CUNNNINGHAM OUT TO DEFEND KILLARNEY HISTORIC RALLY CROWN
Galway driver, Ray Cunningham, is the number one seed for the Great Stuff Caterers 2006 Killarney Historic Stages Rally, which takes place this weekend. He won the Historic category on the event last year, and returns with the same Mini Cooper S which brought him to victory twelve months ago. He will be navigated on this occasion by Richard Hyland. Cunningham's Mini will be followed over the Start Ramp in Killarney's town centre on Saturday afternoon by the Porsche 911 of Dessie Nutt. The Derry man has recorded six victories on the Killarney Historic Stages Rally, and he will be bidding to further add to his tally of wins. His co-driver will be Geraldine McBride.
The local crew of Todd Falvey and Dan Barry, last year's victors in the Post-Historic category, are seeded at three in another version of the Porsche 911. Falvey will have to deal with the formidable challenges expected from Belgian visitor, Marc Duez, and England's Nick Whale, a former category winner (both also in 911s).
Two of the expected front runners in the Classic section, Steve Perez and Gareth Lloyd, have had to withdraw their entries for the Killarney Historic Stages following their outings on the Roger Clark Rally in the UK last week.
Local driver, Tom Randles, comes in from the reserves to fill one of the vacant slots. He will drive a Rally X-Treme prepared Ford Escort RS, and will be co-driven by Sean Duggan. Randles finished second in the Modifed category a number of years ago in another Escort, but has since swapped to a modern Toyota Celica. His one-off return to the Escort ranks will be watched by the local fans with great interest. Manx visitor, Martin Freestone, can also be expected to be one of the leading Classic contenders.
The ever-popular Modified section sees Monaghan's Dessie Keenan return to attempt a hat-trick of wins. He will face strong opposition from numerous sources, including Welshman Phil Collins, locals Kevin O'Donoghue, Peter Kelly, Charlie Hickey and Dave Slattery, and Clonakilty's Kevin Kelleher. Killarney man, Donie O'Sullivan has withdrawn his entry as his Escort's engine could not be readied in time.
The Great Stuff Caterers 2006 Killarney Historic Stages Rally is the final round of the 023 Tiles Southern Four Historic Rally Championship, and two crews remain in contention for the title. Martin Sheahan/Gerard Clancy head the championship standings in their Mark 1 Escort, with the similarily-equipped Denis Moynihan/Dan Moynihan currently holding second place. When dropped scores come into play, the points situation between the two crews is very close, and it is not inconceivable that the outcome of the championship may have to be resolved by means of a tie-break.The Great Stuff Caterers 2006 Killarney Historic Stages Rally, which is organised and promoted by Killarney & District Motor Club, will be based at the Dromhall Hotel and will also be supported by Randles Hotels, Killarney & West Cork; EPS Bison Environmental Products Division; McAuliffe Developments; Centrepoint Tralee; Louis Mulcahy Pottery and The Christmas in Killarney Festival.
The rally will commence with a town-centre start on the afternoon of Saturday, December 2nd. Two afternoon stages followed by two night-time stages will be run on Saturday, with a further eight stages following on Sunday, December 3rd. The event will also feature a centralised service area at the Liebherr Factory car park at Fossa, near Killarney.
*2FM radio DJ, Nikki Hayes, is making her competition debut on the 2006 Killarney Historic Rally. She will navigate Wicklow driver, Pat Lee, in a Ford Escort Mk2 in the Modified section. They are seeded at 129. The duo are using the rally to publicise their fundraising efforts to drill wells for African communities. Top Ten Seeds - Historic/Post-Historic/ClassicNo. Driver/Co-Driver (Address) Make & Model Category1 Ray Cunningham/Richard Hyland (Co. Galway) Austin Mini Cooper S Historic2 Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride (Co. Derry) Porsche 911 Historic3 Todd Falvey/Dan Barry (Co. Kerry) Porsche 911 Post-Historic5 Marc Duez/John Muth (Belgium) Porsche 911 Post-Historic6 Nick Whale/Sally Woods (England) Porsche 911 Post-Historic7 Joe Connolly/Gareth Connolly (Co. Kilkenny) Ford Escort RS Mk1 Post-Historic8 Denis Moynihan/Dan Moynihan (Co. Cork) Ford Escort Mk1 Post-Historic9 Frank Cunningham/Aaron Forde (Co. Galway) Ford Escort RS Mk1 Post-Historic91 Tom Randles/Sean Duggan (Co. Kerry) Ford Escort RS Mk2 Classic11 Martin Freestone/Joanne Oakey (Isle of Man) Ford Escort RS Mk2 Classic
Top Ten Seeds - Modified ClassicNo. Driver/Co-Driver (Address) Make & Model95 Dessie Keenan/Enda Sherry (Co. Monaghan) Ford Escort RS Mk296 Phil Collins/Adrian Deasy (Wales/Co. Cork) Ford Escort RS Mk297 Kevin O'Donoghue/Joe O'Leary (Co. Kerry) Ford Escort RS Mk299 Peter Kelly/Peggy Kelly (Co. Kerry) Ford Escort RS Mk2100 Kevin Kelleher/Martin Kelleher (Co. Cork) Ford Escort RS Mk2101Charlie Hickey/Johnny Hickey (Co. Kerry) Ford Escort RS Mk2102 Martin McGee/TBA (Co. Donegal) Ford Escort103 Camillus Bradley/Danny O'Neill (Co. Derry) Ford Escort RS Mk2104 Pat Donegan/TBA (Co. Meath) TBA105 Dave Slattery/Ger Somers (Co. Kerry) Ford Escort RS Mk2ROUTESaturday December 2ndStart Ramp Market Cross, Killarney (12:50)Stage 1 RockfieldStage 2 CoolickService LiebherrStage 3 RockfieldStage 4 CoolickService LiebherrParc Fermé Killarney Racecourse (19:19)
Sunday December 3rdParc Fermé - Out Killarney Racecourse (07:45)Stage 5 Molls GapStage 6 BeallaghbeamaStage 7 Caragh LakeService LiebherrStage 8 Molls GapStage 9 BeallaghbeamaStage 10 ShanaraService LiebherrStage 11 Caragh LakeStage 12 ShanaraFinish Ramp: Randles Bros. Garage, Muckross Road (16:07)A full timetable and maps of the stages are included in the official rally programme, which is on sale around the Killarney area.Further information regarding the Great Stuff Caterers 2006 Killarney Historic Stages Rally can be obtained at killarneyhistoricrally.com .
