Wright Wins Kirkistown Thriller

Kirkistown Race Circuit on the Ards Peninsula in Co.Down is a flat, bleak and cold place, even in July! This was the venue last month for round one of the 2023 McGrady Insurance Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championship.

Organisers North Armagh Motor Club had secured the sponsorship of Eurocables Belfast for the traditional season opener. Eurocables owner Shane Braniff had backed the event many years ago and has now renewed a partnership with the organisers which they both hope will be fruitful and perhaps long-term.

77 rally cars (including 12 R5’s & 10 Rally2’s) turned out to complete over six 80% sealed surface stages around the race track and its perimeter roads. The venue normally hosts a season of sprints and circuit racing from March through to October. Thousands of trees have been planted so in twenty or so years we may have a forest rally here at Kirkistown!

For my part I was a stage marshal based at Fisherman’s Bend on the circuit. I had new recruit Matthew with me to learn the ropes. We had a good day sheltering in the marshals hut from the rain showers which were prevalent for most of the day. Although mild, the wind made it feel much colder.

The action was non-stop from 9.15 am until 4.30pm. Stephen Wright led from start to finish in his Ford Fiesta R5 but the former NI champion had to fight all day for the win. Reigning champion Jonny Greer was back to defend his title and the Carryduff driver had a new Citroen C3 Rally2 at his disposal. Greer was 5 seconds down in second place after SS1 with his slightly less powerful car but then he got his tyres working better in the damp conditions and he closed the gap to Wright on stage two. Staying second throughout the rest of the rally, 1.02 of a second separated Greer from Wright after SS5. On the final test Jonny Greer and co-driver Brian Crawford through caution to the wind and were fastest, but it wasn’t quite enough. Stephen Wright and Ger Conway won the Kirkistown Stages by the narrowest margin ever recorded on a NI Championship event; 0.1 of a second!!

While Wright and Greer were in a class of their own out front, Aaron McLaughlin/ Darren Curran finished third but they were 30.7 seconds back in a Fiesta R5. Castlederg men Gareth Sayers and Gareth Gilchrist were fourth in a new Fiesta Rally2 just 1.5 seconds behind McLaughlin. Former champion Derek McGarrity/Graham Henderson had been third, but a misfire in their Polo R5 dropped them back to fifth in the end. Another former champion Stuart Biggerstaff, who had Anthony Nestor co-driving, was sixth in his Fiesta R5. Stuart has registered for the series this year and this was a good start to his campaign.

You had to go down as far as 18th place to find the best of the 2-wheel-drive finishers, Jason & Gareth Black’s Toyota Starlet. It was good to see James Leckey back rallying, the former Killarney Rally of the Lakes winner was back after 25 years. He drove a hired McKinstry Motorsport Fiesta R5 to 19th place at Kirkistown. There were a total of 67 finishers.

The 2023 Kirkistown Stages Rally was a fantastic event and even finished ahead of schedule. I really enjoyed the day, our sole casualty was the only Mitsubishi Evo.9 in the event (changed times indeed) that of Nicky Caughey and Graeme Stewart which retired with a puncture. They didn’t want to risk further damage so decided to call it a day. Nicky hopes to have better luck at Bishopscourt.

A fantastic day then at Kirkistown capped by a thrilling battle for the win between Stephen Wright and Jonny Greer. Young Matthew seemed to enjoy himself and hopes to be out marshalling again soon. Apparently Wright is not doing the full NI championship this year so Greer took maximum points as the top registered driver.

The 2023 McGrady Insurance Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championship is so underrated and deserves more recognition both locally and nationally. Can’t wait for round two at Bishopscourt on March 11th (see rally diary) Bring it on!

Close Finish On Rally Fivemiletown

Number one seed Mark Donnelly won the Samsonas Rally Fivemiletown last month in his Fiesta R5. The Greencastle driver and his co-driver Stephen O’Hanlon led the first round of the 2023 McGrady Insurance ANICC Forest Rally Challenge from start to finish, but he was chased all the way home by two other R5 drivers. In fact less than 3 seconds separated the top three crews at the finish.

Going into the final stage Donnelly found himself only one-tenth of a second ahead of the VW Polo of Vivian Hamill/Andrew Grennan. Then on that last 2.24 mile Doon test Gareth Mimnagh and Barry McCarney, who had been third in their Fiesta, were fastest and took second place overall, just 1.7 seconds behind Donnelly. Hamill finished third 2.6 seconds behind the winners. Marty McCormack and Barney Mitchell won the 2-wheel-drive category in their Escort Mk.2 with Alan Smyth second in a similar car and the surprising 2-litre Honda-powered Lada Riva of Shane McGirr third (see photo). 68 cars started the eight stage event and 56 finished. Omagh Motor Club were the organisers.

I was on start radio of SS3/7 Jenkin the longest stage of the rally at 6.8 miles. With me were Rory, Godfrey and David who manned the BMMC rescue unit. When we arrived at 9am the temperature was only 2% but rose to 7 by mid afternoon. Although cold it was dry all day with even some sunshine. Both stages ran to schedule and without incident. Other BMMC/BRMC members were marshalling elsewhere. We were finished for 3.30 pm. The Forest Challenge continues in September.

Rally Fivemiletown marked the 10th anniversary of the formation of Strode NI Communications. Under the enthusiastic leadership of Brenda Gordon, we have been providing radio cover for all stage rallies in Northern Ireland since that first outing on Omagh MC’s Spring Rally as Rally Fivemiletown was known back in 2013. I have been involved with Strode since then and have missed very few events. When we started I wrote in RallyBuzz that Northern Ireland had the best rally radio safety network possibly within the MSA’s jurisdiction and a dedicated team of volunteers to help run it. Nothing has changed in that regard except that it’s now Motorsport UK’s jurisdiction. Brenda provided an anniversary cake to mark the occasion which was greatly appreciated by everyone.

Rally Diary

Sat. 11th March.
Race & Rally Stages @ Bishopscourt

Round 2 of the 2023 McGrady Insurance Northern Ireland Rally Championship. Let’s hope it’s as good as round 1! Rathfriland Motor Club are the organisers. Jonny Greer leads the entry list which remains open until the last minute. We are providing timekeepers and stage marshals on the six-stage event which is held totally within the confines of Bishopscourt Race Circuit in Co.Down near Downpatrick. Sign-on remotely at rallyscore.net First car starts at 09.30.

Sunday 2nd April.
BMMC (NI) Marshals Training Day

Based again at Transport Training Services, Nutts Corner. The day starts at 09.30 and should finish before 4pm. Lunch will be provided, but please let Rory O’Neill know if you are going as he needs to know how many to cater for. Jim Whittaker leads the trainers and Stephen Wolf (National treasurer) plus John Edwards (National Secretary) have indicated that they hope to attend. The event is supported by the MMP and ANICC and they are promoting it. We hope that this will raise the Training Day profile and result in a good attendance. All Motorsport UK disciplines will be covered including Race, Rally and Speed events.

Saturday 8th April.
Circuit of Ireland 2023

Round 3 of the Irish Tarmac Championship organised jointly by Ulster Automobile Club and Cookstown Motor Club. Just one day and eight closed-road stages (4 run twice) totalling 70 miles, all in Co.Tyrone. Hardly a Circuit of Ireland then but that’s the way it is so suck it up!

BMMC/BRMC are providing rescue, timekeepers, radio cover and stage marshals. Starts and finishes in Cookstown at Meteor Electrical.

The surprising Lada Riva of Shane McGirr. He has heard all the Lada jokes so has covered the car in them! Shane was 3rd 2WD car home on Rally Fivemiletown. Bit different from the usual Escorts in that section of the event. Did I hear someone say that Russian cars shouldn’t be allowed to compete? What a load of rubbish!