PILOT EVENT A RESOUNDING SUCCESS
Matthew Wilson, piloting a Ford Focus WRC and partnered by Michael Orr from Bangor, Co. Down, had a clear victory in Rally Ireland 2005, the pilot event held over two days in Fermanagh, Leitrim and Sligo.
Jointly sponsored by Failte Ireland and the Northern Ireland Events Company, the aim of Rally Ireland is to ensure that Ireland is included as a round of the World Rally Championship from 2007 on.
Sean O'Connor, Promoter of Rally Ireland, said: "This pilot event exceeded our expectations and we are very happy overall. The feedback from our international visitors has been most positive."
Ronan Morgan, Co-Promoter of Rally Ireland, said "We have achieved a great deal in a short period of time. While we are not complacent, we know we have a very solid foundation to work on in our bid to have Ireland included in the World Rally Championship."
Tom Nolan, Clerk of the Course said: "Our systems worked very well, any incidents that arose were dealt with promptly and successfully."
The event was attended in Enniskillen by Rt. Hon. Peter Hain, MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Wales, and Mr. Pat The Cope Gallagher, TD, Minister for the Marine, Communications and Natural Resources."
The margin of Matthew Wilson's victory ahead of second placed Eamonn Boland of Wexford (also driving a Ford Focus WRC) was four minutes, 55.2 seconds. Dublin's Gareth MacHale secured third place in his Toyota Corolla WRC.
Swedish visitor, Daniel Carlsson, finished in fourth place on the overall leaderboard, and won the Group N Production category in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7, despite picking up a 30 second penalty for a jump start on stage ten. The World Rally Championship regular was fulsome of his praise of the event. "There is no reason why Ireland should not be in the World Championship" he said.
Belgium's Freddy Loix finished fifth in the diminutive, two-wheel drive Suzuki Ignis Super 1600, an excellent result considering that he was giving away a significant traction advantage to the four wheel drive WRCs and Group N cars.
The remaining positions in the top ten were taken by Sean Devine, Roy White, George Tracey, Gordon Coleman and John McLaughlin. Jaan Molder of Estonia finished eleventh.
Final results will be available on the Rally Ireland website, rallyireland.org.
Provisional Results after stage 12 (Final Stage):
1: Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr, Ford Focus WRC, 2hrs, 01mins, 07.0secs2: Eamonn Boland/Francis Regan, Ford Focus WRC, +04mins 55.2secs3: Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle, Toyota Corolla WRC, +06.04.34: Daniel Carlsson/Mattias Andersson, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7, +07.16.45: Freddy Loix/Robin Buysmans, Suzuki Ignis Super 1600, +09.35.36: Sean Devine/Killian Duffy, Subaru Impreza WRC, +10.36.2
