pirelli irish tarmac championship cork20 by Jonathan MacDonald Winners - Tim McNulty/Anthony Nestor (inset & above) Tim joins the elite but Eugene is Champion 2005 The Murphy Construction Cork 20 International Rally provided a fitting finale for the hotly contested Pirelli Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. Celebrating its 90th birthday, it was an event which saw Tim McNulty add his name to the exclusive Tarmac series winners club, while Eugene Donnelly, together with Paul Kiely, secured the 2005 Tarmac Championship title! McNulty has really surged to the fore with his Pierse backed Subaru over the past 12 months. After his performance at last year s Cork event, when he led the rally before slipping off the road, it was only a matter of time before he topped the podium. Many astute fans predicted that his moment would come during the season. >> Eugene Donnelly 2005 Tarmac Champion Pacenotes 41
cork20 pirelli irish tarmac championship It hasn t properly sunk in yet. We had a good plan for the whole year and we just stuck to it. EUGENE DONNELLY Tarmac Champions - Eugene Donnely/Paul Kiely overall results 1 Tim McNulty/Anthony Nestor 1:55:52 2 Eugene Donnely/Paul Kiely 1:56:22 3 Derek McGarrity/Dermot O Gorman 1:56:49 4 Eamonn Boland/Francis Regan 1:57:02 5 Pieter Tsjoen/Eddy Chevaillier 1:57:57 6 Austin McHale/Brian Murphy 1:59:15 7 Denis Cronin/Helen Sullivan 2:01:38 8 Colm Murphy/Ger Loughrey 2:04:06 9 Garry Jennings/Rory Kennedy 2:05:23 10 Nigel Hicklin/Damien Connolly 2:06:57 11 Erik Wevers/Michiel Poel 2:06:58 12 Stuart Darcy/Diarmuid Falvey 2:07:36 13 Kevin Kelleher/Martin Kelleher 2:08:36 14 Brian O Mahony/John Higgins 2:09:10 15 Paddy White/Aidan Moran 2:09:10 16 Tadhg Linehan/Mark Kane 2:10:26 17 Alan Nesbitt/Martin McGarrity 2:10:36 18 Eddie Garry/A.Purcell 2:12:07 19 Peter Wilson/John Kilmurray 2:12:27 20 Thomas G Randles/Diarmuid Lynch 2:13:23 21 Ken O Neill/Conor O Neill 2:13:44 22 Eugene Meegan/Ronan O Kane 2:15:37 23 Charles Mavitty/Paddy Robinson 2:15:40 24 Jason McSweeney/Michael O Farrel 2:15:46 25 Mark Nangle/Nollaig Breen 2:15:47 26 Brendan Murphy/Pat Condon 2:16:22 27 Brendan Cumisky/David Roe 2:16:54 28 Keith Power/Fergal Talbot 2:17:03 29 Eamon McElvaney/Alan Keena 2:17:08 30 John Murphy/Liam Moynihan 2:17:09 We ve been knocking on the door for the last few events, so it was good to finally get the car into gear! TIM McNULTY After struggling to find a good setup for his S10 Subaru at the start of the year, McNulty came close to his first win at the Jim Clark Rally, when he was the only driver to take the challenge to British Champion elect, Mark Higgins. He played second fiddle on that occasion, and again on the Ulster Rally. But no less than 12 months after seeing a potential Cork victory slip from his grasp, McNulty, the nearly man, took a commendable start to finish win at the eighth and final round of the 2005 series! We ve been knocking on the door for the last few events, so it was good to finally get the car into gear! McNulty enthused. We had a couple of problems with the brakes but we seemed to get them 99 percent sorted. When you ve Derek and Eugene breathing down your neck, and you ve Austin and Eamonn putting in a few good times, any of them can turn up the wick. You re not racing boys, you re racing experienced men! So we just had a neat drive, the times were there and I suppose I just put it down to having more experience this year. In an event which was billed as the title showdown between titans Eugene Donnelly and Derek McGarrity, McNulty caught his rivals napping during Saturday s opening stages. After three tests, he had 22 seconds in hand over second placed McGarrity. Try as he might, the Glengormley car dealer couldn t close the gap to the flying County Meath pilot and it looked as though McNulty was set to spoil McGarrity s plans. He desperately needed victory to keep his title aspirations alive, but as it transpired, McNulty was the man of the rally. McGarrity needn t have worried, however, as he also needed title rival, Eugene Donnelly, to finish 10th or lower. And let s face it, barring retirement, it was unlikely to happen. In fact, after using the opening miles to settle in, Donnelly started trading times with the leaders and by the end of day one, was just four seconds behind second placed McGarrity. With 32 seconds separating the leading three drivers, a thrilling final day battle was set. 5th overall - Pieter Tsjoen/Eddy Chevaillier 4th overall - Eamonn Boland/Francis Regan Kevin Lynch 2005 Northern Ireland Rally Champion 42 Pacenotes
pirelli irish tarmac championship cork20 In fourth position, Eamonn Boland was keeping Belgian visitor, Pieter Tsjoen, at bay. The Belgian champion was enjoying his first visit to the island and surprised many with his fastest time on stage seven. In sixth position, Austin MacHale s rally started off on the wrong foot, when he dropped down the leaderboard with a puncture on stage one. Initially tenth overall, MacHale showed gritty determination to fight his way into the top six by the end of the leg. As day two dawned, Derek McGarrity knew he needed nothing short of a miracle to take a third tarmac trophy. And when Tim McNulty extended his lead on stage nine, McGarrity s hopes were all but gone. To make matters worse, an altercation with a wall allowed Eugene Donnelly to move ahead. The wind had been knocked out of the Pirelli shod Subaru s pilot and although he tried to fight back, the outlook was bleak. With 43 seconds in hand and five stages remaining, Tim McNulty and Anthony Nestor were on course for their maiden International victory. Extending their lead was no longer a priority. Instead, McNulty concentrated on bringing his car safely to the Cork finish line, leaving Eugene Donnelly to take the lion s share of fastest times. A clean run ensured there were no last minute dramas and the Pierse backed team were worthy winners of the 2005 Cork 20! 3rd 0verall - Derek McGarrity/Dermot O Gorman I wasn t sure on the calculations until someone told me we were second in the championship afterwards, McNulty said. It wasn t so much the championship that I went to Cork for, it was to try and win the rally. But we got a double bonus - I m delighted with it! I want to do a two year stint with the S10, so we re definitely doing the Tarmac Championship next year. I enjoyed it this year, whether it was good or bad. There s good craic with the other competitors, it s a bit of fun and you take the ups with the downs. If you can t enjoy that, you wouldn t be at it! In second position, Donnelly extended his advantage over Derek McGarrity and Dermot O Gorman to finish comfortably ahead. It was the perfect ending to an almost perfect year. Barring one non-finish at the Circuit of Ireland, due to mechanical problems, Donnelly was on top form, taking his Corolla above and beyond the limit on numerous occasions. An anti-lag problem in Cork caused a time consuming spin, but luck was on his side. He needed ninth position to secure the prestigious trophy, so second overall, finishing ahead of his main rival, proved that the Maghera businessman fully deserves the 2005 title! It s absolutely wonderful, an elated Donnelly enthused after the event. I m delighted, just over the moon! It was good to get it all wrapped up. It hasn t properly sunk in yet. We had a good plan for the whole year and we just stuck to it. Meanwhile, a dejected Derek McGarrity was left wishing he had stuck with the S9 Impreza which had brought him so much success during 2004. Hindsight is a great thing and the Glengormley car dealer was left pondering what might have been. Finishing third behind both McNulty and Donnelly resulted in Del Boy taking third overall in the championship standings. It was a far cry from the top spot that he had aspired to and he returned home reflecting on what proved to be a difficult year. At the end of the day, two bad finishes in Donegal and the Jim Clark ruined the championship for me, McGarrity reflected. Eugene thoroughly deserved to win. Tim McNulty has got a lot of speed, so it could be a difficult year next year. Eamonn Boland and Francis Regan secured fourth position in the newly acquired Focus. It was the Wexford man s third outing in the car and he is looking forward to contesting next year s series behind the wheel of the Blue Oval charger. He admits that there s not much difference between the Focus and the Subaru, and it shows in his driving. He has settled in very quickly and managed to hold off the best of the foreign opposition, with Pieter Tsjoen taking fifth. Tsjoen set another fastest time during the final day and survived a final stage overshoot to complete his first Irish rally in the top five. Had it not been for an opening stage puncture, sixth placed Austin MacHale may have been fighting with Tsjoen for a top five placing. But sixth place was a just reward for the five times Tarmac champion and MacHale finished the year fifth in the championship standings. We dropped a fair bit of time with the puncture, then we slid off on the Sunday morning and dropped another half a minute, MacHale said. No damage was done, we just got caught out on a bit of mud. So we were lucky enough to finish sixth. It has just been one of those years - a problem year - but that s the way it goes. Denis Cronin and Helen O Sullivan brought their Impreza WRC home in seventh position after a few niggly problems. Cronin admitted that he was almost ready to call it a day before the rally started, after having difficulty finding a suitable setup. But with advice from Melvyn Evans he entered the rally with a renewed determination and despite a spin on the opening stage, he set some respectable times on the way to finishing just outside the top six. It was enough to clinch the 023 Tiles Championship so Denis and Helen arrived at the Rochestown Park Hotel smiling like Cheshire cats! I haven t been happy with the car since the Lakes, but we think we have the problem sorted out now, Cronin said. We only decided to do the event at the last minute. There s a problem with the centre diff, but we when raised the back of the car up it helped. I m delighted to find that there s a problem there and it has been there a while. I wanted to make sure we reached the finish to wrap up the Southern 4 Championship, so I didn t want to do anything stupid! Completing the WRC crews, Nigel Hicklin and Damien Connolly finished tenth overall in their S9 Impreza, merely one second ahead of Dutch Champions, Erik Wevers and Michiel Poel. Paddy White and Aidan Moran were 15th, Eddie Garry and Andrew ALLOY WHEEL PROBLEMS Purcell were 18th, while Tommy Randles and Diarmuid Lynch completed the class eight crews in their Celica. After eight challenging rounds, from Galway and Donegal, to Scotland and the Isle of Man, the curtains have finally closed on the 2005 Pirelli Irish Tarmac Rally Championship! Eugene Donnelly and Paul Kiely are champions, and Tim McNulty has added his name to an elite list of Tarmac series winners. It all bodes well for another exciting series next year, as McNulty s victory sends a warning signal to his fellow competitors. Tim has been threatening to join the top tier of the tarmac club for a while now. Only time will tell what his rivals intend to do next year, but one thing is guaranteed - expect a huge assault on the Tarmac series from the Pierse Subaru in 2006! KERB DAMAGE POT HOLED OR JUST LOST THEIR SHINE WE CAN HELP LESTER ENGINEERING COMPANY TELEPHONE: 028 9262 1681 Lissue Ind. Est., Moira Road Lisburn. Co Antrim BT28 2PQ e-mail wheelwizard@lesterengineering.com Web: www.lesterengineering.com Garry Jennings 2005 Group N Tarmac Champion Pacenotes 43
cork20 pirelli irish tarmac championship GrpN winners - Colm Murphy/Ger Loughrey Jennings Gamble Pays Off... In a similar situation to the overall series positions, two men entered the Cork 20 International Rally with a chance of lifting the Production category championship honours. Garry Jennings held the upper hand over Alan Nesbitt, but only one man could emerge victorious. After much deliberation, Jennings decided to buy an Evo 8 Lancer before the event, abandoning the Evo 6 version that had served him so well all season. It was a risky move, considering the reliability problems have plagued a few Evo 8 runners this year, but the K.G. Motorsport team had the car running perfectly. With Rory Kennedy on the notes, Jennings immediately jumped on the pace. The former Peugeot works driver had one aim in mind - to secure the 2005 title. By the time he reached first service, it seemed the title was almost in the bag, as rival Alan Nesbitt was in trouble. About a mile and a half into the first stage, something came out through the front casing in the diff, an exasperated Nesbitt said. All the oil came out of the front diff and went onto the clutch. So we had to drive with the clutch slipping for two stages and were pulling in to let cars past. We must have lost three or four minutes. We were very lucky to get it nursed back to service and get the gearbox changed - the diffs are on the front of the gearbox in those cars. With Nesbitt out of contention, Jennings could afford to relax. Holding second position, the Fermanagh man was on course for Group N honours. Meanwhile, at the head of the leaderboard, Colm Murphy was a man on a mission. After showing so much promise at the start of the year, bad luck during mid-season put him out of contention for the title. So Murphy was aiming to finish the year on a high and despite suffering with shingles, he was bang on form! Murphy continued to set the pace, though it wasn t without its risks. An altercation with a bank at a crossroads towards the end of day one was a warning signal for the Limerick driver. Thankfully, his Subaru suffered only some cosmetic damage and he held on to his one minute lead over Jennings. It was an advantage he wasn t going to relinquish and through the final day, he could afford to ease off slightly. Arriving at the Cork finish ramp at the head of Group N, and in eighth position overall, was enough for Murphy to clinch third position in the championship, after Aaron MacHale was forced out with differential trouble. MacHale wasn t the only man to suffer a blow during the Cork event. Alan Ring was also forced into retirement when he went off the road on the first stage, while James Foley s attempts to secure a good result in his new Evo 9 were thwarted. Initially holding third overall, the preparation expert found himself wishing he had gone waterskiing for the weekend, instead of rallying in Cork, after a fuel pump blew a pipe. The car filled with fumes and Foley lost 16 minutes, dropping him well out of contention. Finishing in second position and ninth overall was more than enough for Garry Jennings and Rory Kennedy to clinch the 2005 Production category title. Needless to say, Jennings was ecstatic with the result! We ve taken four wins this year, all in an old Evo 6, beamed Jennings at the finish. It s been a fantastic year but I m just relieved that the new car has been just as reliable. It was always a risk, but she s been absolutely no trouble and the tyres have stood up really well again! In third position, Stuart Darcy and Diarmuid Falvey had a solid run in their Evo 6 Lancer. The Donegal man, who was also in a K.G. Motorsport car, had a bit of trouble finding a setup to his liking, but during the second day, his times were on a par with the category leaders. It was an up and down sort of a rally, Darcy said. I found it very hard to get the car set up for the wet. Saturday was one of those days - I just couldn t get the car to my liking. But when it started to dry out, the times started to come. It was a good rally - the stages were unbelievable. Wet or dry, they were brilliant! I ve been out of the car for so long I didn t think I d be able to get on the pace as quickly as I did, so I m pleased with the result. Completing the top six, Kevin and Martin Kelleher brought their Evo 8 home in fourth position, two minutes ahead of fifth placed Tadgh Linehan 2nd in Grp N - Garry Jennings/Rory Kennedy and Mark Kane, while Alan Nesbitt and Martin McGarrity recovered from their earlier problems to finish sixth. After the problem on the first couple of stages, there was too much time between us and the top boys, Nesbitt said. So we just had a steady run to the finish to make sure we got second in the championship. We just went out this year to do a couple of rounds. I didn t expect to do the whole thing - it was just nice the way it went for us. We re delighted, because we never expected to be in the top three at the end of the year! 44 Pacenotes Barry Meade 1st O/A Cork 20 Juniors 2nd O/A West Coast Junior Championship Colin O'Toole 1st O/A West Coast Junior Championship
pirelli irish tarmac championship cork20 Classes Finland s Jari Laakso and Pasi Haataja were the only class one crew to start the rally. The VW Polo Champions found themselves just outside the top 50 after the first stage, but were unfortunately forced into retirement on the second. In class two, Mick Quinn and Chris Kelly took the honours aboard their Honda Civic. Tommy Doyle and Andy class results Class 2 1 Mick Quinn/Chris Kelly 00:25:18 2 Ian Hynes/Tommy Cahill 00:38:50 3 Paul O Connell/Carl Geoghegan 00:43:33 Class 3 1 Eugene Meegan/Ronan O Kane 00:19:45 2 Brendan Cumisky/David Roe 00:21:02 3 Keith McElhinney/Paul McCarron 00:23:32 Class 4 1 Colm Murphy/Ger Loughrey 00:08:14 2 Garry Jennings/Rory Kennedy 00:09:31 3 Stuart Darcy/Diarmuid Falvey 00:11:44 Class 5 1 John Murphy/Liam Moynihan 00:21:17 Class 6 1 Brian O Mahony/John Higgins 00:13:18 2 Ken O Neill/Conor O Neill 00:17:52 3 Jason McSweeney/Michael O Farrell 00:19:54 Class 7 1 Brian Pat Doherty/Keith Bovaird 00:24:50 Class 8 1 Tim McNulty/Anthony Nestor 01:55:52 2 Eugene Donnely/Paul Kiely 00:00:30 3 Derek McGarrity/Dermot O Gorman 00:00:57 Class 9 1 Martin Lordan/Rory Hennessy 00:15:22 2 Pat Cunningham/Denis Cremin 00:21:30 3 Victor Beamish/Susan Beamish 00:23:23 Class 10 1 David Guest/Peter Keohane 00:11:45 2 James Francis Stafford/Gary Murphy 00:15:14 3 Danny Creedon/Derry Collins 00:18:18 Class 11 1 Philip Cross/Brian Doherty 00:09:48 2 Tim O Donovan/Sean Hayde 00:12:42 3 Daragh O Riordan/Kevin Dolphin 00:15:08 Class 12 1 John Cullinane/Kenneth Cullinane 00:16:54 Class 13 1 Allen Treacy/Bob Fitzgerald 00:07:47 2 John Quin/Alice Quin 00:11:26 3 Frank Sweeney/Seamus O Connor 00:13:24 Class 14 1 John Dalton/Gwynfor Jones Darrian 02:08:00 2 Brendan Brosnan/Denis O Connell 00:20:45 Class 16 1 Keith Cronin/Anthony O Connaill 00:07:17 2 Eddie Power/Aidean Bourke 00:11:00 3 Oliver Harvey/Bryan Boyle 00:16:50 Donoghue held the initial advantage, leading the class by almost one minute after the fifth stage. Their retirement allowed Quinn through to the lead, eventually winning by 13 minutes from Ian Hynes and Tommy Cahill, with Paul O Connell and Carl Geoghegan third. Class three saw Eugene Meegan and Ronan O Kane take a start to finish win with their Honda Civic. It was a close run affair, as they traded times with Brendan Cumiskey and David Roe, who eventually finished one minute adrift in second position. Completing the top three, Keith McElhinney and Paul McCarron finished third, comfortably ahead of Peter Gallagher and Dermot Hassett. In class five, John Murphy and Liam Moynihan had two fellow class competitors to contend with, but they didn t need to worry too much about them. Murphy took his Puma to the limit and was fastest on the opening stage by more than one minute. Alyn Spiers and Peter O Toole were forced to the sidelines on stage two, leaving Mark Buckley and Eric Kelly to hold the runner-up spot. But they too were forced into retirement, just a few stages from home, allowing Murphy and Moynihan to take a very comfortable win. In class six, Brian O Mahoney and John Higgins again proved to be the class of the field with their Puma. The crew took a start to finish victory, as well as the two wheel drive honours. Arriving at the Cork finish line more than four minutes ahead of Ken and Conor O Neill, victory was sweet for the local crew. Jason McSweeney and Michael O Farrell also had a good run in their Civic to take third, comfortably ahead of Keith Power and Fergal Talbot. 1st in Class 3 - Eugene Meegan/Ronan O Kane 1st in Class 5 - John Murphy/Liam Moynihan In class two, Mick Quinn and Chris Kelly took the honours aboard their Honda Civic. 1st in Class 2 - Mick Quinn/Chris Kelly Completing the class runners, Brian Pat Doherty and Keith Bovaird almost took a start to finish win. They briefly lost the lead to David Randles and John Young on stage six, until they were forced into retirement just two stages later. Doherty s other rivals, Kevin Dunn and Michael Hegarty, also retired, allowing the Escort Maxi pilot to take a seemingly easy victory. 1st in Class 6 - Brian O Mahony/John Higgins 1st in Class 7 - Brian Pat Doherty/Keith Bovaird Pacenotes 45
cork20 pirelli irish tarmac championship national results 1 John Dalton/Gwynfor Jones Darrian 2:08:00 2 Keith Cronin/Anthony O Connaill 2:15:17 3 Allen Treacy/Bob Fitzgerald 2:15:47 4 Philip Cross/Brian Doherty 2:17:48 5 Eddie Power/Aidean Bourke 2:19:00 6 John Quin/Alice Quin 2:19:26 7 David Guest/Peter Keohane 2:19:45 8 Tim O Donovan/Sean Hayde 2:20:42 9 Frank Sweeney/Seamus O Connor 2:21:24 10 Daragh O Riordan/Kevin Dolphin 2:23:08 11 James Francis Stafford/Gary 2:23:14 12 Martin Lordan/Rory Hennessy 2:23:22 13 Andy Horgan/Shane Horgan 2:24:48 14 Oliver Harvey/Bryan Boyle 2:24:50 15 John Cullinane/Kenneth Cullinane 2:24:54 16 Michael Forde/Jim Cunningham 2:25:32 17 Liam Cooper/Denis Delaney 2:26:06 18 Danny Creedon/Derry Collins 2:26:18 19 Sean Moroney/Aoife Doherty 2:26:24 20 Declan Grogan/Rachel Kennedy 2:26:42 21 Aidan Dunlea/Stephen O Driscoll 2:27:58 22 John O Shea/Pat O Sullivan 2:28:32 23 Brendan Brosnan/Denis O Connell 2:28:45 24 Pat Cunningham/Denis Cremin 2:29:30 25 Emma Britton/Paula Nooney 2:29:56 26 John Delaney/Mark Bowens 2:30:28 27 Ceiros James/Patrick Kiely 2:30:29 28 Victor Beamish/Susan Beamish 2:31:23 29 Pat Looney/Ger O Sullivan 2:33:17 30 Paul Manton/John Keenan 2:33:29 31 Eamon O Connell/Adrian Finn 2:34:25 32 John Murphy/Martin O Connor 2:37:44 33 John Doolan/Alison Quinlan 2:39:06 34 John Riordan/Stephen Quin 2:39:36 35 Gearoid O Regan/Sean Henehan 2:44:13 36 Brian O Mahony/Lisa Gallwey 2:50:55 junior results 1 Barry Meade/Colin Fitzgerald 46:09 2 Seamus O Grady/Aidan Kent 46:13 3 Jason Ryan/Bernard McSweeney 46:16 4 Jason O Mahony/Aoife McCarthy 46:37 5 Colin O Toole/Anne-marie Kennedy 47:02 6 Stephen McGrath/Mark Wiley 50:33 7 Tom Quaid/Kieran Crowley 50:43 8 Philip Giles/Aoife Buttimer 50:46 9 Mark Lane/kevin Karny 50:57 10 Thomas O Keeffe/Donal Keane 51:46 11 Dermot O Riordan/Damian McCarthy 52:06 12 Kieran Doherty/David Fleming 54:52 13 David Power/Kevin Power 56:53 historic results 1 Don Moynihan/Tim Moynihan 1:35:30 2 John Farrell/Enda Shiels 1:35:43 3 Denis Moynihan/Dan Moynihan 1:35:59 4 Todd Falvey/Dan Barry 1:36:11 5 Sean Treacy/Billy Regan 1:36:44 6 Martin Sheahan/Gerry Clancy 1:38:28 7 Noel Hurley/Coleman Hurley 1:41:23 8 Liam Sheehan/Alan Harrington 1:42:02 9 Eamon Lyons/Sean Lyons 1:43:54 10 John Curran/Jason O Callaghan 1:44:09 11 Donal O Connor/Vincent Fagan 1:48:22 12 John O Toole/Adrian Wright 1:50:36 13 Niall Creaghton/Gregory Roberts 1:53:32 14 Philip McDowell/Gordon Buckley 1:53:57 15 Chris Jennings/Wiz Corns 1:54:46 16 Gerald A Byrne/Kieran O Connor 1:56:32 17 Eric Martin/Richard Hyland 2:00:30 18 Gerry Freeman/Dermott Quigley 2:04:19 Enter The Dragon A welsh wizard, driving what proved to be a little welsh dragon with plenty of puff - a Darrian T90 - was a force to be reckoned with at the Cork 20 National Rally. Patriotically displaying the colours of the Welsh flag, Ceredigion s John Dalton promptly made his intentions clear on the opening test. A massive 44 seconds quicker than his nearest rivals, the Welshman was quite simply untouchable! Almost half a minute faster on the following test, Dalton and co-driver Gwynfor Jones were in a league of their own. Relentlessly banging in fastest time after fastest time, they streaked ahead of the field, leaving their Irish counterparts to fight for the runner-up positions. And what a battle for second there was! Edward O Callaghan and John Shields initially shared the runner-up spot in their Manta with Paul Purtil and David Lyons. Then Purtil was faster on stage two, only for O Callaghan to fight back and reclaim the spot on stage four! It was a superb tit-for-tat battle, but O Callaghan showed a renewed determination and accelerated into the distance. By the end of the leg, the Limerick man had 30 seconds in hand over third position. Purtil had dropped down the order to fifth, allowing Allen Treacy and Keith Cronin to share third position. As day two dawned, the story at the head of the leaderboard remained the same. Dalton continued to set fastest times, while O Callaghan consolidated the runnerup position. Paul Purtil was forced to the sidelines after stage 11, then, three stages from the finish, disaster struck second placed O Callaghan. The Manta man was forced into retirement, allowing Keith Cronin and Anthony O Connell to take the runner-up spot. Almost seven minutes in arrears of event winner John Dalton, Cronin finished just 30 seconds ahead of third placed Allen Treacy and Bob Fitzgerald. Philip Cross and Brian Doherty were fourth, ahead of Eddie Power and Aidean Bourke, while John and Alice Quinn completed the top six. Historics... by Richard Hyland The final round the historic series saw crews make the trip to Cork to fight it out for the last few championship places. This meant the majority of competitors were in attendance, as well as a few local experts. Niall Creighton headed the historic crews, in front of Chris Jennings Volvo Amazon, Gerry Freeman s Anglia, and Eric Martin. Con Ward was a non-starter after selling his car a few weeks before the event. Niall Creighton won the drivers championship so he was out to help his co-driver, Gregory Roberts, clinch the navigators award. Richard Hyland, who was calling the notes for Eric Martin this time, was his main rival. Creighton s objective was to make the finish at all costs in first position, ensuring maximum points for his navigator. However, this proved to be a bigger challenge than expected! During Sunday s stages, he broke a rear leaf spring, making the car virtually uncontrollable, leaving him with no option but to crawl through the stages. Even the valiant efforts of his service crew couldn t mend the problem, which worsened when his prop-shaft failed. Fortunately, he had a spare shaft and reached the finish, much to his and Gregory s relief! Chris Jennings came home in a good second place, with Eric Martin third and Gerry Freeman bringing up the rear. Unfortunately, Gregory Roberts didn t do enough to take the overall navigators title, with Hyland claiming the title for the second year running. Eric Martin also claimed the championship B2 class award. In the Post-Historics, there was a bumper entry, with Todd Falvey s Porsche 911 at number one, ahead of Sean Tracey s BMW 2002 and John Farrell s RS2000. Indeed it was Farrell who managed to take the advantage over the first day s action, finishing seven seconds in front of Todd Falvey, who in turn was just 10 ahead of Sean Tracey. Day two dawned bright and dry, however, just like the change in weather, the leaderboard was about to take a dramatic turn. John Farrell s advantage evaporated with a spin, 3rd - Allen Treacy/Bob Fitzgerald and Todd Falvey very nearly careered into the side of the recovering Escort! Just as surprising as Farrell s spin, Don Moynihan s very impressive turn of speed elevated him from fourth overall after day one, to first overall at the finish of Sunday s opening stage! Farrell s spin dropped him well down the order to fifth but he wasn t about to lie down and settle for a finish. He upped his game, fighting very hard right to the end of the event, and was rewarded with a very credible second overall. Denis Moynihan also had a good run over the last day, passing Todd Falvey and Winners - John Dalton/Gwynfor Jones 5th - Eddie Power/Aidean Bourke Winners in Historic - Don Moynihan/Tim Moynihan Sean Tracey along his way, to take third overall. Todd and Sean didn t seem to have any answer to the pace of the lead Escorts, both finishing third and fourth respectively. In the classes, Don Moynihan claimed C2, Denis Moynihan C1 and with Gerry Freeman taking the honours in B3. With all the championships wrapped up, crews are looking forward to the traditional end of year fling. Fantastic stages, a bumper entry, and maybe a few interesting names thrown in for good measure, will all feature at December s Killarney Historic Rally! 46 Pacenotes