For immediate release: 19 October 2009

McKinstry wins the F&M Contracts Down Rally
while McGarrity provisionally seals Hankook N.I. title!

Kenny McKinstry and Noel Orr sealed victory at Saturday's F&M Contracts Down Rally, but it was Glengormley's Derek McGarrity, together with navigator James McKee, who provisionally sealed the 2009 Hankook MSA N.I. Stage Rally Championship crown with one round remaining!

McGarrity entered the event believing that a top three finish would be enough to secure the series spoils, and he duly delivered. Second overall behind McKinstry provisionally handed him the 2009 title...or so it seemed.

Championship regulations state that competitors are awarded 10 bonus points if they marshal at a stage rally or rally time trial during the year. McGarrity had planned to marshal after Saturday's event, but a closer look at the regulations revealed that for bonus points to be awarded, competitors must marshal before the penultimate round of the season - in this case, the Down Rally!

A quick phone call to Kenny McKinstry revealed that he had marshalled at a hillclimb earlier this year. With McGarrity failing to secure his marshalling points, if McKinstry's marshalling points were to be confirmed, it would have left one point between the two drivers going into the final round.

But the story doesn't end there, and referring back to the regulations, the words 'stage rally' and 'rally time trial' have particular significance. Those words are underlined in the regulations document, and for good reason. A hillclimb does not fall under either of these categories, and consequently it seems that McKinstry has also lost out, although he has yet to submit his marshalling card to the organisers.

They say the devil is in the detail, and that was certainly ringing true in both McGarrity's and McKinstry's ears on Sunday. Derek McGarrity had a lucky escape though, and with both drivers failing to secure bonus marshalling points, Glengormley's McGarrity is the provisional 2009 Hankook MSA Northern Ireland Stage Rally Champion!

"I didn't set out to do the championship but as it progressed, my sponsor, Norman Kerr, wanted us to go on," McGarrity said at the Castlewellan finish on Saturday. "The last couple of rallies were difficult as I was driving to get points but now I'm looking forward to a cut at the Townparks Rally."

The rally went according to plan for runner-up McGarrity. Despite stalling his Focus WRC at the start line of the opening stage, he was quickly up to speed and held second overall after stage two. There were no more dramas for the crew as they rallied towards success.

As for event winners, Kenny McKinstry and Noel Orr, they did all they could to keep their series hopes alive. Fastest times on all eight stages sealed the rally win, although the crew were lucky not to get a puncture when they hit a rock.

Donagh Kelly and Kevin Flanagan claimed third overall in a day that saw most of their leading Sunoco Fuels Group N opposition retire. Neil McCance retired with driveshaft trouble on stage one, while Damien Tourish also exited the event on the same stage. Then Raymond Johnston crashed out on stage two, leaving Kelly fighting with Enda McNulty and Raymond Mason for the Group N spoils.

Donagh Kelly had no such troubles though, and he had a steady drive towards maximum Group N points. He made the same mistake as Derek McGarrity though, believing he had the Group N title sewn up if he marshalled after the rally. As it transpires, he must enter to the final event of the season.

Enda McNulty and Ronan O'Kane finished fourth overall ahead of Raymond Mason and Peter Martin, while the Superdrive two-wheel-drive category spoils were awarded to Oran Donnelly and Paul Hughes. They had been embroiled in a battle with Viv and Paul Hamill, but the Hamills retired, leaving Donnelly to take the top 2WD spot, as well as sixth overall.

In the Montgomery Motorsport Historic category, new champion, Philip Hunter, had a short day in his Mark 2 Escort. Navigated by Michael Faloon, the crew landed sideways over a crest on the day's opening stage. The car was thrown into the undergrowth, putting them out of the rally. Hunter's exit from the rally left Tommy O'Connell and Sean Magee as the sole survivors, but they also retired a few stages later.

With the penultimate round of the Hankook MSA N.I. Stage Rally Championship completed, all eyes are now turned towards the final event of the season. County Antrim's Townparks Rally will take place on Saturday 06 November, and more details are available online at www.nirally.com.

ENDS.

F&M Contracts Down Rally - top 10 overall results

1 Kenny McKinstry/Noel Orr (Impreza WRC) 42m08s
2 Derek McGarrity/James McKee (Focus WRC) 43m00s
3 Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Lancer Evo 9) 43m30s
4 Enda McNulty/Ronan O'Kane (Impreza) 43m55s
5 Raymond Mason/Peter Martin (Lancer Evo 9) 44m44s
6 Oran Donnelly/Paul Hughes (Escort Mk2) 45m38s
7 Emma McKinstry/Kenny Hull (Impreza WRC) 45m57s
8 John McGaffin/Declan Tumilty (Impreza WRC) 45m57s
9 Jody McGrath/Paul Fox (Legacy) 47m25s
10 Declan Leonard/Dara Leonard (Fiesta ST) 47m47s


Regards,

Jonathan MacDonald
MediaJAM Communications