Entries for the event should be completed online (including Online payment) at www.rallyscore.net
Please submit your competed online entry form, including the appropriate fees and seeding information promptly in order to allow us as organisers to be able to confirm the running of the event and the availability of all the necessary services and equipment at the earliest date possible.
***YOUR ENTRY WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED UNTIL YOUR ONLINE ENTRY FEE PAYMENT HAS BEEN RECEIVED***
Entries Secretary;
Charlie Deering Telephone / WhatsApp +44 (0)7519 828407 Enquires only between 6.00pm and 9.00pm weekdays, 1.00pm and 6.00pm weekends
ATTENTION all competitor’s; Final Instructions No 1, Roadbook, Stage Maps, Competitor’s Signing-on and self-scrutineering declaration and Road Section Driver Declaration Form (If required) are now all available on our website ‘Virtual Notice Board’. ***NOTE; ALL COMPETITORS MUST HAVE THEIR DECLARATIONS COMPLETED BY 8.00pm on Monday 16TH AUGUST 2021 otherwise your place will be given to a competitor on the reserve list (complete and submit one form for driver and one form for navigator)***
Current McGrady Insurance N.I. Championship leaders, Jonny Greer and Kirsty Riddick. (Image: Jonathan MacDonald)
This year’s PRM Group and RPM Motor Sports backed Loughgall Stages Rally will host a round of the McGrady Insurance Motorsport UK N.I. Rally Championship for the first time!
Taking place on Saturday 21 August, the North Armagh Motor Club Ltd organised event will host round three of the Championship and will be held within the beautiful confines of County Armagh’s Loughgall Country Park.
PRM Group and RPM Motor Sports have agreed to sponsor the event for the first time. Managing Director, Philip Morrow, said:
“I am delighted to be associated with such a high-profile motorsport event in Northern Ireland. It provides the perfect fit for our business interests and as a keen car enthusiast, I am looking forward to seeing some of the fastest drivers in the country compete for the spoils in what is a stunning location.”
Competitors will tackle a total of six stages, all based within the confines of the park. The event’s Clerk of Course, William Fullerton, said:
“We are most grateful to PRM Group and RPM Motor Sports for their generous support, and also to Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, DAERA, AFBI Government Departments and the N.I. Forest Service for the use of Loughgall Country Park.
“We had originally planned to include a closed road stage but due to Covid restrictions imposed by the Northern Ireland Executive, unfortunately we couldn’t make it work. Instead, we will run two stages within the confines of the park that competitors will tackle three times, providing a stern challenge for all crews.
“We are also delighted to announce that spectators will be permitted into the venue but we must advise that all spectators follow the guidance issued by the Northern Ireland Executive with regards to Covid-19. The latest guidance can be found online at nidirect.gov.uk/campaigns/coronavirus-covid-19.”
Formerly a two-wheel-drive only event, the Loughgall Stages has been won on the last five occasions by Damian Toner in his Ford Escort MkII. However, August’s event is expected to attract a host of powerful four-wheel-drive machinery that could dominate.
The likes of former champions, Jonny Greer and Derek McGarrity, as well as a number of other championship contenders, are expected to continue their battle for the McGrady Insurance crown in Loughgall.
Regulations and entry forms will be available from Sunday 1 August. Competitors will have the opportunity to walk or cycle the stage from 4-9pm on Friday 20 August and from 7-8.30am on Saturday 21 August.
The action will start at 9.30am with all six stages held on tarmac roads. Admission to the event is £10 for adults (which includes a programme) while accompanied children under the age of 16 are admitted free. For more information, visit namcc.com.
ENDS.
Notes for Competitors
– Regulations and entry forms will go live on rallyscore.net at 7pm on Sunday 1 August.
– Competitors will have the opportunity to walk or cycle the stage from 4-9pm on Friday 20 August and from 7-8.30am on Saturday 21 August.
Note for Editors
Photo caption: Current McGrady Insurance N.I. Championship leaders, Jonny Greer and Kirsty Riddick. (Image: Jonathan MacDonald)
For more information, contact McGrady Insurance N.I. Rally Championship Press Officer, Jonathan MacDonald, on 07989 283055 or email news@irally.com.
Damian
Toner won the Loughgall Rally in 2015 and every year since and now goes for five
in a row in his MK2 Escort and is set to headline the entry list received by
North Armagh Motor Club Ltd. for this weekend’s Rainbow Communications
Loughgall Country Park Rally.
This
is the 21st Year off the Rally at Loughgall and with still a few
days to go before the entry closes the Club is expecting over 60 Cars.
Other
entries hoping to spoil Damian’s run will be Wesley Patterson – MK2, James
Leckey – Subaru Impreza, Mervyn Wedlock – MK2, Seamus Morris – Darrian, John Devlin
– MK2, James Kennedy- Mk2, and Adrian Hetherington – Mk2 among others.
Organisers
North Armagh Motor Club Ltd are most grateful to event sponsor Rainbow
Communications, for their generous support, Armagh City Banbridge &
Craigavon Borough Council for their
support and also DAERA & AFBI Government Departments for the use of their
part of the splendid Loughgall Country Park, the perfect venue for this event.
Rally
action begins at 9.30am and will include six Special Stages using 100% tarmac
roads and will conclude at 5.00pm.
Admission
to the event for adults is £10 including programme and accompanied children
under the age of 16 are admitted free.
Spectators can also enjoy the Historic and Classic car display adjacent
to the paddock area where refreshments will also be available.
Scrutineering
and administration takes place from 4.00pm on Friday 5th July at
Loughgall.
We
need Marshals and anyone willing to help, please contact Caroline McGuinness on
07792 037441.
For further information please contact William Fullerton at North Armagh Motor Club Ltd on 07703 219742 or Barry Taggart on 07771 892423
Regulations and Online Entry Submission (including Online payment) are now available for our Rainbow Communications Loughgall Country Park Rally.
The event, which takes place on Saturday 6th July, is sponsored by Rainbow Communications, and will feature six stages (100% tarmac surfaces) based within the confines of Loughgall Country Park Co Armagh.
2018 Event Winners – Paul Mooney / J Bell Photograph Credit Derek Smyth
Regulations and Online Entry Submission (including Online payment) are now available for the Burkes of Cornascriebe May Targa Rally. The event takes place on Saturday 25th May and will be based at Loughgall Football Club and the premises of DS Refigeration Ltd.
Stephen Wright and Keith Rainey have won the Pacenotes Rally Magazine Stages Rally, round one of the McGrady Insurance Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Stage Rally Championship!
After what was a drama-filled day, Wright powered his Ford Fiesta R5 to the finish line 6.2 seconds ahead of the Skoda Fabia R5 belonging to Darren and Nathan Gass while Derek and Mark McGeehan were third in their Mini WRC.
The event started with Derek McGarrity and Kieron Graffin setting the pace in their ex-Martin Cairns Ford Fiesta WRC. The crew simply annihilated the field on the opening stage when they emerged more than eight seconds clear of nearest rival Wright.
McGarrity continued to set the pace over the ensuing tests while others haemorrhaged time. Wright dropped down the order with a couple of spins while Darren Gass incurred a 10-second penalty for cutting a corner.
“We went on the inside of a tractor tyre to get past another car on the second stage,” Gass explained. “We had probably already lost 10 seconds being stuck behind them!”
However, it all changed when the heavens opened just before the start of stage four. As the crews started to line up for the start, a deluge of rain at the Kirkistown Race Circuit venue transformed the conditions.
Many of the front-runners were caught out on the wrong tyres, including rally leader McGarrity, who caught another car and seemingly dropped 25 seconds to the fastest time set by Wright.
“Our time for that stage is 30 seconds slower than it should be,” McGarrity said at the time. “OK, we’re still leading but that’s not the point. I don’t know if it’s going to be corrected or not.”
The erroneous time dropped him into the clutches of Stephen Wright. He had set fastest time on the test and jumped from seventh overall into second position, just 4.4 seconds behind McGarrity.
However, the suspect time was to be the least of his worries. He was back on form through stage five and set another fastest time – his fourth of the day – to lead the event by 5.4 seconds with one stage remaining. Then disaster struck.
After the finish of the stage and as he returned to his service bay, flames were spotted under the bonnet of his Fiesta WRC. His crew grabbed the fire extinguishers and extinguished the fire but his Fiesta was going no further.
“The car became too hot and melted a pipe,” one of his mechanics explained. “It was a plastic pipe so we couldn’t fix it for the final stage.”
McGarrity’s exit put Stephen Wright in prime position for the rally win. He entered the final test with 4.8 seconds in hand over Darren and Nathan Gass. Another solid run ensured that the Newbliss man secured victory as well as maximum points in the McGrady Insurance N.I. Rally Championship!
“We made life difficult for ourselves!” Wright admitted, referring to his two spins. “We dropped quite a lot of time on stages two and three but then we got a lucky break with a good tyre choice on stage four. We were a bit fortunate in that our seeding was quite far back so we had a bit more foresight (when it came to the weather conditions and tyre choice) than the rest of our competitors.”
“I’m very happy with the day out and it was great to have Keith navigating for me. He’s always on the spanners and always keeping this car in absolutely top shape. It was great to have him alongside and he was able to tweak things through the day to help get us here.”
He added: “We didn’t set out this year with any particular championship in mind…but this win certainly makes it more tempting to do the Northern Ireland Championship!”
Coming home in second position, Darren and Nathan Gass were left rueing that 10-second penalty but the crew were gracious in defeat as they congratulated the rally winners.
“We caught other competitors on almost every stage,” a resigned Gass said, “but what can you do? It’s the nature of these events.”
In third overall, Derek and Mark McGeehan echoed Gass’ thoughts.
“Catching cars is always an issue,” Derek said. “We had it four times in a row but we still had a good day.”
The Mini WRC crew were pleased with the result, especially after the opening stage when they couldn’t understand how they were so much slower than early leader McGarrity. However, they picked up the pace to rise from a low point of seventh overall to finish in the top three.
Former N.I. champion, Kenny McKinstry, didn’t escape unscathed in the difficult conditions as he was another driver who lost time with a spin. He kept his head together and eventually finish fourth overall ahead of Alan Carmichael and Samuel Hamill who enjoyed a day of testing their Hyundai R5.
“We had some big drifts and the car handles brilliantly,” a delighted Carmichael said. “It does everything well. It’s so nimble compared to everything else. I came out for a good test and that’s what we had so I’m happy.”
Joe McQuillan and Charlotte McDowall were equally delighted with their sixth overall finish. They lost a few seconds with a misfire but ultimately it didn’t cost them a position at the finish.
It was McQuillan’s second event in his Impreza WRC and he also emerged victorious in his much-hyped battle with friend and rival, Brian Watson, who lost time on the opening stage with power-steering trouble.
Sean Devine made a successful return to the N.I. Championship after a long layoff. Navigated by Sean Ferris, they spent the day learning their new mount in preparation for the long season ahead.
“It was my first day out in the car and I’ve got a lot to learn but I enjoyed it,” Devine revealed. “I’m looking forward to doing the full Northern Ireland Championship.”
Two-Wheel Drive
In the two-wheel drive battle, it looked as though Keith White and Paul Mulholland were going to edge away with the category win until rain struck on that fourth stage. The crew were caught out on the wrong tyres and dropped like a stone behind their main rivals.
“We were never going to catch James Kennedy after that fourth stage,” White said. “So I just slid the car about on the last stage and enjoyed it.”
Instead, it was the reigning two-wheel drive champions, James and Heather Kennedy, who claimed the category victory. They had trailed White until the wet stage four gave them an opportunity to move in front.
Running a bit further down the order, Kennedy had the opportunity to fit some wet tyres to his Escort and powered into the lead. That proved to be the turning point of the event and he stayed in front to claim the category win as well as eighth overall.
“I wasn’t looking forward to the wet at all but we had a really good run,” Kennedy said. “We had a small overshoot in the morning and I thought the power in Keith’s Escort was helping him to edge ahead in the dry conditions but then it all changed.”
White eventually finished second in the category, just outside the top 10 overall, while John Devlin and John McCarthy were third ahead of Fintan and Cormac McGrady.
Gareth and Jonathan Nevin were fifth in class and 19th overall, just a couple of seconds ahead of Drew Stewart and David White who lost third and fourth gear midway through the day. Luckily, they had a spare gearbox with them and their service crew swapped the ‘box during service, keeping them in the rally.
Unfortunately for Kyle White and Alan Purdy, they weren’t as lucky. They lost all drive towards the end of stage three and although they managed to finish the test, a damaged ignition coil put them out of the rally.
“It’s only a £15 part,” explained his father, Gary White. “We walked around to try and find a petrol road car that could donate the part to keep him in the rally but we couldn’t find a suitable car.”
And The Rest…
Richard Tannahill used the event to bed himself back into the groove after his last rally resulted in an accident. He and navigator Cheryl Tannahill climbed four places on the final stage to seal ninth overall from the Impreza belonging to James Leckey and Jordan Murphy.
With Keith White in 11th and Brian Watson in 12th, Liam McFall and Matthew McKenna enjoyed their debut drive with the ex-Niall Henry Evo X to take 13th ahead of the Fiesta WRC belonging to Dominic McNeill and Tommy Speers.
Interestingly, this year marks Speers’ 51st year competing in motorsport!
Others worth mentioning include Jonny and Simon Morrow in their stunning Mitsubishi Mirage RS. They lost a bit of time with a misfire but claimed 16th overall from the Mini WRC belonging to Nigel Feeney and Nikki Addison, who enjoyed their first visit to the Kirkistown venue.
Championship sponsor Fintan McGrady takes invited media out for a spin around Kirkistown Race Track. Image: Graham Curry
The 2019 McGrady Insurance Motorsport UK N.I. Stage Rally Championship gets underway this Saturday (23 February) with the Pacenotes Rally Magazine Stages at Kirkistown!
An entry of more than 70 crews has been received for the popular County Down venue with a host of high-powered machinery that includes a handful of World Rally Cars and state-of-the-art R5 rally cars ready to battle for the spoils.
Reigning champion, Derek McGarrity, is expected to lead the field off the start line. The Glengormley driver has confirmed his intent to bid for a record-making ninth N.I. Rally Championship title and although he had initially planned to use his freshly rebuilt Focus WRC, the car has since been sold. Instead, he intends to drive a Fiesta WRC.
His main opposition includes a host of Mini WRC pilots. Draperstown’s Derek McGeehan is a former winner at the Kirkistown venue’s New Year Stages and he also won last year’s non-championship May Day Rally. He plans to use his Mini WRC, as does Scottish visitor Nigel Feeney.
Feeney has campaigned his Mini WRC for a couple of seasons but this will be his first foray into the N.I. Rally Championship scene. He has won a handful of events over the years and could be one to watch once he finds his bearings at the venue.
“I’m planning on doing the championship,” Feeney revealed, “but I may have to miss one or two rounds depending on work commitments.”
Meanwhile, Alan Carmichael should be up to speed after contesting last weekend’s British Rally Championship opener. The Ballymoney man has switched his Mini WRC for a Hyundai i20 R5 which he used to finish second overall at last year’s non-championship Turkey Run Rally in December.
Sean Devine will be among the front-runners as he makes a return to the series in a Fiesta R5. He narrowly missed out on lifting the N.I. Championship title around 10 years ago and he hasn’t had many outings since the 2009 season as he struggled with a back injury.
Also returning to action is Brian McCloskey who, like Devine, hasn’t had many outings in recent years. In fact, it was McCloskey’s son, Connor, who denied Sean Devine the title back in 2008!
McCloskey will contest the event in a Fiesta and so too will Mark Massey. He started last year’s N.I. Championship season with a fourth overall finish at Bishopscourt and will be vying to get his 2019 campaign off to an equally good start.
Other notable entries include Dominic McNeill in a Fiesta WRC, Jonny Morrow in his beautiful Mitsubishi Mirage RS while Liam McFall intends to make his debut in the ex-Niall Henry Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X.
In the two-wheel drive category, all of last year’s main contenders are in the mix including champion James Kennedy, his main 2018 rival John Devlin, plus Damian Toner and championship sponsor, Fintan McGrady.
They are joined by Keith White’s beautiful Ford Escort MkI and Kyle White returns to action in his Peugeot 208 R2 for the first time since his UlsterRally accident.
Where to Watch?
All of the action will take place within the confines of Kirkistown Race Circuit near Portavogie. The North Armagh Motor Club event will feature six stages and spectators are welcome to attend. The entry fee of £15 per person is payable to the Motor Racing Club of Ireland at the gate and includes parking.
More information, including regular updates from the event, will be available from nirallychampionship.com and on the championship’s social media channels.
Set to take place on Saturday 23 February at County Down’s Kirkistown Race Circuit, the North Armagh Motor Club event will feature six special stages based within the confines of the popular venue and includes the championship’s new Formula 1000 class for cars complying with Junior 1000 technical specifications.
“We are delighted to have again secured the support of Mooney Media and its Pacenotes Rally Magazine,” said Clerk of the Course, Barry Taggart. “We are privileged to be associated with Simon Mooney, a long-standing supporter of motorsport in general and rallying in particular.”
Pacenotes Rally Magazine was first published in 2003 and is the only dedicated rally publication in the UK and Ireland. Available from all good newsagents as well as by subscription, it is regarded as the ‘clubman’s bible’, with reports, photographs, features and interviews covering rallying around the country every month.
“I’m delighted to support North Armagh Motor Club and the opening round of the McGrady Insurance Northern Ireland Championship,” commented Mooney Media Managing Director, Simon Mooney. “There’s always a lot of buzz surrounding the opening round of the championship so it’s great to be a part of it.”
The 2019 McGrady Insurance series is already shaping up to be a thriller. Reigning N.I. Champion, Derek McGarrity, is among those who has confirmed his intentions to contest the series as he targets a record-making ninth N.I. title.
Kenny McKinstry, Kevin Lynch and Mervyn Hill each have three titles apiece but in recent years McGarrity has accelerated into the record books. Five consecutive titles between 2012 and 2016, plus successes in 2002, 2009 and 2018 have placed him head and shoulders above his rivals.
The Glengormley driver intends to use his freshly rebuilt 2007 specification Ford Focus WRC at the opening round but he’s well-known for wheeling out a variety of machinery during the season. Will he use the same car for the entire McGrady Insurance series? Only time will tell!
The Pacenotes Rally Magazine Stages returns to the series for the first time since 2017. It’s the traditional season opener and always attracts a strong entry. Volunteers who are interested in marshalling should contact Caroline McGuinness on 07792 037441.
Entries for the event should be completed online (including Online payment) at www.rallyscore.net
Please submit your competed online entry form, including the appropriate fees and seeding information promptly in order to allow us as organisers to be able to confirm the running of the event and the availability of all the necessary services and equipment at the earliest date possible.
***YOUR ENTRY WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED UNTIL YOUR ONLINE ENTRY FEE PAYMENT HAS BEEN RECEIVED***
In order to score points in the McGrady Insurance Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championship, competitors MUST register. Registration for the Championship is FREE upon completion of an application via www.rallyscore.net no later than 09:00hrs on the date of the first event they wish to count as a scoring round. Only those competitors who are members of North Armagh Motor Club Ltd will be eligible to score points towards the NAMC Club Championship.
