Full entry proves strong state of rallying

THERE can be few greater comparisons in Irish rallying than Sunday’s restricted single stage rally in Cahir, which is in sharp contrast to last week’s Cork 20 International Rally.

Yet, they have at least one common theme a full entry reflecting the current state of the sport.

Restricted events (two wheel drive/maximum 2000cc) such as Sunday's triple run, over a stage in the Premier County, are proliferating around the country as demand exceeds supply for the many Motorsport Ireland licence holders.

To an extent, the system is working, these events should be confined to competitors who cannot secure an entry for higher profile national and international rallies. A data capturing system should be deployed to ensure the rallies actually are the premise of those who are turned away from the bigger events.

Run by the Tipperary Light Car and Motorcycle Club, under clerk of the course Andrew Fanning, the second competitor in a week to show his ability as an organiser, the entry is dominated by Ford Escorts, not surprisingly, considering the nature of the Cooney Engineering/Esso sponsored event.

Scrutiny tomorrow evening is at the Cahir Motor Company from 4.30 pm until 9.30 pm. The rally starts on Sunday at 10.00 am with the finish car due to return to Cahir at 4.30 pm.

The rearranged Killarney Hillclimb takes place over the weekend at Rockchapel. The course is close to the Cork/Limerick county boundary. Headquarters is at the Rockchapel Community Centre. Start time tomorrow and Sunday is at 10.00 am. Elsewhere, the Clare Motor Club have an autotest in Garus Quarry, Ennis on Sunday (1.00 pm) and the Mayo club stage a loose surface autocross in Harrington's Quarry, Kilkelly, Co Mayo beginning at 11.30 am.

Motorsport Ireland has announced the winners of the Young Racing Drivers of the Month for August and September. Dubliner's Richie Faulkner and Mark Dunleavy are the respective winners and they join previous monthly winners Michael Devaney, Robbie Coleman, Charlie Donnelly and Eoin Murray to complete the six finalists in this year's Dunlop Sexton Trophy Young Racing Driver of the Year scheme that boasts a first prize of 32,000.

The scheme created by Motorsport Ireland is also backed by the Irish Sports Council and Irish Dunlop, both of whom have agreed to support the scheme for three years.

Meanwhile, the winner of its rallying counterpart, the Billy Coleman Award, will also be announced at Motorsport Ireland's annual Awards for Excellence lunch in early December. Those eligible for the award include: Graham McClintock (Kildare), Rodney Wilton (Cavan), Sean Kelly (Limerick), Andrew Browne (Meath), William

Kavanagh (Tipperary), Alan Shinnors (Limerick), Gus Kearney (Tipperary), John Hegarty (Donegal), Martin Browne (Westmeath), Shaun Gallagher (Donegal), Aaron MacHale (Dublin) and Aidan Bourke (Tipperary).

The Marine Hotel Fastnet Rally (Sunday October 27) will decide the outcome of the Get Connected Tarmac Rally Championship and the 023 Tiles Southern 4 series. The former, a mixture of Irish and British events has Melvyn Evans in its lead role. However, Nigel Hicklin, Damian Cole and John Price can also win the series.

Although Tim O'Donovan leads the 023 Tiles series, Ollie O'Donovan and Nigel Hicklin have bolstered their championship ambitions.