Donnelly looking forward to tarmac challenge

IRISH Tarmac Rally champion, Eugene Donnelly will drive his Skoda Fabia WRC on tomorrow’s Tour of Sperrins Rally in Maghera. Interest in the rally is heightened by the fact that the organisers, the Magherafelt and District Motor Club, have switched the rally from gravel to tarmac surface.

Donnelly is looking forward to competing on home territory, he said, “It’s also my home club and I don’t think there has ever been a home winner so that’s another thing as well. I really want to see what potential the Fabia has and the best way to achieve that is in race conditions. I have a good feeling about the car.”

The event is the third round of the Pacenotes MSA Northern Ireland Rally Championship and with top seed and leader, Kevin Lynch having withdrawn his entry, Glen Allen (Toyota Corolla WRC) has an opportunity to take the initiative. Sean Devine and Raymond Johnson (Subaru WRC’s), Kieran Shaw (Mitsubishi) and Stephen Moore (Ford Focus WRC) complete the top six. Cork driver, Liam McCarthy makes the journey north and will use the event as a test after recent changes to his Toyota Corolla WRC. “The car is now close to the factory settings, McGeehan Motorsport have inserted the paddle shift and joystick. We (Kieran Murphy, my co-driver and myself) reckoned that the event was very suited for all concerned to try out the changes,” said McCarthy.

First car away from Walsh’s Hotel, Maghera is at 10am tomorrow, the day’s eight stages total some 45 miles.

Today’s Rally d’Italia-Sardegna is the first European gravel rally of the WRC campaign and Marcus Gronholm (BP-Ford) will endeavour to close the 19 points gap to series leader, Sebastien Loeb (Citroen). “It’s important to score good points here and my target is clear — to win. It is still a new car and we continue to fine-tune it as the season progresses. This will be the first time in competition in Sardinia with this Focus RS and I’m sure we will learn more about it during the event,” said the Finnish ace.

Ireland’s Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle compete in the ‘04 spec car, the privately run Stobart-VK-M-Sport Ford Rally Team has entered three ‘04 Focus RS WRC’s including that of Matthew Wilson and his Irish co-driver, Michael Orr On Sunday, the Kildare 4x4 Production Trial is at Dualla near Cashel and there are Loose Surface Autocrosses at Piltown, Co. Kilkenny and Swinford, Co. Mayo.

In Brands Hatch, Emmet O’Brien (BMW) competes in the fifth and sixth rounds of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, he is currently tenth in the Independents Championship.

Following a late offer, Northern Ireland’s Richard Lyons (26) will drive in the Le Mans Endurance Series in Spa this weekend where he will pilot a highly competitive Aston Martin GT1 car with team mate, the highly rated Spaniard, Antonio Garcia.

Draft dates for the World Rally Championship calendar for 2007 and the 2007/2008 Winter Championship will be drawn up when the World Motor Sport Council reconvenes next month. It appears that the 2007 Championship — likely to consist of 8 rallies — will run from January to May and that the 2008 WRC (possibly 16 events) will commence in August 2007 and concludes in May 2008. With regard to the candidate events, Morrie Chandler, Caretaker Chairman of the World Rally Championship Commission, said; “Of the six candidate events (including Rally Ireland) only three have run to date. We have received dossiers on each event and they will all be assessed in the same manner as the current rallies and our recommendations presented to the World Motor Sport Council. This is another reason we have to meet again in June, when all six candidates will have run. We have agreed a process for managing applications based on set criteria, used as a basis for the management of candidate events.”

Entries for the Shell Donegal International Rally close today and despite speculation, organisers confirmed yesterday that, as yet, they hadn’t received entries from the Ford outfit, Daniel Carlsson or Colin McRae. Meanwhile, Dunlop national champion, Ray Breen is unlikely to contest the remainder of the current series and remains doubtful for next week’s fifth round in Cavan.

The “Evening of Motorsport” fundraising event due to take place tomorrow night in the Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork, has been deferred until the first weekend in July.

The Tadhg O’Conaill Plumbing and Heating Cork Forest Rally (July 22/23) with stages in Mallow and Ballyhoura will be based at the Commons Inn Hotel, Blackpool.