Jennings star entry in Donegal

NEWLY-CROWNED Irish Tarmac Group N champion, Garry Jennings headlines tomorrow’s Bailey NiteClub Redcastle Oceanfront Spa Hotel Donegal Harvest Rally, the penultimate round of the Dunlop National Rally Championship.

Having won last year’s rally, the Fermanagh driver drives a Subaru WRC on the nine-stage event that plays an important role in the destiny of the rally.ie two-wheel drive award.

Meanwhile, without turning a wheel in Donegal, Monaghan’s Sam Moffett will claim the Motorsport Safety Team Group N award as his rival, Robert Barrable, competes in Scotland.

Jennings faces Dunlop and Subaru WRC duo, Kevin Barrett and Niall Maguire. Barrett is bidding to secure second overall in the Dunlop series and trails Moffett by just three points.

The two-wheel drive category is popular in Donegal, reflected with one of the strongest entry lists of the season. Gary McPhillips, Rodney Wilton, Wesley Patterson, Manus Kelly, Washington James, Declan Boyle and Camillus Bradley are vying for the accolade of finishing the best two-wheel drive. All, except Washington James (Darian) are in Ford Escorts.

Within the Dunlop series, Tyrone’s Frank Kelly (56 points) leads the way but Lisburn’s Wesley Patterson (51 points), Sam Smyth (47 points) and Washington James (42 points) remain in the hunt with this rally and the final round, the Westlodge Fastnet Rally, offering points-scoring opportunities. The Group N entry includes Monaghan’s Shane Maguire (Subaru) and Donegal’s Trevor Bustard (Mitsubishi).

The inaugural Dunlop Junior National Rally Championship will be decided in Donegal. Monaghan’s Johno Doogan (Ford Escort) with 28 points, Meath’s Chris Snow (Honda Civic) on 23 points, Monaghan’s David Moffett (Toyota Starlet) with 20 points and Clonakilty’s Cal McCarthy (Honda Civic) on 18 points are the top quartet. Tomorrow’s first stage starts at 9.42am.

There is a strong Irish presence in Rally Scotland, the penultimate round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge with Craig Breen (Ford Fiesta S2000), Robert Barrable (Skoda Fabia S2000), Alastair Fisher (Ford Fiesta S2000), Jonny Greer (Skoda Fabia S2000) and Mark Donnelly (Renault Clio) competing.

Breen, seventh in his last IRC outing (Barum Rally), will be out to atone for retiring from last week’s round of the WRC Academy in France. The Waterford driver said afterwards his demise was due to a late pace note call. Initially, his retirement was attributed to a broken driveshaft.

Barrable, who withdrew from last week’s Cork “20”, is more of a tarmac specialist. The young Dubliner needs a strong result on the gravel surface. Fisher will be reunited with the Fiesta S2000 he drove to second in Donegal. Greer will have to be at his best to keep pace with his Irish rivals. Breen is seeded at 17 with Barrable, Fisher and Greer next off the start ramp.

In the context of the IRC, Jan Kopecky (Skoda) has a 29-point lead over Freddy Loix (Skoda) and Thierry Neuville (Peugeot). French ace, Bryan Bouffier (Peugeot 207) is the top seed with Kopecky, Loix, Neuville, Juha Hanninen (Skoda), Andreas Mikkelsen (Skoda) and Guy Wilks (Peugeot) completing the top seven seeds.

Elsewhere, the National Navigation Trial series starts tomorrow night at Dunkerrin, Tipperary at 9.45pm. On Sunday, the Tipperary 4x4 Trial at Dualla near Cashel and the Munster Kart Races at Kartworld, Watergrasshill both begin at 10am.

Cork “20” winner, Daragh O’Riordan will contest the Westlodge Hotel Fastnet Rally on Sunday, October 28. The Midleton driver is one of the contenders to clinch the regional Windscreen Company Southern 4 series.