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IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
PRE
EVENT RELEASE – F&M CONTRACTS DOWN RALLY 2008.
Round 9 of the MSA Pacenotes NI Rally Championship
CHAMPIONSHIP
TUSSLE DECENDS ON DOWN RALLY.
The
fight to claim the Northern Ireland Rally Championship crown moves
to the Forests of South Down for the Rathfriland Motor Club’s
F&M Contracts Down Rally on Saturday 18th October.
Sean
Devine and Damien Duffin, who are chasing a first NI crown in
their Subaru Impreza WRC, head the entry list, and the NI Championship
when the crews arrive in Castlewellan on Friday evening.
It
was Devine who won the inaugural Down Rally in 2005, finished
2nd to Kevin Lynch in 2006 and retired with suspension failure
in 2007 while chasing eventual winner Richard Cathcart in 2007.
Behind
him at number 2 is the tried and tested Toyota Corolla WRC of
Glenn Allen and Damien Connolly. The 2007 Champion will be hoping
for better luck this year after the ‘off’in Rostrevor
Forest that put him out of the event in ‘07.
Devine
and Allen will both be looking in their mirror for 22-year-old
Conor McCloskey. The number 3 seed is fresh from his maiden win
on the Bushwhacker Rally on September 27th and will be hoping
that he can continue his pace on an event that he has never competed
on.
With
the Championship class 2 leader Neil McCance competing on the
clashing Evo Challenge round in England, the top production spot
goes to Down Rally regular Donagh Kelly at number 4 with Cathal
Rogers and Banbridge’s Emma McKinstry rounding off the top
6.
Running
ahead of the main field this year will be the smaller capacity
cars, and all eyes will be on Oran Donnelly’s unique rear
wheel drive Fiesta and the Vauxhall Corsa of Dermot O’Hagan.
Donnelly
heads O‘Hagan by a scant 1 point in the championship standings
and both will enjoy the best of the road conditions out front
and could well embarrass some of the competitors in the higher
classes.
This
year’s local interest includes Banbridge’s John and
Gavin Devlin, Christian Cochrane, David Hynds and David Walsh
from Downpatrick, Ballykinlar’s Sean Warnock and Castlewellan’s
Micheal McMullan.
So
it will be Oran Donnelly and Paul Hughes who will lead the field
the short distance from the start in Castlewellan to the first
of the tests in the Tollymore Forest Complex at 8.30 on Saturday
morning
The
event will comprise of seven challenging stages throughout the
day with centralised service in Castlewellan Forest Park. The
finish is planned for around 4pm in the Lower Square, Castlewellan.
An
Event Spectator Guide can be downloaded from www.downrally.com
in the run up to the event and free Stage Maps will be available
from the Rally HQ (Kings Inn), Eurospar and Lennon’s JET
Filling Station in Castlewellan.
Top
Ten Entries:
1)
Sean Devine / Damien Duffin. Impreza WRC
2) Glenn Allen / Damian Connolly. Corolla WRC
3) Conor McCloskey / Francis Regan. Focus WRC
4) Donagh Kelly / Kevin Flanagan. Mitsubishi Evo 9
5) Cathal Rogers / Eoighan Rogers. Mitsubishi Evo 9
6) Emma McKinstry / Kenny Hull. Impreza WRC
7) PJ Gillespie / Mary O’Kane. Mitsubishi Evo
8) Raymond Mason / Peter Martin. Mitsubishi Evo 9
9) John Walker / Dessie Wilson. Mitsubishi Evo 9
10) Alan Carmichael / Ivor Lamont. Mitsubishi Evo 9
ENDS
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