RALLY NEWS NO.1 Mt. Errigal Hotel/Friday morning 09.00
Just one driver in the massive line-up for this Topaz Donegal International rally has won the event before. That driver is reigning Tarmac Champion Eugene Donnelly. Co-driven by Paul Kiely in a Skoda WRC, Eugene will surely bring an extra dimension to the race here for Donegal Rally honours, but following a lay-off from the sport this season, Eugene said adamantly in the run-up to the start, “I’ll be happy to just get the Skoda to the finish!” Surely that must be taken with a pinch of salt! Eugene also said, “We have the suspension sorted, longer drive shafts, two piston struts, but the on-going problem is that it’s a 5 speed car but is mapped for 6 speed, so lacks top speed in the high gears.”
Certainly this Donegal Rally is a long tough event, and the pace should be frenetic, but when Eugene gets behind the wheel of a rally car, he can never be underestimated. Being round five of the Global Group Tarmac Championship, it’s the chief protagonists at the top of that contest – Gareth MacHale, Eamonn Boland, Tim McNulty and Derek McGarrity, who will almost certainly set the early pace. There are a handful of drivers such as Kevin Lynch and PJ McDermott of course who will be fighting hard as well for one of the coveted Donegal podium places. Niall Maguire, Patrick Elliott, Glenn Allen and Daniel Doherty are also in World Rally Cars, and all are more than capable of lasting the course and being well on the pace on this gruelling rally.
Realistically though, it’s the guys with the International Tarmac Championship pedigree that we can expect to be at the front. Eamonn Boland has taken his Subaru to three consecutive victories, and heads the Tarmac championship with 55 points, as against Tim McNulty on 29. Kevin Kelleher in his GpN Lancer is 3rd and Aaron MacHale is 4th. Aaron is away on honeymoon now of course. Kevin Kelleher has done a great job in the series so far, but the Clonakilty man will be hard pushed to improve on his overall standings on this one. Gareth MacHale is down in 6th and Derek McGarrity 9th. Both have had mixed seasons so far, but both are up for it here. Gareth, who is No1 on the road with his Focus WRC, has never won a round of the Tarmac, and it would certainly be a dream come true if he was to achieve it here in Donegal, scene of so many famous exploits of his father Austin.
Eamonn Boland has had a fabulous run so far this season, and there is nothing to suggest he can’t carry that forward here, his Subaru prepared to the ‘Nth degree’ by his Buckley Motorsport Team. Tim McNulty has also shown a fantastic turn of speed this season, and although he hasn’t actually won any of the rounds, he has led three of them. Tim’s Subaru broke its gearbox earlier this week in testing, but better happening there than on Brenagh, and the car is fine now. Derek McGarrity seems to be getting all his old flair back following his long fight back after his Manx accident. Derek loves these Donegal stages, so we can expect the Glengormley man to ‘turn it on’. Kevin Lynch is a tad disappointed to be driving his old Focus, instead of his newer Subaru, but he has decorated his Ford in ‘Shackleton’ decals to promote his Motorsport weekend at Ballykelly. He is determined to last the course here in order to give the Shackleton event maximum publicity.
PJ McDermott was testing his Voodoo backed Subaru yesterday, and with the help of the Prodrive engineers PJ reckons he has achieved an optimum set-up. He is just bursting to get at these stages! (Definition of voodoo – black religious cult practised in the Caribbean, characterised by sorcerers and spiritual possession!!)
Niall Maguire and Patrick Elliott are concentrating very much on the National series this year, and although they will surely be going hard here, that is where their maximum efforts lie. Glenn Allen was forced to admit last weekend on the Mourne that his 10 year old Corolla WRC is now being outgunned by the newer machinery, but Glenn plans to be there at the end.
There were several high profile names, including Mark Higgins, Andrew Nesbitt and James Cullen, who were hoping to do the rally but for various reasons couldn’t. However, there is more than enough interest at the top to make it a great weekend. Plus there are many more angles. Just some of them include Kris Meeke driving the giant-killing Excel Clio Super 1600. Former Production World Champion Niall McShea is in a GpN Lancer, and that’s the icing on a fabulous GpN cake. Just some of the top names in GpN include Seamus Leonard, local man Paul Harris, Garry Jennings, John McGlaughlin and Kevin Kelleher. Former GpN Champion Roy White also joins the GpN fray in his new MG Super 2000.
Similarly, the battle between the modifieds in the National division, with Phil Collins the benchmark but facing a horde of fabulous Mk2 Escorts, plus the likes of David Bogie in his Metro 6R4, will surely be a special chapter on its own. Add on the Historics, the Juniors, the Fiesta Sporting Trophy, and this sure will be a busy rallying weekend.
More news later: BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net
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