Dunlop National Rally Championship 2002

OVERALL POSITIONS
Posn Driver Points Posn Navigator Points
1 Niall Maguire 158 1 Paul McLaughlin 158
2 Patrick Elliot 128 2 Sean Moriarty 128
3 Sean Gallagher 110 3 Liam Costello 95
4 David Armstrong 88 4 Herbie Blackburn 91
5 James McCann 71 5 Paul McCann 74
6 Michael Barrable 58 6 Damien Connolly 63
7 Aaron Mac Hale 58 7 John Loughran 59
8 Thomas Randles 54 8 Dermot O'Gorman 58
9 Mac McKenna 52 9 Diarmuid Lynch 56
10 Joe Mac Hugh 39 10 Tony Mulcahy 39

CLASS POSITIONS

Class One - Group N up to 1300 cc
1 Aidan Bourke 50 1 Robert Nolan 50
2 Trevor Graham 39 2 Stephen Furey 40
3 Paul Kennedy 38 3 Kathleen Kennedy 39

Class Two - Group N 1301 cc to 1600 cc
1 John Hegarty 50 1 Patrick McGlynn 40
2 Owen O'Neill 20

Class Three - Group N 1601 cc to 2000 cc
1 Wesley Roberts 50 1 Susan Doggett 44
2 Thomas Taaffe 44 2 Martin Carey 38
3 Roger Kennedy 38 3 Conor Foley 16

Class Four - Group N Over 2000 cc
1 Aaron Mac Hale 55 1 Damien Connolly 57
2 Patrick Price 47 2 Karen Price 50
3 Martin Brady 43 3 Killian Duffy 39

Class Five - Group A up to 1300 cc
1 Kenneth Mulvaney 61 1 Christina Shanahan 48
2 Gerry Keyes 48 2 Paul Ollerenshaw 26
3 David Lyons 32 3 Trevor Payne 25

Class Six - Group A 1301 cc to 1600 cc
1 James Travers 48 1 Niall Keogh 48
2 Shane McCarthy 46 2 Tony Mulcahy 46
3 Brendan Cumiskey 44 3 Con Mulcahy 22

Class Seven - Group A 1601 cc to 2000 cc
1 John Shaw 43 1 Martin McGarrity 43
2 Andrew Browne 28 2 Keefe Kilcoyne 28
3 Eamonn Walsh 24

Class Eight - Group A Over 2000 cc
O/A Niall Maguire 78 O/A Paul McLaughlin 78
O/A Patrick Elliot 62 O/A Sean Moriarty 63
1 Michael Barrable 28 1 Dermot O'Gorman 28
2 Kieran Shaw 15 2 Crawford Henderson 15
3 James Gillen 0 3 Francis Kenny 0

Class Nine - Modified cars up to 1450,2 wheel drive, normally aspirated.
1 Kenneth O'Neill 50 1 Cormac Casey 18
2 Ger Neeson 32 2 Sue Moloney 18
3 Roland Doherty 18

Class Ten - Modified cars 1451 cc to 1650 cc,2 wheel drive, normally aspirated,with not more than 2 valves per cylinder.
1 James O'Sullivan 40 1 Bill Fitzgerald 30
2 Shane McEneaney 27 2 Paul McArdle 27
3 Trevor Payne 10

Class Eleven - Modified cars 1451 cc to 1650 cc,2 wheel drive, normally aspirated,with more than 2 valves per cylinder.
1 Rodney Wilton 62 1 Peter Leahy 53
2 Seamus Murphy 46 2 Graham Kelly 48
3 Peter Rogers 44 3 Byron Davidson 44

Class Twelve - Modified cars 1651 cc to 2000 cc,2 wheel drive, normally aspirated,with not more than 2 valves per cylinder.
1 Cathal McGlone 62 1 Gerry Gumley 62
2 Ollie O'Reilly 60 2 Noel Hall 56
3 Trevor Lancashire 55 3 Brian Burke 54

Class Thirteen - Modified cars 1651 cc to 2000 cc,2 wheel drive, normally aspirated,with more than 2 valves per cylinder.
1 Mac McKenna 60 1 John Loughran 60
2 Peter Rahill 34

Class Fourteen - Modified cars 2051 cc to 3500 cc,2 wheel drive.
1 Douglas Richardson 59 1 Diarmuid Lynch 56
2 Thomas Randles 56 2 Paula Richardson 50
3 David Long 35 3 June Long 36

Class Fifteen - Per Appendix O - 4WD out of homologation
O/A Liam Costello 64
1 James McCann 60 1 Paul McCann 61
2 David Armstrong 55 2 Herbie Blackburn 55
3 Joe Mac Hugh 29 3 Dermot Mac Hugh 23

Class Sixteen - Standard Production up to 2000cc,two wheel drive, normally aspirated.
1 John Kelly 70 1 Mark Tierney 50
2 Peter Kelly 69 2 Margaret Boyle 39
3 Raymond Gilleece 44 3 Eamonn Walsh 18

Mickey Farrell Award
1 John Kelly 70 Class 16

Prizegiving for the Dunlop National Rally Championship will be held on Saturday, 23 November 2002 in the Mount Errigal Hotel, Letterkenny

FOUR SEASONS HOTEL BORDER RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2002

'Seconds' decide Border Championship as John Kelly takes title
A nail-biting finish to the 2002 Four Seasons Hotel Border Rally Championship was expected but no-one could have forecast the twists and turns to the story that unfolded at the Donegal Harvest Rally, in Buncrana.
After the previous round in Sligo, there were three crews from Monaghan and one from Donegal in the running for Ireland's most popular Clubman's Championship. Trevor Lancashire and Noel Hall (Escort MK II), former Border Champions were strong favourites to lift the Derryveagh Crystal Perpetual Trophy for a second time. Fellow Monaghan clubman John Kelly from Emyvale emerged as Trevor's nearest challenger after a series of consistent results behind the wheel of his blue Toyota Corolla, while newly crowned Dunlop National Champions Niall Maguire and Paul McLoughlin were also in with a shout. Also in the hunt were John and Brendan McElhinney from Donegal competing in a Class 1 Suzuki Swift.
Throughout the weekend, the tension among the leading contestants was palpable. The first twist in the tale was the late withdrawal of Paul Harris and Victor Hunter from Class 8, thereby reducing Maguire and McLoughlin's potential Class winning score to 9 points. With only four starters now in their class, their hopes for a maximum 10 pointer required to win the Championship went out the window.
At that point in time, Noel Hall had practically won the Navigator's title but his team-mate Trevor Lancashire still had a battle on his hands to take the drivers honours. Trevor and Noel started off steadily but before the end of the first loop of three stages, it all went horribly wrong. With the accelerator sticking open on a fast downhill section, Trevor was unable to take the bend and crashed at high speed. Both required medical attention but thankfully were not seriously injured, just some bruising and damaged pride. Nevertheless, their chances for the overall title were still alive. The McElhinney brothers were in contrast having a good day. After early class leader Paddy Walker retired, John and Brendan went on to win their category by 56 seconds and score the all-important 10 points. Enter John Kelly from Emyvale, County Monaghan. The Stages Rally 'Rookie' had to win the ever competitive Class 16 to snatch the title. A tall order for the young man in his first year 'on the black stuff' especially when he was up against experienced 'quickmen' such as John Ward, Paul Docherty driving similar rear-wheel-drive Corolla Twin Cams. It turned out to be an epic ding-dong battle right from the off. On the first stage, Kelly dropped 4 seconds to Ward and was down 2 on Docherty. He equaled Ward on Special Stage 2 and gained 5 seconds on Paul. Special Stage 3 and Special Stage 4 were cancelled. On Special Stage 5, John Ward was fastest of the Class 16 field by 19 seconds with Docherty 3 seconds better than Kelly. Going into the final stage, Ward was leading by 23 seconds with Kelly and Docherty tied on second in Class. It was all down to Special Stage 6 – the fight to the top of Mamore Mountain. Again Ward was quickest but more importantly John Kelly bettered Paul Docherty's time by 3 seconds to put him 2nd in that class. However, the story took another turn. At post event scrutiny, John Ward was excluded, presenting John Kelly with the class win and along with it the prestigious 2002 FOUR SEASONS Border Rally Championship title. The unfortunate Trevor Lancashire secured 2nd position overall with John McElhinney third. Trevor will however be awarded Brian McGrath Memorial Trophy for winning Class 12.
The Navigators Title went to Noel Hall with Brendan McElhiney second and Mayo- domiciled Donegal native Paul McLoughlin third.
"At the end of the 2002 season, we salute the efforts of John Kelly and acknowledge the quality of his performances throughout the year," says John Duffy, Border Championship Registrar. John did not get an entry in Mayo, so he depended on five rounds and not the full compliment of the Championship six events," added John.
En-route to the title, he used three different navigators – Sean Sherry (in Monaghan), James O'Reilly (Newry and Donegal) and Mark Tierney in Sligo and Cavan. In the Sligo Stages Rally, he finished a credible 25th overall. Class wins were achieved in all the rounds he contested. Some results for a driver in his first year in serious rallying in a standard production Class 16 car, with the odds stacked against him.
A worthy Border Champion.
Overall Positions – 2002 Four Seasons Hotel Border Rally Championship

Driver / Address / Car / Class
John Kelly / Monaghan / Toyota Corolla / Class 16
Trevor Lancashire / Monaghan / Escort MK II / Class 11
John McElhinney / Donegal / Suzuki Swift / Class 1

Navigator / Address / Car / Class
Noel Hall / Monaghan / Escort MK II / Class 12
Brendan McElhinney / Donegal / Suzuki Swift / Class 1
Paul McLoughlin / Donegal/Mayo / Subaru Impreza WRC / Class 8

Class Winners
Driver (Points) / Navigator (Points) – Class
J. McKenna (35) / K. Kennedy (30) – Class 1
J. Hegarty (37) / J. Gallagher (34) – Class 2
R. Kennedy (37) / M. Carey (37) – Class 3
D. Jobb (29) / K. Duffy (29) – Class 4
K. Mulvaney (33) / B. Cleary (13) – Class 5
B. Cumiskey (30) / J. O'Reilly (13) – Class 6
B. Docherty (30) / M. McGarrity (18) – Class 7
N. Maguire (39) / S. Morriarty (28) – Class 8
D. Conaghan (39) / L. McLoughlin (39) – Class 9
J. Walsh (13) / M. Walsh (13) – Class 10
P. Gallagher (38) / K. Reid (38) – Class 11
B. Armstrong (24) / C. Adams (12) – Class 12
M. McKenna (36) / J. Loughran (33) – Class 13
E. Keenan (37) / P. Richardson (28) – Class 14
D. Armstrong (38) / H. Blackburn (38) – Class 15
P. Kelly (35) / J. Higgins (27) – Class 16
Teams: Turning Japs (Mayo & District Motorsport Club) 110 Points

The 2002 Border Championship Prizegiving will take place on Friday 29th November at the Four Seasons Hotel & Leisure Club, Coolshannagh, Monaghan.

Randles top 2WD in Dunlop National

Kilgarvan's Tom Randles has been confirmed as the highest placed competitor to use a two-wheel drive car in the 2002 Dunlop National Rally Championship following the series' final round, the Fastnet Rally, which was run by the Skibbereen & District Auto Club on the October Bank Holiday Weekend. The top seven Championship places were occupied by the pilots of four-wheel drive cars, such as Subaru Imprezas and Mitsubishi Lancers, while Randles was eighth in final standings in his Ford Escort RS.
Randles total haul of 54 points was just two more than that of Martin 'Mac' McKenna (Monaghan), the next highest placed 2WD contender. In the individual battle for honours in Class 14 (for Modified 2WD cars with engines of between 2051cc and 3500cc), Tom lost out by just three points to Douglas Richardson (Kildare), although Tom's co-driver, Diarmuid Lynch, topped the navigators' table.
Speaking after the finish of the Fastnet, Tom said "It's nice to be the top two wheel drive finisher, but it would have been nicer still if Class 14 was wrapped as well. We had two non-finishes in Sligo and Tipperary during the summer with clutch and transmission problems, so that really ended any hope I had of landing the class. Still, we had a good enough season, there were no major crashes, and we enjoyed the year."
Although the National Championship may be over, the T&D Rallying 2002 programme is not fully completed yet. "We'll be out on the Killarney Historic Stages Rally on the first Sunday in December," said Lynch. "We'll be competing in the section for Classic cars, built between 1975 and 1979. We were second on that event in 1999, and we hope to go one better this time out."
The T&D Rallying Escort is supported by Advanced Bio-Tech Waste Treatment Systems, Dyno-Rod Drain Services, Heatmerchants of Tralee, Firebird Boilers and CRL Oils.

Toshiba Rally Preview

The overall title may have been decided, but the battle is still very much on as the M.E.Crowe Northern Ireland Rally Championship heads into the forests of County Antrim for the grand finale..the Toshiba Rally. Ten classic forestry stages await the 98 entries on Saturday November 2, and Mid-Antrim Motor Club have put together what promises to be a superb event for competitors and spectators alike..as usual.
In recent years the Toshiba has become a 'flagship' event and this year the entry reflects this.
Derek McGarrity, already confirmed as this years Champion starts at No 1. Officially he's entered in a Ford Focus - an indication of future plans perhaps ? - but in fact he is more likely to rely on a Subaru Impreza for this final appearance of 2002.
Robbie McGurk, fresh from his successful run in Co Tyrone is certainly Impreza-mounted at No 2, while another Subaru for Robert Woodside is down to start at No 3, although the latest news is that he will give this one a miss.
Eugene Donnelly, now locked in a battle with Stephen Whitford for the runner-up position ion the Championship is at No 4 with his Celica ahead of the Escorts of Trevor Moore, Glenn Allen and Dominic McNeill. Kevin O'Kane's Subaru and George Robinson's Escort come next while, completing the top ten is tarmac specialist Eamonn Boland with his 'new shape' Impreza WRC, making a welcome return to the Toshiba.
And the list goes on. Whitford's Evo 6 is the topo GpN seed ane he starts ahead of Denis Biggerstaff in the evergreen Metro 6R4 with Raymond Mason's GpN Impreza next.
Further back there's a whole galaxy of stars, including Toshiba Managing Director Alan Thompson who will start his Mitsubishi Evo 5 at No 48, proving that there's more to rally sponsorship than simply writing cheques !
Rally Headquarters are at the Tullyglass House Hotel in Ballymena where the first car will leave the start ramp at 9.30am, returning late in the afternoon after a day in the testing North Antrim forests. Service will be based at Glenariff Forest Park.
In all, it promises to be an exciting day, and a fitting finale to what has proved to be a highly successful Championship.

NEMC Single Stage Preview

The Northeast Motorsport Club are have announced its Entry List for its forthcoming Single Stage Rally. The Triton Showers Single Stage Rally 2002 will take place on Sunday the 3rd of November 2002 with it base in the Hotel Oasis, Carrickmacross.
Due to the risk of a postal strike the club have released onto the Internet Final Instructions # 1 for the event. If any competitors have any further quires regarding their entry please contact the Event Secretary Susan Storan (087 9758078). The Club have posted all Final Instructions to competitors and it is hoped that these will be delivered next week.
The Club apologises for this inconvenience which is out of their control.
Mechanical Scrutiny takes place in Doran's Garage on the Kingscourt Road beside Oasis Hotel (HQ) between 15:00hrs - 22:00hrs on Saturday, November 2nd 2002.
First Car away from Start Ramp at 09:00am.
Top Entries

No. Driver/Co-Driver Car (Class)
1 Philip Shaw/Derek Brannigan Escort MkII (13)
2 Norman Armstrong/Sean Walsh Escort (13)
3 Michael McArdle/Aoife McArdle Peugoet 205 RWD (13)
4 Rodney Wilton/Peter Leahy Escort (11)
5 Gerry Smyth/Kieran McGorman Escort (12)
6 Raymond Drury/Alaocque O' Reilly Escort (12)
7 Patrick Higgins/Liam Higgins Escort (13)
8 Brian Armstrong/Herbie Blackburn Escort (12)
9 Thomas McGovern/Kevin McGovern Escort MkII (13)
10 John Fitzsimons/Nickie Brunton Escort MkII (12)
11 Peter Rogers/Byron Davidson Escort (11)
12 Gerard McGivney/Brian Ruth Escort (12)
14 Alan Sheridan/Rory Galligan Escort (12)
15 Arthur Kierans/Garreth Beagan Escort (12)

Programmes will be on sale from Saturday in Ardee, Dunleer & Carrickmacross.

Rally Australia Preview

The penultimate round of the 2002 World Rally Championship, Telstra Rally Australia, begins next Thursday 31 November when 75 cars are expected to cross the ceremonial start ramp in the rally's host town of Perth. Following Rally New Zealand earlier this month, it's the second time in four weeks that teams will be crossing the globe to contest a round of the WRC.
Normally contested in warm sunshine and renowned as one of the most popular rounds in the championship, the Australian Rally is notorious for its unforgiving, slippery, tree-lined gravel stages. The event's loose surfaces demand absolute accuracy from the drivers, while the FIA's current WRC starting system mean that crews will be driving flat out from the outset in order to secure an advantageous running position for legs two and three and avoid 'road-sweeping' for those running further behind.
Comprising 24 stages and 389 competitive kilometres, the four-day event starts with a 2.2km blast around Langley Park in the centre of Perth, which is widely considered to be the best Super Special Stage of the season. Legs one and two will then be contested to the south and east of the host town, before the final day takes the competitors to the famous Sotico complex, south-east of the city, for some of the most spectacular jumps in the championship.
With four service parks for this event, teams will be based around Dwellingup for leg one and Chidlow for leg two, before moving to Sotico for the final day's action. An area at Langley Park will also be used for the service after each Super Special on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Rally HQ will be based at the Sheraton Hotel in Perth.
Although Peugeot Sport mathematically wrapped up both the manufacturers and drivers titles in New Zealand, the battle is still raging for second place in the drivers championship and seven drivers remain within striking distance. Contenders include 555 Subaru World Rally drivers Tommi Mäkinen and Petter Solberg.

On an Irish note in this year's rally Australia there is an Irish participant. Finian Hannigan from Donegal but living in Dublin is co-driving with his nephew Andrew Hannigan. Andrew, who is the current F2 Australian champion is originally from Donegal but has been living in Perth, Australia for a while.
We wish him the best of luck