also had 2 Galway victories to his credit. Hugh Martin Doherty has plans to tackle the Galway International in his Ford Focus WRC.

Local Galway crew Mike Bird and Kevin Keane have acquired an ex- Solberg Subaru Impreza WRC S8. The pair are backed by West Properties Int. The car is being prepared by DMG Motorsport, to arrive in Galway within the next 2 weeks.
Gerard Hodgins has a newly built G3 which makes its rally debut in February.

In 2004, 0.7 of a second and a “ Flying Finn” combined to wrench victory from “The Genie”. I have no doubt that the team in Donnelly Motorsport have no wish to see a repeat in 2007. It remains to be seen if the switch to Subaru can get Eugene a place in the history books by claiming 3 back to back Galway wins.

Galway Motor Club and First Choice Flooring Ltd, fully support the “Keep The Race in its Place” campaign. We have made every effort to organise a safe and enjoyable rally for everyone. Please remember that future rallies depend on the cooperation of the residents on the stages.

Will it be a Ford or a Subaru first across the finish ramp? Join the action in Galway on February 2nd,3rd and 4th to see for yourself. 

Top Class entry for Galway
The entries for the First Choice Flooring Galway International Rally are flying in. The top twenty will be one of the best that the Irish Tarmac Championship has seen in recent years. The list will include a double “World Rally Champion”, a double “British Rally Champion”, Irelands only driver registered for points in the WRC. The “Genie” from Maghera ( Triple Irish Tarmac Champion) will return to defend his title.

Entries of note received so far

Marcus Gronholm / Timo Rautiainen – Ford Focus WRC
Mark Higgins / Rory Kennedy – Subaru Impreza WRC
Tim McNulty / Anthony Nestor- Subaru Impreza WRC
Eugene Donnelly / Paul Kiely – Subaru Impreza WRC
Ray Breen / Damien Morrissey – Ford Focus WRC
JJ Flemming / TBA – Ford Focus WRC
George Cullen / Jakes Kelly – Subaru Impreza WRC
Enda Nolan / Michael Lyster – Mitsubishi EVO 9
Gary Jennings / Enda Sherry- EVO 9
Colm Murphy / Ger Loughrey – Subaru Impreza
Trevor Cathers / Dessie Wilson – EVO 9
James Foley / TBA – EVO 9
Willie Fannin / Mick Courtney – Subaru Impreza N12

Martin Ward / Linda Conroy – Ford Sierra
Mike Bird / Kevin Keane – Impreza S8
Pat Spain / John C McMahon – Escort Mark 2
Neil Pierce / Enda O Leary – Honda Civic

A New Challenge for Owen Murphy. - EVO 9 for Galway and Tarmac Championship
Owen Murphy, the 2006 "Billy Coleman young rally driver of the year" would like to announce that he will be competing in the Irish Tarmac Championship in a Gp N Yokohama Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 in 2007.

The car, a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 will be of similar specification to the works Yokohama car used by Nutahara in the P-WRC.Owen's car will run on 18 inch Advan Yokohama tyres to accomodate the latest homologated brakes.

Owen would like to welcome back all his sponsors from last year including title sponsors Yokohama, Mac Tyres Ireland, O'Flynn Construction, O'Brien Crowley, Permafrost and Irish Aggregates.

Owen would like to welcome on board Compomotive Wheels and will be the first Irish driver to debut the new 18 inch Compomotive (CXT) wheel specially developed for the new Group N homologated tarmac brakes.

Owing to the lateness of the deal, Owen will not have any time to test the car before the Galway International Rally, so his ability to adapt to a new car and a new championship will be fully put to the test.

The car will be run by KG Motorsport

The Entry list for the 2007 Galway International rally will be released this weekend (20th/21st Jan.)

Austin MacHale entered in Galway
Galway Motor Club have confirmed that Austin MacHale has entered the 2007 Galway International Rally. Car TBA.

Rally Programmes
Rally Programmes will be able from Wednesday 31st January, in Newsagents and Fuel Stations along the rally Route - (Galway City, (Caltra) Portumna, (Ballyfa) Ballinasloe etc.)
Programme will contain full Colour Maps and Timetable.

Revised Time and Distance Schedule

New HQ
The headquarters for the Rally will be located at Galway's newest hotel - the Clayton at Ballybrit.
In addition to being the location for documentation scrutiny, the rally HQ willalso be the entertainment hub for the weekend.

Prelimerary Details
The main sponsor will again be First Choice Flooring.
The Saturday stages will be based around Portumna and the Sunday loop will be based around Ballinasloe.