Wexford Stages Rally

The 2014 TRITON SHOWERS South East Stages Rally Championship has reached penultimate round, this weekend’s Wexford Stages Rally. It’s strange to write this, as the Wexford rally has so long been the final counting and deciding rally of this championship. Maybe it will decide the ultimate destination of the championship but patience and time will tell.

The Tipperary Motorclub’s Stonethrowers Rally run in the hinterland of Clonmel and Ardfinnan proved to be a testing and demanding event. The summer weather of so many weeks deserted the South Tipperary region with frequent showers to cause the conditions to change from stage to stage and also the prospects of finishing for many of the crews. Hard luck stories abounded and with some inspired tyre selection the brave and the bold persevered to take the well-deserved spoils.

Points wise the overall positions of the 2014 TRITON SHOWERS South East Stages Rally have changed. Mickey Conlon and Ciaran McPhillips, Escort MK2, 71 points, are the new overall leaders by the slender margin of one point. This crew revelled in the conditions in the Stonethrowers finishing fifth overall and first two wheel drive “saloon” to cross the finish line. They also won class 5 to take maximum championship points. Their ability on both tarmac and forestry is without question and are pushing on hard to take the winner’s laurels.

Slipping just that little bit is the Wicklow crew of Douglas Stewart and Billy Ryan in the class 3 Peugeot 206 with 70 points. This is their first venture onto tarmac this year but their winning forestry ways deserted them on tarmac. Third in class was their reward in the forestry prepared car with minor modifications to adapt it for tarmac. A truly clubman performance that is to be commended. But with one forestry event still to come the door is still open for them to succeed.

Third overall and maintaining this position is last year’s TRITON SHOWERS South East Stages Rally Championship winner, Pierce Doheny and Eilish Dunne, class 1, Opel Corsa on 66 points. Consistency and finishing every event that they started has been the hallmark of their season. Their biggest obstacle has been the lack of class competitors which is denying them the chances of scoring maximum points for winning their class. But that’s the structure of this championship. Opposition is required for competition to ensure a level playing field for this class based championship.

Class 1.

1 Ken Treacy / P. Knox.                                              Peugeot 206.               32 pts.

2 Andrew Fanning / D Gibbs.                                     Ford Ka.                       26 pts.

 

Class 2.

1 Niall Fitzpatrick /   G. Fitzpatrick                            Escort MK1                  57 pts.

2 Kieran O’Sullivan / P. O’Gorman.                            Escort MK2.                 52 pts.

3 Francis Kelly / C. Egan.                                           Opel Corsa.                 47 pts.

 

Class 3. 

1 Andy Nash / F. Dwyer.                                           Honda Civic.                60 pts.

2 Richard Dalton / G. Nash.                                       Honda Civic.                37 pts.

3 Bobby Hennessey / S. J. Stamp.                              Escort MK2.                 36 pts.

 

Class 4. 

1 Sean W. Benskin / J. Fitzgibbon.                            Escort MK2.                 48 pts.

2 Ray Benskin (jnr) / N. Hegarty.                              Escort MK2.                 40 pts.

3 LiamO’Neill / D. O’Neill.                                        Escort MK2.                 30 pts.

 

Class 5.

1 Emmet Lyons / Kevin Purcell.                                Honda Civic.                47 pts.

2 Shane McGirr / Martin MacGarrity.                      Toyota Starlet.             45 pts.

3 James Coleman / Liam Brennan.                           Escort MK2.                 36 pts.

 

Class 6.

1 Paul Barrett / Declan Tumilty.                                Mitsubishi EVO 6.       36 pts.

2 Mark Murphy / A. Wyllie.                                        Mitsubishi Evo 8.        34 pts.

3 Dan O’Brien / M. Glennester.                                  Ford Focus.                  27 pts.

 

Juniors. 

1 Conor McCarthy / D. O’Donovan.                         Honda Civic.                43 pts.

2 Sean W. McGrath / D. Walsh.                               Honda Civic.                34 pts.

3 Shane Norris / C. Boland.                                     Honda Civic.                11 pts.

The Wexford Stages Rally, one of the most demanding rounds of the 2014 TRITON SHOWERS South East Stages Rally Championship, has the capacity to turn the championship positions once again. As ever, being a two day event is less the sprint affair of the other rounds. Pragmatism will play its place over valour, to play it carefully or lay it into the opposition from the first stage is the consideration… The weather will also play its part as anything can change from day to day. Wexford in recent years have used the fast free flowing open stages, will this year be different?

 

ROUND 1. The Sean Conlon Memorial Forestry rally. February 2^nd

• ROUND 2. The Munster Moonraker Forestry Rally. Ballyvourney in Co. Cork. April 13
• ROUND 3. Carlow Stages Rally. Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow. May 11
• ROUND 4. ALMC Forestry Rally based in Glendalough Hotel, Wicklow. May 17 2 stages X 2.
• ROUND 5. Carrick-on-Suir Ravens Rock Rally. Waterford. June 29 Tarmac
• ROUND 6. Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally. Clonmel. August 10 Tarmac
• ROUND 7. Wexford Stages Rally. September 13^th / 14^th.     Tarmac
• ROUND 8. The Willie Loughman Memorial Forestry Rally Oct. 12 Rally based in Carrick-on-Suir. Stages in the Suir Valley.

1. O’Brien obriejoe@gmail.com 086 315 4442