Leading all the way, Monaghan’s Niall Maguire (Subaru WRC), co-driven by James O’Reilly, survived a final-stage puncture to win the Lady Gregory Hotel Galway Summer Rally in Gort.

The Moffett domination of the Monaghan Rally continued yesterday but it was the younger sibling Josh that won the event. 

Although it is almost a quarter of a century since Peadar Hurson won the National Rally Championship on board an Opel Ascona 400, the Warrenpoint driver remains a potent threat in Irish rallying.

A passion for motorsport engendered by rally icon Billy Coleman has inspired Cork native John Campion to assist a group of young talented drivers.

The Irish pair of Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle (Citroen DS3 WRC) topped the leaderboard after last evening’s two stages of Rallye Monte Carlo, the first round of the World Rally Championship.

Killarney’s Rob Duggan (22) and Jake Byrne (21) from Blackwood, near Naas scooped the top awards at the Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Awards ceremony in Dublin yesterday.

Some very exciting prospects return on a good card this afternoon at Thurles, where the nap goes to Kilcrea in the Thurlesraces.ie Handicap Chase.

The Donegal/Derry combination of Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Ford Focus WRC) continued their dominance of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship with a facile victory on the Deebert House Hotel Circuit of Munster Rally that was based in Kilmallock.

Willie Mullins enjoyed a clean sweep of the Grade 1 events on the opening day of the Punchestown Festival, but some second-string representatives were called upon to help deliver the treble in front of a record opening-day crowd of 20,214.

There is another capacity entry for a round of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship with the Midland Moto Rally in Roscommon providing the latest episode of the eight round series. 

The Willie Mullins-trained Nickname Exit sets the standard in today’s bumper in Clonmel, the Powerstown Flat Race.

Motorsport: A spin midway through the final stage of Rally Sweden, the second round of the World Rally Championship denied the Irish pair of Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Citroen DS3 WRC) the opportunity of finishing sixth.

Champion amateur Derek O’Connor recorded 1,000 wins in point-to-points when successful on Death Duty at Cragmore in County Limerick, yesterday.

Motorsport: Losing time off the start line of last night’s opening stage of Rally Sweden, round two of the World Rally Championship, the Irish crew of Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Citroen D3 WRC) are outside the top 10 but still only 2.6 seconds off the lead after the completion of the Super Special at Karlstad. Meeke was very relaxed at the stage finish and was looking forward to today’s nine stages.

He may have a fair way to go to be in the Willie Mullins league, but Gordon Elliott is getting there - and quickly writes Pat Keane.

With their Citroen DS3 WRC armed with several significant upgrades to the engine, suspension, aerodynamics and gearbox, the Irish crew of Meeke and Paul Nagle expect to be fighting for the leading places on Rallye Monte Carlo that cranks into gear this evening.

Motorsport

Marito and Roi Du Mee filled the first two places in the Listed At The Races Chase last year and the pair clash again in the Tramore feature today.

All roads led to Boulta for the annual Clonmult/Dungourney point-to-point fixture yesterday and the Denis Leahy-trained newcomer Hawkhurst produced a stunning debut victory in the first division of the four-year-old geldings’ maiden.

On their debut for the factory Citroen Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, Dungannon’s Kris Meeke and Killarney’s Paul Nagle netted a podium finish along with a bonus point from the Power Stage of Rallye Monte Carlo, the first round of the World Rally Championship.

Irish pair Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle in their Citroen DS3 WRC made a memorable start to the World Rally Championship and hold second overall after the opening day of an incident-filled Rallye Monte Carlo.

Thomas Fitzmaurice (Subaru) heads a cracking entry for Sunday’s Carlton Hotel Circuit of Kerry Rally in Tralee.

These are busy times for Cork racing ace Matt Griffin.

The annual awards usually throw up a few surprises but there was an air of predictability at yesterday’s Dunlop Ireland Champions of Motorsport Awards ceremony at the Hilton Dublin Airport Hotel.

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.

Revival is the central theme to the weekend events in both rallying and racing.

On what was his first rally in over eight months, Wexford’s James Stafford, in his rear wheel drive Darrian T90 GTR, took a well-earned victory in the Kilkenny-based Raven’s Rock Rally.

Although not a round of the Dunlop series, tomorrow’s Kilkenny-based Raven’s Rock Rally has still attracted an entry in excess of 100 crews along with 18 competitors in the junior category.

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.

There is no real explanation why the Carlton Hotel Circuit of Kerry is one of the most hotly contested events in Irish rallying. On four occasions in recent times the rally has ended in a tie-break situation and three have involved current leader of the Dunlop National Rally Championship, Niall Maguire.

The revamped Dunlop National Rally Championship begins on Sunday with the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel Rally and a capacity entry for the nine stages around Rathdowney.

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.

GORDON ELLIOTT and Paul Carberry doubled-up with Mae’s Choice and Al Dafa in Downpatrick yesterday.

PANDORAMA has been ruled out for the entire season after failing to fully recover from an injury sustained in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

THE Irish contingent in Rally Estonia, that begins today, has been whittled down to two drivers following the withdrawal of Kris Meeke and his co-driver Paul Nagle in their Mini John Cooper Works WRC.

WHAT appeared to be a cracking entry for Sunday’s Kilkenny-based Suirway Farm Machinery Raven’s Rock Rally, the fifth round of the Dunlop National Rally Championship, has been decimated by a series of withdrawals.

WITH little room for error, Tim McNulty (Subaru WRC) and co-driver, Paul Kiely were pushed all through the Hotel Kilmore Cavan Rally before claiming their fourth successive victory in the Dunlop National Rally Championship.

SOME of the most renowned stages in Irish rallying, like Moll’s Gap, Caragh Lake and those in the Béara Peninsula, are the principal reason Tim McNulty opted to compete in this weekend’s Cartell.ie Killarney International Rally of the Lakes, the third round of the Irish Tarmac Championship, instead of last week’s Circuit of Ireland Rally.