Donnelly back for Galway Rally

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.

Last October, Donnelly came out of retirement and drove a Toyota Corolla to second place of the Westlodge Hotel Fastnet Rally in Bantry.

Having lost some 75 seconds on the opening stage with a puncture, Donnelly closed the deficit to a mere six seconds at the finish.

Speaking yesterday, he said, “That event really influenced my decision to return, I was extremely happy with my pace and I felt good.”

McGeehan Motorsport will take delivery of the car this week, the following week, they have planned a two-day test that will be attended by engineers from Prodrive.

On his championship bid, Donnelly, who will be co-driven by Paddy Toner, remarked: “When you study the championship the points system that is being utilised this year hasn’t been thought through.

” If you have a bad run in Galway, the addition of bonus points makes it difficult to recover lost ground. Unlike previous years, you don’t have the luxury of skipping events.”

Organisers of the Galway event have issued a statement confirming that Colm Quinn MINI will sponsor the car while Colm Quinn BMW will underpin three stages of the rally.

The opening stage will be the city centre Dyke Road spectator stage that was last run in 1998. Fifty per cent bonus points are on offer for the event that takes place on Sunday February 5.

Entries continue to spiral and amongst the 140 that have already been received are Darren Gass, Kevin Barrett, Daragh O’Riordan, Thomas Fitzmaurice, all in Subaru WRC’s and Derek McGarrity (Ford Focus WRC). The Group N sector features Alan Ring, Sam Moffett, Gary Jennings, Stephen Wright, Trevor Bustard, Daniel Barry and Donagh Kelly. Escort pair, Daniel McKenna and Declan Boyle are amongst the modified entry.

Meanwhile, the entry list for next Saturday’s New Year Stages Rally at Kirkistown will feature the MINI WRC with Derek McGeehan piloting the car.

Last year’s winner, Kenny McKinstry (Subaru WRC) and Derek McGarrity (Ford Focus WRC) have also entered, the latter as a shakedown for the Galway event.

Currently without a title and secondary sponsor, organisers of the British Rally Championship have agreed a deal for a further two years with Pirelli as tyre provider to the series.

Pirelli has been the control tyre provider to the series since 2007, the previous agreement was set to conclude at the end of this year.

The deal with Dulux Trade as title sponsor ended last season while secondary sponsor, insurance company, MIS, headed by Kerry born, Dermot Hanafin has also finished.

The six round series begins with Rallye Sunseeker in Bournemouth at the end of February, the title sponsorship fee including branding rights is set to cost £150,000.

In a move that is expected to entice manufacturer involvement, the 2012 BRC is confined to two-wheel-drive cars only.

“In this current global environment, it’s fantastic that we have secured this three year deal with Pirelli which also includes the coveted Star Driver competition.

“This agreement is a real testament, it shows Pirelli has confidence in the future direction of the Championship and we are delighted to extend our partnership which is now in its eleventh year.” said Championship Manager, Mark Taylor.

Former Junior World Rally Champion, Patrik Sandell, will drive the second factory John Cooper Works WRC in Rally Sweden. The Rally Isle of Man organisers have confirmed that this year’s event will take place on September 21st and 22nd.

Meanwhile, the dispute between Motorsport Ireland and Kart Ireland that provoked uncertainty and threatened the future of Irish karting has ended. Kart Ireland has issued a statement highlighting the confusion amongst karters, the current stalemate that exists between the various bodies and clubs and Motorsport Ireland’s refusal to enter meaningful dialogue.

The statement read: “Because of this risk, Kart Ireland has, in the best interests of the sport, reached a decision that it will not run race meetings in 2012 but will remain as a forum for karters to express their opinions.”

Kart Ireland claim that most of the recent 16 point plan issued by Motorsport Ireland can be directly attributed to the vision they, Kart Ireland, expressed.