Tomorrow is a red letter day for the fledgling Imokilly Motor Club who will host their first ever stage rally since affiliating with Motorsport Ireland six years ago.

THEY’VE been labelled the “Irish foreign legion”, “the Celtic Convoy” and the “Green Army”, amongst other things, but one thing is certain — the Irish arrived on Kiwi shores to support Ireland in their droves.

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.

At 7.25am the alarm went off, before 7.30 he was out in the kennel, checking on Glanmore Susan; she was fine, even better than fine – “Hopping off the ground!”

JOHN ALLEN is as positive about the Cork preparations for Sunday’s Guinness All-Ireland hurling final as he could hope to be.

THE MOONRAKER Rally, an event steeped in tradition, marks a beginning of an era for the Munster Car Club, the rally section of the now technically disbanded Munster Motor Cycle and Car Club, one of the oldest clubs in the sport that originally catered for four different aspects of motorsport.

Cork’s John McCarthy/Dan Maguire made an impressive start to the KBB Doors National Forest Championship with a dominant victory in the Suirway Lifts Carrick on Suir Forest Rally. Debuting a Subaru Impreza 555, they controlled the rally from the opening stage.