Whereas wintry conditions prevailed through much of Ireland last Saturday it was almost benign at Kirkistown for the UAC/500 MRCI New Year Stages. Kenny McKinstry/Noel Orr in their Impreza WRC came out best of the 32 starters, with Derek McGarrity/James McKee finishing 2nd. Derek had his Mini WRC in front initially, but was outpaced by the Subaru towards the end of the six-stage event. Jonny and Barry Greer were in a brand new Citroen DS3R5 and had a good run to finish 3rd. Emma McKinstry, in a Subaru, was 4th, Drew Stewart 5th and best of the two-wheel drive entrants in his Escort. Dominic McNeill (Lancer) rounded off the top half dozen.

Ashley Dickson/Jackie Elliott in an Evo 9 won GpN from Gary Rodgers/Brian Crawford, also in a Lancer. Kieron Graffin did lead GpN but his Mitsubishi was sidelined on stage 4. Kieron was driving his Evo X, which was not long back from winning GpN on Rally Spain but a gear selector pin broke at Kirkistown.

There were also 8 Junior contenders competing on the rally. Josh and Thomas McErlean had a narrow victory over Daniel Harper/Andrew Bushe, both crews in Peugeot 107`s. Peter Bennett/Arthur Kierans were 3rd in a Citroen C1. Competition amongst the top Juniors was fierce, and they certainly showed a lot of talent.

Main field class winners included Colin Price/James Stevenson (Corsa), Kyle White/Wendy Blackledge (Citroen C2), David Strain/Rudy Tate (Peugeot 205), Drew Stewart/Steven Park (Escort).

After the rally Kenny McKinstry told us, “I went home with a wee smile on my face alright. I nearly threw it away – on stage 5 a power steering pipe burst, and then on the last stage, at a sort of square right into a hairpin right, the car went round on me and I had to reverse. But somehow I pulled it back. I was using these new American Housier tyres, and they worked very well.”

Normally the man to beat at Kirkistown is Derek McGarrity. The NI Champion had a new engine in his Mini WRC and he told us, “My car went well, make no mistake, very well, but we are running the car in the International spec, with the 32mm restrictor. There is no chance that a 1600 car will beat the 2 litre Subarus at Kirkistown. As well as that we caught a couple of slower cars and had to sit behind them, which cost time. But a good 1600 WRC will not beat a 2-litre WRC. That`s why, for instance, I won`t be doing the Tarmac Championship. It doesn`t make sense. I may get another Subaru and do the NI Championship plus a few Tarmac rounds, such as the Circuit and Donegal, but not the Championship itself.”

Contrasting with the bright conditions at Kirkistown, the Cork MC`s 1000 Shakes Navigation Trial was more akin to an Arctic Rally. Young David Beamish, with Muireann Hayes on the maps, showed great commitment and `forestry style` to come out tops in his road going Impreza, from Valvoline champion Owen Murphy, co-driven by Daire Evans. Owen was in his Forester. Obviously Subarus were the car for the conditions. The top nine cars had the oval six star badge. Daniel Cronin was the first non-Subaru finisher, 10th in his Corolla. 1000 Shakes Clerk of the Course Greg Shinnors said afterwards that he was in two minds whether to `pull the pin or keep going`, so difficult were the conditions. There were stories of marshals persuading farmers on tractors to pull their cars up hills so that they could get to their allocated checkpoints. The route traversed places such as Mullaghaneirsk forest, which had 4 inches of frozen snow. Meelin, the highest village in Ireland, was a winter wonderland. Somehow the marshals and the crews got through. As much as anything, Greg felt he owed it to all his marshals to keep the rally going. Despite everything, all controls were manned.

Several of the top drivers didn`t get the benefit – an icy square right meaning an early bath for two of the top five. Des Cooney, with Roy White co-driving, was using the ditches to try and find some grip in the forests, but his Subaru got sucked in and was marooned. As Roy said later, “It was tough going, full snow, very wintry!”

Looking forward to this weekend, snow could again be a factor, both on the WRC Monte Carlo as well as closer to home on the Mid Antrim Icebreaker stages through Ballypatrick. Icebreaker CoC Simon Michael has been in a real quandary for the past week, wondering whether the rally would go ahead. Not because of the snow, but the low entry level. Ballymena man Simon faced the conundrum of whether to keep forging on, with the possibility of the club losing a lot of money, or having the confidence to press on and that would prompt competitors to enter. Well, the decision is made to press on, so fair play to Simon.

In overall terms though, this situation that has been allowed to develop where competitors get away with not entering until the very last moment is putting a very unfair burden on volunteer organisers. After all, at our level of rallying in Ireland, clubs are putting rallies together for competitors, and in theory everyone should be in together, with fair play on both sides. As we go to print, the entry list for the Icebreaker is definitely thin. Top seeds are possibly going to be Desi Henry, Martin Cairns, Kieron Graffin, Niall Henry, Paul Britton and Dermot O`Hagan. Certainly, for a £200 entry fee, this 6 stage Carey Floorcare Equipment backed Icebreaker Rally in Ballyboley Forest seems a very attractive proposition.

On the Monte Carlo Rally, the Volkswagen team of Ogier and Latvala top the bill, from the two points scoring Citroen appointed drivers Kris Meeke and Sebastien Loeb. Elfyn Evans and Ott Tanak are Ford`s hope for points. Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo fly the Hyundai flag. There is at least another half a dozen drivers in `works` WRC cars who could make the podium. Such is the unpredictable nature of the Monte. Just one of the pre-start talking points is of course how will 9 times WRC champion Sebastien Loeb fare. Brilliant as he is, this is going to be difficult for him. Latest reports are that there is snow in the mountains so the rally could be difficult enough. As well as Kris Meeke, `home` drivers include Craig Breen, Daniel McKenna and Eamonn Boland.

News on the Historic Rally front is that the MSA British Historic Championship is to dovetail with the RAC Championship. Gareth Lloyds` West Wales Rally Spares concern is to continue to sponsor the Championship. The opening round is the Red Kite (1st February). Former Champion Dessie Nutt, with Geraldine McBride co-driving in his Porsche, is again contesting the MSA British Historics, which will diverge away from the RAC to contest the double header Manx in the autumn. The RAC part of the Championship is widening its scope so that the next generation of historic cars, up to 1990, will be able to participate. There will also now be an Open category for pre `87 non-historic two wheel drive cars. Part of the Championship`s aim is to cater for clubman competitors. Part of that is that just six tyres will be allowed per car per event.

The Donegal Forestry, opening round of the Valvoline Forestry series, continues to gather momentum, although CoC Johnny Baird reports that the forests have been choked with snow for the past week, which has restricted access into the forests. As hinted at, Philip Morrow, with Jonny Hart co-driving, has made an entry, to add to those of top runners such as Josh and Sam Moffett as well as Enda McNulty and Kieron Graffin. Mickey Conlon/Ciaran McPhillips in their Escort have joined the two-wheel drive list.

The Donegal Forestry is on Saturday 31st January, and that evening there are two prizegivings scheduled. The Top Part West Coast championship awards evening in the Balygarry House Hotel in Tralee as well as the ANICC awards in Armagh. The Top Part sponsorship of the West Coast has been going for 21 years, which must be some sort of record. Hugh Hunter and his co-driver Andy Marchbank should be present to collect the top award. Paddy McVeigh was 2nd in the Championship, Steve Wood 3rd.

Meanwhile looking further ahead, the Rally for Heroes at Aldershot is making a welcome return. This stage rally ran once before, two years ago, and against the odds was a huge success. It is good to see it back – the date for the event is April 10th/11th.