The Killarney and District Motor Club have welcomed this week’s court decision to disqualify 12 drivers, each for a period of two years, following anti-social behavior during the Rally of the Lakes last May.

Success in the Donegal International Rally, which begins in Letterkenny today, is closer to an obsession than an aspiration for a select group of drivers.

For the third successive year, the Donegal crew of Manus Kelly/Donall Barrett in their Applegreen backed Subaru WRC took victory in the Letterkenny based Joule Donegal International Rally. 

Taking the lead three stages from the finish, Donegal’s Manus Kelly/Donall Barrett (Subaru WRC) went on to win the Cartell.ie Rally of the Lakes in a sun drenched Killarney yesterday.

Tarmac champion Sam Moffett (Ford Fiesta R5) heads the entry for the Cartell.ie Rally of the Lakesthat begins from Killarney tomorrow morning.

Cork driver and four-time British Rally Champion Keith Cronin will campaign the new generation Hyundai i20 R5-N in this year’s British Rally Championship that includes rounds of the World Rally Championship (Wales Rally GB) and the European Rally Championship (Rally Ypres).

Leading from the start Donegal’s Donagh Kelly (Ford Focus WRC) swept to a fifth successive victory in the Quality Hotel West Cork Rally. Co-driven by Monaghan’s Conor Foley they finished 45.8 seconds clear of Monaghan’s Josh Moffett and co-driver Andy Hayes with Irish Tarmac champions Monaghan’s Sam Moffett and Cork’s Karl Atkinson (Fiesta R5) in third.

There are events that will always buck the trend in Irish rallying and this weekend’s Quality Hotel West Cork Rally, the opening rounds of the Irish Tarmac Championship and the PlasticBags.ie Southern 4 Rally Championship is a prime example.

One of the most scenic locations in the country, Achill Island, provides the backdrop for the opening round of the Triton Showers Rally Championship on Sunday.

The departure of Citroen Racing World Rally Championship team principal Yves Matton has increased speculation as to the future of the French outfit in the WRC. 

The World Rally Championship was launched at the Autosport Show at the NEC in Birmingham yesterday, with a strong interest from the Emerald Isle.

It’s already a memorable season for Monaghan’s Sam Moffett and it can get even better as he edges closer to becoming the first ever driver to win all three major Irish rallying championships in the same season. 

Donegal’s Donagh Kelly (Ford Focus WRC) would happily trade all his rally wins and even his Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship and the Triton Showers National Rally Championship titles for success in the Joule Donegal International Rally that gets underway today.

Tomorrow night’s Carbery Navigation Trial in Leap in West Cork is the second round of the Munster Navigation Trial Championship. Local crews will be expected to dominate the 115km event although Limerick’s Alan Shinnors and George Shinnors (Subaru), who won last week’s Cork Startrek Navigation Trial, should again be to the forefront.

Despite having rolled their Citroen DS3 WRC seven times in yesterday’s shakedown stage, Tyrone’s Kris Meeke and his Killarney co-driver Paul Nagle (Citroen DS3R3) made it to the start of last evening’s Super Special in the Lotos 72nd Rally Poland, round seven of the World Rally Championship.

Motorsport: Kelly and Flanagan Donegal’s Donagh Kelly and his Derry co-driver Kevin Flanagan (Ford Focus WRC) won the Colm Quinn BMW Galway International Rally, the opening round of the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship.

Motorsport: It’s six years since a Tarmac champion made a successful defence of the series.

On the cusp of his maiden Irish Tarmac Championship success, Donegal’s Declan Boyle (Subaru WRC) is taking nothing for granted ahead of the Todds Leap Ulster Rally, the penultimate round of the Clonakilty Black Pudding-supported series in Enniskillen this afternoon.

A high rate of attrition ripped through the Clonmel-based Sepam Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally that was won by Cork driver Darragh O’Riordan (Ford Fiesta WRC) and his Derry co-driver Tony McDaid.

These are busy times for Monaghan driver Sam Moffett.

On home ground, it is not surprising that there is a wave of expectation on Craig Breen to win the Discover Northern Ireland Circuit of Ireland Rally, round four of the European Rally Championship that gets underway in Belfast this morning.

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.

Through five decades, Kenny McKinstry has been involved in Irish rallying, initially as a competitor but more recently in the hire and preparation of Subaru WRCs.

Leader of the Carryduff Forklift Northern Ireland Rally Championship, Antrim’s Derek McGarrity (Subaru WRC) has dual targets in tomorrow’s Newry based Modern Tyre Service Mourne Rally.

There is a strong Irish presence in the Jim Clark International Rally, the second round of British Rally Championship, that begins with a stage around the streets of Duns in the Scottish borders this evening.

The changing dynamic within the Topaz Donegal International Rally brings a different expectation as Irish Tarmac Championship leader Darren Gass (S10 Subaru WRC) drives away from the Letterkenny start ramp this morning.

An estimated 110,000 people attended the Bavaria City Racing Dublin motorsport demonstration today, despite an unseasonably cold downpour.

Whatever their individual qualities, the combination of stages in the Killarney area and those within the Beara Peninsula are probably unequalled within Europe.

Entering the final stage of the opening leg of the Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally, the third round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, Finnish driver, Juho Hanninen (Skoda Fabia S2000) led Norwegian, Andreas Mikkelsen, also in a Skoda, by just six 10ths of a second behind.

Elevation to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) series has raised the profile of the Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally.

The Irish Tarmac Rally Championship celebrated its 50th different winner of a round of its series since its inception in 1978 when Darren Gass won last weekend’s Safety Direct Galway International Rally, the opening round of the 2012 campaign.

Armagh’s Darren Gass (23) and his Monaghan co-driver, Enda Sherry in their S10 Subaru took a thrilling victory in the Safety Direct Galway International Rally, the opening round of the Irish Tarmac Championship.

Irish Tarmac Rally champion Tim McNulty welcomes the challenge of Sunday’s Safety Direct Galway International Rally, the opening round of the series.

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.

WITH five out of six fastest stage times, Sebastien Loeb (Citroen DS3) extended his overall lead in the Monte Carlo Rally to a minute and 37.2 seconds as the battle for second between Dani Sordo (MINI WRC) and Petter Solberg (Fiesta WRC) hotted up.

FIVE times Irish Tarmac rally champion, Eugene Donnelly will make a dramatic return to the series behind the wheel of a Derek McGeehan run MINI WRC in next Month’s Safety Direct Galway International Rally.

THE Bantry-based Westlodge Hotel Fastnet Rally brings the Dunlop National Rally Championship to a fitting finale on Sunday with a cracking entry featuring no fewer than seven World Rally Cars in a quality line-up.

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

ALTHOUGH three drivers have won the National Rally Championship and the Irish Tarmac Championship (ITC) at different times, no driver has ever won the two championships in the same season.

TALES of financial woe took a back seat yesterday as Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May took Dublin by storm in a Bugatti Veyron.