Motorsport: Rally of Lakes inquiry finally slated for weekend

Anumber of attempts were made to hold the inquiry but had to be postponed due to the unavailability of personnel.

Callum Devine/Noel O'Sullivan (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) pictured on their way to victory in the Assess Ireland Rally of the Lakes last May. Picture: Martin Walsh.

A Court of Inquiry into matters relating to and surrounding the Assess Ireland Rally of the Lakes (May 2-4) will take place Saturday at the offices of Motorsport Ireland in Dawson Street, Dublin. The inquiry, as per the rules, is being called by the president of Motorsport Ireland, Aiden Harper and will get underway at 10am.

The event was a counting round of the NAPA Auto Parts Irish Tarmac Rally Championship and it appears that a steward of the event left his role prior to the competitive start of the rally on the Saturday, in what was an unprecedented occurrence. In the meantime, a number of attempts were made to hold the inquiry but had to be postponed due to the unavailability of some personnel.

As is the norm, the terms of reference are only being made available to those involved in the inquiry that will be headed up by a presenter and a four-person legal team. It's speculated that there could be some 30 witnesses called during the session. Meanwhile, the Irish Examiner understands that a second hearing into other matters relating to the same event has been scheduled for the afternoon (4pm). Decisions are expected to be announced within ten days.

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Former Irish Tarmac champion and patron/founder of the Motorsport Ireland Academy John Coyne, who was inducted into Motorsport Ireland Hall of Fame at the Motorsport Ireland Motorsport Ireland Champions of Irish Motorsport Awards on Wednesday last, is particularly pleased about the creation of a solid base of support for creating athletes within the MI Academy.

John Coyne, who was inducted into the Motorsport ireland Hall of Fame at he Motorsport Ireland Champions of Irish Motorsport celebrations last Wednesday. Picture: Michael Chester. 

He told the attendees, "it is helping the rally drivers become true professional athletes at an elite level and understanding the amount of work that needs to go in to be competitive on the world stage. 

"The base is loaded and it's a matter of time before we achieve the ultimate aim. What is more important is to have the mental attitude and the fortitude to keep going when things are not going quite your way. If we are helping people build that resilience I think that is going to take us where we need to go."

While the MI Academy receives support from a number of backers, many with a background in the sport, Coyne provides enormous financial backing to the MI Academy. Indeed, were it not for that support, it is very debatable if the MI Academy could support so many Irish crews competing in the World, European, British Championships along with domestic participation.

He announced that the next step is to find commercial sponsorship for the programme so that it can be made perpetual. "We have been gathering speed and gathering reach and we train the athletes to build their own profiles and we are getting a lot more traction and recognition there. So I think we are moving into a phase where we have a solid commercial offering to take to other companies. We have four world titles and we didn't think we would have four in the first four years. That's not to be sneezed at and we came within a hair's breadth of a European title."

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On the competitive front, tomorrow night's Carbery Navigation Trial, round four of the National Navigation Trial Championship, is based at the headquarters of the Bandon Rugby Club, with the first car away at 9.31pm, a much earlier start than previous events run by the Skibbereen and District Car Club. The 75-mile event will be based on Ordnance Survey Discovery Sheet No. 86 and will use terrain around Bandon, Kilbrittain, Skeaf and Timoleague with the first car due to finish approximately 20 minutes after midnight.

Current leaders of the MI National series, the Longford/Monaghan crew of Pakie Duffy and Evin Hughes will renew battle with Cork combination of James Fitzgerald (Mogeely) and Ken Carmody (Ballincollig) whom they lead by 17 points.

The event is also a counter in the Munster Championship with current joint leaders Patsy McDonagh (Ardnacrusha) and Patrick Corcoran (Sligo) and Fitzgerald/Carmody hoping to secure a strong result for both championships.

Former national champions Andy Mackarel (Monaghan) and Greg Shinnors (Bruff) will be amongst the top crews seeking victory as are Ovens' Owen Murphy and Donoughmore's Patrick O'Sullivan and Mallow's Derek Butler/Aaron O'Regan.