Reid and Breen bring the battle to Cork. This season the Hankook National forestry championship has provided exciting and closely fought Irish Motorsport with 5 rounds completed the championship could not be closer. Meath's John Reid is leading the championship by a slender one point margin over Waterford's Ray Breen. Drop scores are still to be taken into consideration but in rallying anything can happen and that anything could just be happening in Cork this weekend. Cork Motor club with Darren McCarthy at the helm have provided classic events in recent years and this year we will see The Tadhg O Conaill Heating & Plumbing Jim Walsh Cork Forest Rally run in a new competitor friendly format. As a response to the rising cost of competing over 2 days the club have taken the helpful step of condensing almost the length of two days into the value of one. Instead of the traditional two days in Cork forests this year the rally will now consist of one long days rallying on some of the nicest and best known forest stages in the country and will boast 100 stage kms with 230 road kms. The first car leaves Parc Fermé at 08.30am and returns at 19.00. Rally Headquarters is at the Commons Inn Hotel, New Mallow Road, Cork. Ray Breen & Martin Brady are number one seeds in their Ford Focus Wrc, the pair had a sizeable accident while leading the last round in Wexford and they will be hoping to settle in early and banish he ghosts of the last day in the woods. John Reid & Enda Shiels are next in the almost bomb proof Corolla, John has driven with great consistency all year and it has rewarded him with the lead in the series he will no doubt keep Breen concentrated right to the finish. Denis Cronin & Helen O Sullivan are on home ground this time out, yet it is their debut on the Cork Forestry rally. Denis is having a superb debut year in the woods and his speed is such now that a win may be on the cards this weekend. Dominic Mc Neil is at 4 in the former championship winning car once campaigned by John McCarthy, however Dominic and co driver Francis Kenny are currently working hard to repair an electrical gremlin in the car and it will be a rush to the start ramp for them. James Murphy & James O Brien round off the top 5, James always puts on a strong showing in Cork and if he has luck and stays free of mechanical curses then he will be at the sharp end of the hunt. The forests in Cork are classics and the first loop see two passes through the Bweeng and Mt Hilary with service in Mallow at the Quartertown Industrial estate between the loop. These stages will be familiar to many and have caught out a few so the novices to these roads may need a small element of caution. The event then moves to the massive Ballyhoura complex and tackles the arduous Streamhill stage which runs a seemingly never-ending 22kms. If car and crew make it to the end of that test then waiting to greet then is Coolfree which at 7.7kms may seem short in comparison to Streamhill but with its tight and long corners which wait at the end of long straights it is equally difficult. Then the cars return to Mallow for service and then return out to Ballyhoura for a repeat of Streamhill and Coolfree. The curtain closer for the rally is the 9km of Peters Hill, a fast and flowing stage that has seen the deciding of many last stage battles in previous years. Then it's back at the finish at 7.00pm for the champagne reception. Cork Motor club have re jigged the traditional format and still delivered 9 classic stages with central service in Mallow after every two. The beauty of the new format is that everyone will have all day Sunday to relax and head back home. In Group N the battle will be fierce and expect to see some of these machines parking themselves on the Saturday night podium. Colin Britton & Arthur Kiearns have shown their speed many times over the previous seasons and now they have to contend with Pete McCullagh & Alan Dolan they made a triumphant return to the series in Moonraker and promptly astounded with their pace. Pete makes appearances only occasionally but when he does appear he is always on the pace right from the first kilometre. Also returning to the Irish forests is a former pacesetter Owen Murphy, the former Coleman award winner will drive a Group N Evo 9 hired from SP Motorsport, it is the ex Richard Cathcart Lancer and it is a car that has been a pacesetter amongst Evo's in many forests already in 2008, expect Owen to continue with the cars pedigree. Owen will be navigated by Rodney Hicks from Fermanagh. In 2wd there will be the familiar battle with Frank Kelly and local co driver Liam Brennan leading the charge. Seamus O Connell and Rally.ie mogul Brian Duggan will be next on their heels, as will Brian Lawlor & Peter Kavangah as there are fresh from a successful shakedown on the Dogleap rally. Add into that mix other 2wd challengers like Roche or Coleman and this could be where the real battle of the rally will take place. While the battle or overall honours at the front of the list may draw most attention there are also raging battles going on in the other classes. In the junior class JP Ruth leads on 23 points with Bernard Mulvihill and Amy Moynihan in joint second on 14. In the Rory Galligan Irish 205 challenge Ultan McGowan holds the lead on 63 points with Andy Slattery 2nd on 49 points and DJ Browne third on 47 points, again drop scores will add further spice to the calculations as after dropped scores are taken into account it reads: McGowan 49, Browne 47, Mahon 46, Burns 44, Slattery 39, Sharkey 37, English 33, Guerin 30, Cooney 27. The Jim Walsh Cork Forestry Rally is round 6 of the National Junior rally Championship (NJRC) After five rounds of the NJRC (two of which have been on gravel) Vincent McAree leads the NJRC with 36 points ahead of Peter Wilson (32), Ross Forde (30), Eamon Power (28) and Damien McCarthy (26). The winner of the NJRC gets a supported drive in a National Rally in 2009. The class winners of the NJRC will be interviewed for the Billy Coleman Award, worth €32,000 Cork Forestry has provided classic rallies and battles in the past and this year will undoubtedly deliver the same. Last minute entries are still available so a welcome is waiting for competitors and spectators alike, the action begins early on Saturday morning don't miss it.
SURFACE CHANGE FOR CHALLENGE CREWS Saturday the sixteenth of August will see round five of Irelands biggest one make championship tackle gravel roads on the Cork motor clubs forestry stages rally starting from the rebel city of Cork. Eighty stage miles contained all within a one day format this year will face the challenge drivers taking part. For the majority it will be their first time on loose surface roads, an early start on Saturday morning before two ten kilometer stages repeated after a service halt will certainly punish anyone who is not awake early. From here the rally moves to the forests of north Cork to some of the best gravel roads in the country. For the boys new to forest racing, one hopes they will have quickly learned what the pitfalls are as they face a mammoth twenty three kms stage which will test even the most hardened of forestry drivers. This is followed by a twelve km stage before service to repair cars and most probably drivers before these two stages are repeated. A final ten km stage on the run back to Cork city will settle a fantastic days rallying. The championship is at a critical point for all the drivers with forty points to be won on the final two rounds. Mathematically speaking eight drivers could possible win this years challenge when dropped scores are taken in to account. Looking at the form book for this event though the odds on favorite would have to Barry Mahon from Tallaght who has contested the rally for the past two years. Some good stage times on both occasions could give him the edge this year. The challenge leader heading to Cork is Ulton McGowan from Sligo who scored top points alongside Kerrill Waters on this event last year and has shown to be a fast learner behind the wheel. A calculated drive on round three in Cavan produced a clear victory for him so don’t be surprised if he stays out of trouble and pulls off his second win of the season. Local ace DJ Browne could be another surprise package on this his home event. Fresh from his first challenge win on the last round, Browne will be keen to show well and maintain his challenge for the championship crown. Behind these three who are also the top three in the challenge on dropped scores separated by just three points comes the new boys to forestry roads and any of them could pull off the surprise of the championship. Andy Slattery, Shane Burns, Sean Sharkey, Richard Guerin and Aidan Cooney have all shown great speed and commitment so far this year. Indeed Burns has won a round already, Slattery has come close and Cooney has led outright on more than one occasion. My wager from this bunch is going on Sharkey though who has been a top grade motocross rider in the past and should be well suited to the sliding motion experienced on the stages. Some good times on previous events has proved the speed is there but just maybe his fitness is showing towards the end of rallies as he slackens off his pace a bit too much. Damien McGauran has decided to sit this rally out after a bad run of luck but should be back for the final round. Points and Postions after dropped scores are taken into account: McGowan 49, Browne 47, Mahon 46, Burns 44, Slattery 39, Sharkey 37, English 33, Guerin 30, Cooney 27.
Programme outlets are: Costcutter Ballyhea. Murphys Campus Garage on the Mallow/Killarney Road. Shanahans Filling Station Killavullen,(on the Mallow/Castletownroche Road) Supermacs Mallow Filling Station Kildorrery Filling Station Grenagh
August is here and the countdown is on! Saturday the 16th of August sees the running of Round 6 of the Hankook Tyres National Forest Rally Championship,The Tadhg O Conaill Heating&Plumbing Jim Walsh Cork Forest Rally. The rally runs in a new competitor friendly format this year in that, instead of the two days run in the past, the rally will now consist of one long days rallying on some of the nicest and best known forest stages in the country and will boast 100 stage kms with 230 road kms. The day starts with first car off the ramp at 8.30 am and out into the first loop which entails two runs over Bweeng and Mt Hilary before heading on for the Ballyhoura complex and the first run over the massive Streamhill stage which runs for 22kms. Next stage is Coolfree which at 7.7kms will give the crews time to settle back down before service and then a repeat of Streamhill and Coolfree. The final stage of the day will be Peters Hill and first car is due back at the finish at 7.00pm, in all 9 excellent stages with service in Mallow after each two.The beauty of the new format is that everyone will have all day Sunday to head back home. The Championship is wide open with two rounds to go with 20 points for the win and just 7 points separating the top three and another 20 points making up the gap to the top five. Championship Leader is John Reid(Corolla WRC) who is expected to defend his lead here with entries already in from second placed Ray Breen(Focus WRC) and third placed Denis Cronin(Impreza WRC). Also confirmed on the entry list is Dominic McNeil(Corolla WRC) James Murphy(Escort WRC) Frank Kelly(Escort Mk2) Brian Lawlor(Escort Mk2) with Adrian Hetherington,Seamus O Connell and others also taking part. The rally is also a counting round of the Motorsport Ireland National Junior Rally Champioship which is also very close at the top. JP Ruth leads the forestry junior class on 23 points with Bernard Mulvihill and Amy Moynihan in joint second on 14. In the Rory Galligan Irish 205 challenge Ultan McGowan holds the lead on 63 points with Andy Slattery 2nd on 49 points and DJ Browne third on 47 points. So,with the overall positions being so close in all three championships and the class battles far from sorted out this event is sure to be a cracker,regulations are still available on http://www.corkmotorclub.com/ so get yours in now(if you haven't already)and make sure you don't miss out on what one competitor once called "Donegal on Gravel" More on http://www.corkmotorclub.com/
NEW COMPETITOR FRIENDLY FORMAT FOR CORK FOREST RALLY.
The 2008 Jim Walsh Cork Forest Rally is to run under a new format in 2008 which is aimed at making the event more practical and certainly more fun for all involved. The major change is that instead of the 2 day format which has been run over the last few years the event will now consist of one LONG days rallying on the Saturday with prizegiving leading on to a nights entertainment of music and dance,and all day Sunday to make the journey home thus making the whole weekend an enjoyable and social occasion,(once the serious business of Rallying on the Saturday is complete of course). Tadhg O Conaill Heating & Plumbing of Ballyvourney,Co,Cork are once again the Title sponsors of the rally. The rally route will consist of approx 100 kms of competitive stages(including two runs over a 21.7 km stage) on the traditional North Cork forest stages that have made the Cork Forest Rally one of the most popular in these Islands,there will be approx 230 road kms. First car will leave Parc Ferme at 08.30 on Saturday 16th of August and return to the final control at 19.00,with prizegiving and entertainment starting at 10.00pm so that everyone will have time to get on the dancing shoes. Drivers briefing will be held at 10.00pm on Friday night,immediately after documentation,to allow for the early start on Saturday morning. Speaking on the format change C.O.C. Darren Mc Carthy said “We are constantly looking for ways to make our events more competitor friendly and we feel the one long day format running on the Saturday is the way to go. If the rally were in the two day format scrutiny and documentation would be on the Friday anyway so there’s nothing different there.The big difference is the fact that once the days rallying is over everybody will have time to enjoy the prizegiving and entertainment that’s being laid on without having to worry about getting back up the road and into work on Monday morning,so all in all it should lead to a much more relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere for the weekend.It also reduces the entry fee without losing too much stage mileage,and in these financially challenging times that can only be a good thing.” The Rally hosts round 7 of the Hankook Tyres National Forest Rally Championship,The Rory Galligan Irish 205 Challenge,the National Junior Rally Championship and the Cork Motor Club Members Championship.
Rally Headquarters will be the Commons Inn Hotel,New Mallow Road,Cork. Regulations will be available shortly to download on http://www.corkmotorclub.com/. For further details contact
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The 2008 Jim Walsh Cork Forestry Rally is expected to run a long one day format on Saturday 16th August. The rally will include 2 runs at a 23km stage
