Bumper entry for Castleisland-based Forestry rally on Sunday

Killarney and District Motor Club will host the Castleisland-based Killarney Forestry Rally this weekend

Bumper entry for Castleisland-based Forestry rally on Sunday

The third running of the Killarney Forestry Rally, in its current format, takes place in Castleisland on Sunday.

Run by Killarney and District Motor Club and sponsored by C Wharton Tool Hire and Castleisland Tyre Centre, the event is the opening round of the Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship and has attracted an entry of close to 100 cars.

“It’s our third year running this forestry Rally and it being the first round of the forestry championship it’s proven to be a very popular rally,” said club chairman Thomas Randles.

“I would like to thank our clerk of the course Kevin Flannery and his deputy Adrian Cronin, Liam Cronin, and their team, who after a very busy period working hard running our very successful historic rally [in December] went straight back to work preparing for this forestry rally. Running rallies today takes a huge amount of time work and manpower so thanks again to these people and all our club members who take part.”

The rally has attracted a sizeable Kerry entry across all three categories.

Junior 1000

The rally, like all Motorsport Ireland-sanctioned gravel rallies, allows 14-17-year-old drivers to take part under the guiding hand of an experienced co-driver.

Four members of the organising club, a record, will take part in this newcomers’ category that runs first on the road ahead of the two-wheel drive and main four-wheel-drive categories.

The  Kerry-based drivers are Frank Wharton, son of club director and event sponsor Cyrill Warton, David Slattery Jnr who is the son of Dave Sr, the current Moriarty’s Central Car Sales Kingdom of Kerry Rally Champion, and Sean White who is the son of long-time KDMC volunteer John.

Slattery Jr and Wharton Jr have employed co-drivers Ger Somers and David Leslie respectively, the same two navigators who sat with their fathers when they started rallying over 20 years ago.

Morgan Moore from County Meath Morgan is also a KDMC member and comes into the sport of rallying after a few seasons of international Karting.

“These young drivers are being supported and helped through our KDMC2 youth and development programme led by our vice chairman Mike O’Shea. I wish them every success in their future rally careers,” added Mr Randles.

TWO-WHEEL DRIVE CATEGORY

Although a late applicant and not on the official entry list, Moyvane’s Mike  O’Connor Jr and his Cork-based co-driver Barry Attridge will compete in their Opel Manta GTE.

Father and son due Diarmuid and Darragh Lynch compete in their Ford Escort Mk2 and keeping with the family ties, brother and sister Mossie and Megan Costello will drive a Ford Fiesta Rally4 in the hotly contested Class2.

Colin Nelligan will drive another Ford Fiesta and has Killarney’s Eoin O’Donoghue on co-driving duty.

FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE CATEGORY

Four Kerry co-drivers feature in the headlining four-wheel-drive entry list.

Donagh Crowley is on pacenote duty for Cork’s Gerard Lucey and they will run the same Ford Fiesta Rally5 that they used for the first time on the Cork rallysprint last December. They are seeded at eight for the event.

Local man, Cordal’s Denny Greaney resumes his partnership with Limerick’s PJ O Connor in Mitsubishi Lancer E9.

Ciara Griffin from Duagh is alongside Aaron Martley from County Laois in an older E7 version of the Lancer – a similar machine to the of Limerick’s Stephen Bawn and his Killarney co-driver John Flemming.

DETAILS

The rally will begin with an official ceremonial start on Castleisland’s Main St on Saturday evening at 630 pm.

The first stage, near Rockchapel, is scheduled for 9:37 on Sunday morning.

Full route and entry details are available in the official programme, which is being sold locally with all proceeds to four local charities –  Killmurry National School, St Francis Special School, St Mary’s National School, Mountcollins and Kerry Parents and Friends.

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