Aiming to win the Westlodge Hotel Fastnet Rally for an unprecedented fourth time, Daragh O’Riordan (Ford Fiesta WRC) heads a close-to- capacity entry for what is the final counter in the Tritons Showers National Rally Championship and the PlasticBags.ie Southern 4 series.

The top Irish competitors had disappointing outings over the weekend both in the World Rally Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

Dominant through the opening stage, Cork’s Denis Moynihan and his Kerry co-driver Ger Conway in their Airflow Services/Daikin backed Mk 1 Ford Escort went on to take a deserved victory in the Rentokil-Initial Killarney Historic Rally, the first round of the 2015 Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Historic Championship.

The recent announcement that Tyrone’s Kris Meeke and his Killarney co-driver Paul Nagle will lead the new look Abu Dhabi Citroen team in next season’s World Rally Championship is a tribute to their perseverance as much as their ability.

Trading times with his rivals through the various stages of Rallye de France Alsace, Waterford’s Craig Breen (Ford Fiesta) is just 2.2 seconds behind leader Hayden Paddon (Skoda Fabia) in the S2000 category of the World Rally Championship with series leader, PG Andersson (Proton Satria) over a minute adrift in third.

Dunlop National Rally Championship leader Thomas Fitzmaurice has promised to intensify his attempt to win the series that moves to the penultimate stage at Sunday’s Auburn Lodge Clare Rally in Ennis.

On his debut in a recently acquired S12B Subaru World Rally Car, Donegal’s Declan Boyle took a dramatic victory in the Mor Oil Galway Summer Rally, round four of the Top Part West Coast Rally Championship.

At the end of the first leg of Rally Finland, round eight of the World Rally Championship, the Irish crew of Craig Breen/Paul Nagle (Ford Fiesta S2000) hold fourth place in the S-WRC category.

Yesterday’s, Cavan Rally was marred by tragedy during the first stage of the event near Bailieborough.

Remarkably, for the fifth time in recent years, the Carlton Hotel Circuit of Kerry Rally, the third round of the Dunlop National Rally Championship, ended in a tie-break.

Irish driver, Craig Breen (22) is second in the S-WRC registered competitors at Rally Sweden after yesterday’s nine stages.

World Rally S2000 Championship leader Craig Breen (Ford Fiesta S2000) seeks to consolidate his position in Rally Sweden, which gets under way in earnest this morning.

WATERFORD’S Craig Breen (Fiesta S2000) made the best possible start to his SWRC title challenge with a category victory in the Monte Carlo Rally that was won by Citroen’s Sebastien Loeb.

EVEN though Sebastien Loeb (Citroen DS3) leads the Monte Carlo Rally by a considerable margin, the world champion is taking nothing for granted given the vagaries of the weather and road conditions.

THE performance of reigning World Rally Academy champion, Craig Breen, will be monitored closely on the Monte Carlo Rally, the opening round of the World Rally Championship that begins today.

THE World Rally Championship gets underway next week with the Monte Carlo Rally and according to Corkman Gerard Quinn, winning the manufacturers’ title remains the holy grail while having the world champion driver is also a tantalising prospect.

IRISH interest in next month’s Monte Carlo Rally, the opening round of the 2012 World Rally Championship, has been severely diluted as Tyrone’s Kris Meeke and his Kerry co-driver, Paul Nagle do not appear on the 89-strong entry list that was announced earlier this week.

FORMER five-times Irish Tarmac champion Eugene Donnelly is a dramatic late entry for next week’s Westlodge Hotel Fastnet Rally in Bantry.

EVEN though he had to replace the power steering pump on three separate occasions, Meath’s, Tim McNulty (Subaru WRC) maintained his unbeaten sequence in the Dunlop National Rally Championship.

HAVING set the third fastest time on the second stage of Rally Italy in Sardinia, round five of the World Rally Championship, Irish pair Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle retired their MINI WRC on the following test whilst fourth overall.

THE most anticipated round of the World Rally Championship, the Rally Italy in Sardinia, has enormous Irish interest with the competition debut of the Mini John Cooper Works WRC.

WATERFORD’S Craig Breen made a great start to the inaugural WRC Academy series in the Vodafone Rally de Portugal yesterday where he leads Estonian Egonaaur Kaur by 48.4 seconds after seven stages, with Fermanagh’s Alastair Fisher just 0.8 of a second behind in third.

TWO of Ireland’s most talented drivers, Waterford’s, Craig Breen and Fermanagh’s, Alastair Fisher compete in the WRC Academy series that begins this weekend alongside Rally Portugal, the third round of the World Rally championship.

WITH the dawning of a new era in the World Rally Championship, one question remains pertinent — who can break Sebastien Loeb’s dominance? World champion since 2004, the unflappable French ace bids to continue his amazing WRC record as Rally Sweden begins in earnest today following last night’s super special at the city’s trotting track in Karlstad.

IN his first full season in Irish rallying’s Group N showroom category, Monaghan’s Shane Maguire has already learned some salutary lessons.

NORWAY’s Petter Solberg and Irish co-driver, Chris Patterson begin today’s second stage of the Neste Oil Rally Finland in first position after setting the fastest time on last evening’s opening stage.

WITH the margin for error in both the Dunlop National Rally Championship and the Dulux Trade British series diminishing as both championships near conclusion, this weekend’s Dominic Quinn Body Repairs/Sligo Park Hotel Rally and Rally Isle of Man are of major significance to their respective title protagonists.

CHRIS PATTERSON (41) will be the new partner for Norwegian driver Petter Solberg in the World Rally Championship. Early last month, Phil Mills, Solberg’s regular co-driver, stepped down from his role with the flamboyant Norwegian, who has 152 WRC starts including 13 wins and one world title.

ULSTER came out of cold storage to strangle the life out of Edinburgh and take their outside chances of reaching the knockout stages a step further.

TO arrive at the penultimate phase of the Six Nations championship unbeaten, with a clean bill of health, and competition for places at an all-time high is as much as any coach could have wished for — especially in Declan Kidney’s inaugural season at the helm.

THE MORE you distance yourself from the events of Stade de France 10 days ago, the more the feeling grows that the opportunity for an all-too-rare victory in the French capital was spurned.

REIGNING World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb’s hopes of extending his early-season advantage at the top of the standings were ended after he crashed out of the Swedish Rally.

Always having more pace than his rivals, Derryman Kevin Lynch parented by Francis O’Regan (Subaru WRC) won the Midleton-based Moonraker Rally, round four of the McCauley Trailers Irish Forest Rally Championship.

Ireland’s Austin MacHale and co-driver, Brian Murphy (Ford Focus WRC) are beginning today’s final leg of the International Rally of Wales in third place with Northern Ireland pair Kris Meeke/Chris Patterson ((Corsa) in seventh spot and leading the Super 1600 category.

NEVER BEFORE has an Irish side played for so valuable a prize as such overwhelming favourites.

WHEN his coach declares that Frederic Michalak will receive increased protection the longer the week goes on, you have be sure that the French out-half in the World Cup quarter-final at the Telstra Dome on Sunday, is something very special indeed.

At the Ferrari-owned Mugello track in Italy, Michael Cullen won the final event of the European Ferrari

Ireland’s Austin MacHale and Brian Murphy (Subaru WRC) are fifth at the end of the first leg of the

The reigning Irish Tarmac Rally Champions, Andrew Nesbitt and James O'Brien, are the top seeds for the Ordnance Survey Ireland Rally of the Lakes 2003.

LEADING from the start, Derek McGarrity and co-driver Chris Patterson withstood pressure from defending champions Andrew Nesbitt and James O’Brien to take their first win in the Buy & Sell Circuit of Ireland Rally.