Motorsport photographer sligo Has the rest of the Images from Mayo Stages Rally
Monaghan’s Niall Maguire and Enda Sherry stormed to an emphatic victory
on Sunday’s Hotel Ballina and Kennedy Motors Mayo Stages Rally,
finishing just over a minute ahead of their nearest rivals Frank Wray
and Kieran McGrath. Wray, finishing in a career best second place, was
closely followed by Mayo & District Motorsport Club crew Aaron
McHale and Paul McGee.
In a battle of sheer concentration, the victors would always be those
who could best negotiate the scenic by-roads of North Mayo, in what was a
rain soaked first loop. The opening stage twisted wildly around
Kilcummin, however the drivers had little time to admire the view. Stage
two started scenically through Lacken Hill before skirting Ballycastle.
Kilfian hosted the third stage which proved the kindest to the drivers.
Each stage was driven three times and a cumulative time decided the
winners.
93 crews left rally headquarters at Hotel Ballina on Sunday and
reassembled for service at Asahi plant. The conditions faced by
contestants were challenging to say the least, heavy rain over the
weekend had left the stages extremely testing for the drivers as muck
and surface water provided extra obstacles on the course.
As expected, the World Rally Cars at the head of the field set the pace
from the start, with Niall Maguire fastest on the opening test by 17
seconds, a lead he was not to relinquish throughout the day. Marty Toner
and Sharon Clarke were the surprise early leaders of the unofficial two
wheel drive modified battle in their Talbot Sunbeam, although it was
clear from the start that this would be a closely fought contest, with
the likes of Jonathon Pringle, Damian Toner & Pat Donegan all
setting top ten stage times from the off.
By first service Maguire had established a lead of 40 seconds and
professed himself happy with his pace, despite noting the difficulty of
the stage in the wet conditions. Paddy McVeigh & Gary McElhinney in
their newly acquired Subaru had been Maguire’s nearest challenger until
they were forced to retire following a brush with the local scenery.
Local honours were being upheld by Road Safety Ambassador Aaron McHale
& Paul McGee in their Mitsubishi Evo as they were lying second
overall, with Niall Maguire’s son Shane in third in another Evo.
The second loop of stages saw greatly improved conditions, with Niall
Maguire continuing to extend his lead to over 50 seconds by the time
they returned to Asahi for the final service. However, his closest
challenger was now Frank Wray who had upped his pace in his Subaru WRC
to climb to second overall. Maguire felt comfortable after the exit of
McVeigh and hoped to see out the rest of the event at a steady pace.
Local crew Aaron McHale & Paul McGee, who’s parents needed only to
look out the window to see him pass, were still competing well and were
keeping the pressure on Wray, lying a mere ten seconds behind. The
modified battle was now being edged by Pat Donegan, with David Moffett
and Jonathon Pringle nipping at his heels. Marty Toner had slipped back
after a rapid start.
True to form, Niall Maguire and Enda Sherry set a fast but steady pace
to consolidate their lead on the final loop, before duly returning to
rally headquarters at Hotel Ballina to a warm welcome as event winners.
Frank Wray & Kieran McGrath made no mistakes to take second, while
Aaron McHale & Paul McGee were delighted to finish third overall on
home soil. Shane Maguire was the group N winner in his Evo and finished
fourth overall. In the battle for modified honours, Pat Donegan / Alan
Keena in their Ford Escort finished just under 20 seconds ahead of the
Toyota Starlet of David Moffett & Fintan Sherry with Jonathon
Pringle / Martin Byrne in their Mark II.
Top local finishers other than McHale were Barry Cuffe & Aidan
Gannon from Castlebar, finishing 20th overall third in class 11R in his
Elvery’s backed Escort. Ballyhaunis man Shane Buckley had been the top
local, running as high as 12th overall until his rally came to end on
the penultimate stage. Belmullet man Shane Barry was on the notes for
Padraic McGee and guided him to a class 1 victory and 22nd place
overall. Kenneth McHale from Knockmore came home second in class 15
after a good run. Westport pairing David Healy & Stephen McGing
finished second in class 1, following up their recent result in Birr.
Club secretary John Duffy & John Egan from Claremorris won class 3
in his Honda Integra, fairing slightly better than Club Chairman Matthew
Murphy with brother Ronan on the notes who managed to come home fourth
in class 11R after an eventful day behind the wheel.
Tony Langdon & David Loughney in their Civic finished second in
class six after setup issues hampered their day. Brian Lavelle, on his
first time out, finished a respectable seventh in class 1 and 42nd
overall in his Devers Garage backed Civic. Castlebar pairing Padraig
Conneely & Liam Walsh finished third in class 11F for front wheel
drive car. Experienced local navigator Jared Gill was calling notes for
Stephen Kelly and they finished 48th overall and seventh in class 11R.
Father and son crew Patrick McEveny Snr and Jnr, managed to bring home
their Corolla fourth in class 11F on their first time out. David Moran
and Robert Culliney finished third in class 10 in a Citroen Saxo.
Killala’s Aubrey Carson and Mary McAndrew came home fourth in class 10,
while Raymond Carroll with Crystal Culkeen on the notes hot on their
heels in fifth in the class.
The Junior category had a number of Mayo entrants with Justin Ryan
battling for the lead throughout the day and eventually finishing
second. Stephen Doherty & Alan Moran from Foxford finished fifth in
their Opel Kadett. Local woman Trisha Greavy on her return to rallying
was happy to finish sixth. Mayo Young Drivers’ Champion Noel Murphy from
Shrule eventually finished seventh despite visiting the scenery on
stage one, using Rally 2 rules to re-enter the event.
Unfortunately, a number of local crews failed to complete all stages due
to various issues. Event sponsor Ciaran Kennedy from Ballina with Paddy
O’Hora will be disappointed to have bowed out early in the event after
an off road excursion. Lacken man Colin Loughney & Seamus Murphy
were unlucky not to finish in their Escort after engine problems.
Michael Loughney, who had cousin Fergal Loughney on the notes, was
driving a similar Escort to his Coin and retired due to similar
technical problems. Father and son crew Ronan & Lorcan Moore had
retire in the final loop following engine mount problems. Martin Cawley
and Kenny Langan also had to retire with engine problems at the end of
stage 3.
Once again Mayo & District Motorsport Club put on an excellent rally
that ran right on schedule, testament to the huge effort put in by
Clerk of the Course Padraic Roche and his team. In addition to their
sponsors, the club would like to thank the residents and locals along
the rally route for all their support and co-operation.
Words Mayo Motor Sport Club
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