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2017 Irish Forest Rally Championship

Posted: October 27, 2017 3:01 PM - 9595 Hits

Final Championship Points

Posted: February 15, 2017 9:49 AM

New Prize Drive Announced for Junior 1000

Posted: February 1, 2017 2:46 PM

The Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship Committee are pleased to release early details of an exciting new prize drive being offered to the winner of the inaugural Junior 1000 Championship in 2017. This special prize being donated will be a drive in a R2 spec car on a round of the Irish Forest Rally Championship and will also include a short test ahead of the event to familiarise themselves with the car.

This is just the latest incentive being offered to the championship committee as support for the new Junior 1000 Series continues to grow. The final details are still being worked out but we can confirm that extra training and technical support will also be on offer. Every crew that registers for the Junior 1000 Championship will receive a voucher for one set of pace notes and a DVD from each supplier, kindly sponsored by On The Pacenote and Patterson Pacenotes. We want to thank Killian Duffy And Brian Patterson for their generosity.

A further incentive for the top 3 finishers in J1000 will be Entry Vouchers worth Eur200 euro to first place, Eur125 euro to 2nd place and Eur75 euro to third place. Now, as if that weren't enough reasons to take part in the new Junior 1000 Championship, our associate sponsors Ears Motorsport have generously offered a set of tyres for the series leader after round 2 and another set of tyres has also been donated for the prize drive.

Special thanks must go to M. O'Brien Plant Hire for coming onboard as the class sponsors of the Junior 1000. For more information on them please visit their website @ www.mobrienplanthire.co.uk. With any luck we may also get to see Mick and Dan O'Brien out on some of the rounds this year in their beautiful Ford World Rally Cars and perhaps Conor in his Junior 1000 car.

As for the main championship, we can already see from the current list of received entries that there are some exciting battles ahead for the overall win. Two of last years front runners have returned for another campaign, with Ger Lucey in his Mitsubishi Evo 8 and Adrian Hetherington bringing back the Toyota Corolla WRC. Adrian is surely one to watch this year after spending last year getting to know the car and now with that experience under his belt, the times are surely going to be very competitive in 2017. Ger Lucey had led the championship right up to the final round in Antrim in 2016 only to lose out to Desi Henry on that final round. Another 2 interesting entries to mention are the 2 Subaru Impreza S14 WRCs of Niall McCullagh & Shaun Sinclair. Both crews and cars are very capable of the win in Carrick on Suir.

Among the other entries already received we have lots of Subarus and Mitsubishis, Sunbeams and Mk2 Escorts, Hondas and a BMW, not one but two Ford Escort Cosworths and even a Toyota Starlet with last years Two Wheel Drive Champion Shane McGirr coming back for some more sideways fun and big jumps! David Crossen and John Gordon will be two men who hope to give Shane a good battle in the 2 Wheel Drive series with their Mk2 Escorts and thanks must go to John Gordon for coming onboard as an associate sponsor in 2017. We will also get to see the debut of Marty McCormacks new Skoda Fabia R5 as they prepare for their British Rally Championship campaign. With David Moynihan on the notes, Marty's new TigerRisk backed R5 specification Skoda has to be one of the favourites to take the event win after winning overall at the Tour of the Sperrins Rally last year and mixing it with the top British Championship contenders in his older S2000 Fabia.

With less than 2 weeks to go, the first round of the championship is almost upon us ? The Willie Loughman Memorial Carrick on Suir Forest Rally, based in the Piltown GAA Complex, Piltown, County Kilkenny and takes place on Sunday 12th February, with scrutiny on Saturday 11th February. A press launch for the main championship, along with the Junior 1000 Series, has also been organised to take place on Saturday 11th February at the Piltown GAA Complex and everyone is invited to come along to see these new cars on display.

If you haven't got your entry in to the Carrick on Suir Forest Rally yet, then its time to get a move on. Get your entries in today!

Once again we would like to give special thanks to all our sponsors ? Valvoline, Andrew Fanning Motor Factors, M. O'Brien Plant Hire, Suirway Group Forklifts & Farm Machinery, Jelf Motorsport Insurance, Exact Signs & Graphics, Pottinger Machinery, Ears Motorsport / Kumho Tyres, Colton Pump & Heating Services, Coillte, Concept Fire Services Ltd, Gordon Automotive Services, Lorcan & Catherine Barron @ Barron Pix & SVS Incar Cameras.

For more information on the Valvoline Irish Forest Rally Championship, please keep up to date with our official website @ www.irishforestrally.com and you can also follow us on our social media.

Update Re Tipperary Forest Rally

Posted: January 26, 2017 5:58 AM

"Round 2 of this years Championship which was to be Tipperary Forestry Rally will not now happen. We have tried unsuccessfully to plan an alternative event for that March date but have been unsuccessful due to the restricted timeframe from when we received notice from Tipperary LC&MCC of their withdrawal.
We are hopeful that we can find a substitute event to replace this during the year, The championship will still operate with best 5 scores to count.

We will endeavour to keep you all up to date with further developments as they happen."

Regards
Ray Fitzpatrick

Irish Forestry Rally Championship 2017 - Update

Posted: January 14, 2017 4:51 PM

Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship Committee Chairman Ray Fitzpatrick has just confirmed that all MI clubs have agreed to set the entry fees for the 2017 series after the new insurance agreement was confirmed.

?There has been a lot of confusion lately because of the complex negotiations taking place to secure the necessary insurance cover for 2017. Now that the insurance costs have been agreed, we can now confirm that the standard entry fees will be Eur550 + the new insurance levy (Forest Events = Eur75) - total cost = Eur625 Euro.

The all new Junior 1000 section will be granted a reduction in entry fee to give this initiative the best support in its first year and that will be Eur325 + Insurance Levy - total cost = Eur400 Euro.

Please keep in mind that the standard entry fees are only valid until the entries closing date and late entry fee rates will most likely apply after that. Check each events regulations for further details.

We are asking competitors to please send their entries in as early as possible to avail of these new entry fees and give each organising club the best chance possible in the run up to their event dates.

We are now only 4 weeks away from the first round of the championship - the Willie Loughman Memorial Carrick on Suir Forest Rally- and only 2 weeks away from their entries closing date, so if you haven't sent your entry in yet - please get it done ASAP!

If anyone still has queries or needs any help - please don't hesitate to get in touch with us through our social media pages or our website @ www.irishforestrally.com?

2017 Junior 1000 class is now GO!

Posted: December 13, 2016 2:57 PM

The Irish Forest Rally Championship Committee are very pleased to announce that the Junior 1000 class will now go ahead for the 2017 championship.

Details are still being finalised on which rounds will be included etc. but here are a few details to announce for now:

    - Drivers aged 16 - 18 years old,
    - Co-Drivers must be over 23 and have a minimum of 5 finishes,
    - Cars will run ahead of the 2WD field.
More details will be released over the next week or so.

Championship Rounds (Updated 20 Jul 17)

Posted: November 1, 2016 4:53 AM

  1. Carrick On Suir Willie Loughman Forestry Rally - 12th February 2017
  2. Tipperary Sean Conlon Memorial Forestry Rally - 4th March 2017
  3. Munster CC Moonraker Forestry Rally - 8th April 2017
  4. Donegal Forestry Stages Rally - 13th May 2017
  5. Cork Jim Walsh Forestry Rally - 30th July 2017
  6. Eniskillen Lakelands Forest Rally - 2nd September 2017
  7. Omagh Bushwhacker Rally - 23 September 17

Topics: Forest Championship 

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