Irish rallying mourns the loss of Leo Whyte

Whyte's funeral service takes place in his native Cork on Friday.

RIP: The late Leo Whyte (left) on the occasion of his third place finish on the 1974 Benson and Hedges Circuit of Ireland Rally with Billy Coleman receiving their awards. The event was the opening round of the British Rally Championship, which Billy Coleman went on to win. Picture: Rallyretro.

Irish rallying is mourning the loss of one of its former greats Leo Whyte, whose funeral service takes place in his native Cork on Friday.

Both as an organiser and competitor he was extremely talented and is credited with elevating one of the oldest rallies in Europe - the Cork '20' - to International status in 1977.

The Wilton native took the helm the previous year when it was based in Kinsale and went on to oversee the event until 1982.

His visionary proposal to the board of directors of the then Munster Motor Cycle and Car Club (MMC&CC) to seek International status was unanimously accepted and the 1977 rally was one of the first Irish tarmac rallies to have such standing.

He was also clerk of the course of the Munster Moonraker Forest Rally from 1972 to 1974 inclusive when it was then based at Vernon Mount, the home of the Munster Motor Cycle and Car Club.

As a rally navigator, both in stage events and navigation rallies, Leo Whyte was also very successful and with his vast knowledge of terrain, especially with County Cork.

His selection of roads for the Cork '20' Internationals ensured that they were competitive events over the most challenging roads within the county.

His maps reading skills, allied to his perfect plotting of routes, made him a much sought after navigator. 

Events such as the Monaghan “Drumlin” Navigation and the Munster Reggie Tilson Navigation rallies were key events in the National Navigation series where he navigated for Michael "Bones" O'Connor and whatever the location, he was always at the cutting edge.

In the early '70's, lesser profile events took place on Wednesday nights around the Cork region. He also navigated the likes of Frank O'Mahony and Horace Curtis and his knowledge of the sport was encyclopaedic. Indeed, such was that knowledge, it earned him the title of "God" from his friends.

As a rally navigator, he began competing with Cork’s Greg O’Gorman (Ford Escort) in the early 1970’s. One of the highlights of his career was when he sat with the legendary Billy Coleman on the Circuit of Ireland (the opening round of the 1974 British Rally Championship) finishing third overall. Coleman, of course, went on to become the first Irish driver to win the series.

It was with another Cork great, the late Demi Fitzgerald (dubbed the fastest breadman in Cork) that Whyte claimed numerous wins in the 1980’s.

Victories onboard the famous ex-Ger Buckley Vauxhall Chevette HSR included the West Cork Rally, the Circuit of Munster, the Tipperary Stonethrowers Rally, the Galway Summer Rally and the Rally of the Lakes.

In one of his final events (1986) on the Cork “20” International he was co-driver with Carrigaline’s Frank O’Mahony in a Sydney Meeke hired Ford Orion and gave O’Mahony his first finish in the event at the thirteenth attempt. The pair finishing sixth overall, he previously sat with O'Mahony in a Mini Cooper.

His best result on the Cork '20' International was in 1975 when he partnered Welsh driver Brian Evans (Porsche 911) to second place.

Other drivers to benefit from his skills included Dubliners Brendan Fagan and former Irish Tarmac champion John Coyne along with the Cork trio of John O'Gorman, Tom Burke and Kevin Twomey.

A celebration of Leo’s life will be held at 11am on Friday at the Island Crematorium, Rocky Island, Ringaskiddy.

He is survived by his wife Pat (Kavanagh), brother Ken, sister Norma and a wide circle of friends.

Entries continued to flow for next month's Corrib Oil Galway International Rally, the opening round of the NAPA Autoparts Irish Tarmac Rally Championship.

Former Galway winner Welsh driver Meirion Evans (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) is set to compete in the event, however, he will see how he fares in Galway before making a decision to contest the seven round series. 

Former Tarmac champions Callum Devine, Josh Moffett and Declan Boyle have also entered while reigning champion Keith Cronin is expected to defend his crown.