Great Stuff Single Stage is GO!

On Saturday the 28^th of July, Midleton, will see the Imokilly Motor Club bring rallying back to East Cork.

It’s taken 15 years for the Imokilly Motor Club to get to this stage, the dream of running a Tar Mac Rally and the biggest sports event in East Cork this year.

Great praise must go to Bryan Allen and his team at Great Stuff Caterers for stepping in as the title Sponsor. Without the support of Great Stuff and our associate sponsors this event would not run.

Derek Power is the Clerk of the Course and with the help of his rally committee have put together a superb event. The single stage is not a new concept but this style of event was something that was on the back burner for a few years. With the decline in the economy it was decided to revive the idea and see would it be popular at a time when rallies are struggling for entries.

The Imokilly Motor Club has pulled out all the stops and along with a fast flowing stage the club actually have a full entry and a reserve list. So the club hopes to start 131 cars.

The stage is expected to test man and machine to the limit. It’s fast flowing and has a few bumps here and there to keep it interesting.

The entry is a quality field with the No1 seed being Colm Murphy with his GpN Subaru , Colm fresh from his outright win on the Circuit of Munster will be pushed to the limits to hold the no 1 spot.

Seeded 2 is the unique MG ZR of Roy White. This car is normally aspirated but is 4 wheel drive is it fast enough for this stage.

3 is Barry Meade in the fabulous Belga liveried Escort. This is the first of the big bang Escorts and Barry will be fighting for an outright win here on this event. The Escort will be blindingly  quick on this rally.

4 is local ace, Midleton’s Daragh O Riordan now a star of the Tarmac Championship in his usual Subaru.  Daragh takes a step back into the Renault Clio. We know Daragh has the talent but will the Clio a tarmac racer have the speed to win.

5 is the current National Forest Rally Champion Owen Murphy  in the Hankook Evo 9. Owen gets out of the woods for a go at the tar. This man has won 2 rounds in the wood this year but can he show the same pace on the tar? If he can,  he will be hard to beat.

6 is Fergus O Meara, the next of the big bang Escorts. He will be going hard.

7 is Brian O’Keeffe with the GpN Subaru. Brian is the first of the IMC members and a man who has not been out since West Cork. He needs to be quick from the word go. Should be first of the IMC boys home.

8 is Allen Treacy. The next of the IMC members, sets a steady pace and is deceptively quick. The Toyota may be on the go a while but should finish in the top 10. Should be the first of the 2 wheel drive IMC member’s home.

9 is Paul Mulcahy in the Starlet. Paul has cult following for his wild sideways style of driving, great for the spectators. Bin it or win it style will go hard from the start.

10 Frank Kelly gives Mossie O’Connell the drive of his life. A spin Mossy won in an IMC draw to co drive Frank. Top 10 finish very possible from arguably the quickest Escort driver in the country.

11 is Youghal’s Jason Ryan in the Honda Civic. Jason is regarded as one of the country’s  best young drivers however he has bad luck with mechanical problems getting in the way all too often. Should Jason get a good run he will be in the top 6.

The rally is based at the Midleton Park Hotel with scrutiny on Friday evening. The first car leaves the Start ramp at 11 on Saturday Morning and the start of the action at Stage 1 is 12 o clock for the first run then back to service then Stage 2 at 2 o clock back to service and then Stage  3 at 4 o clock and back to the finish ramp at the hotel around 5 o clock.

The stage is a 20km stage that will run 3 times for further details buy a rally programme and help support the event these will be available later in the week from Thursday on in local shops etc. Check the IMC website for further details or follow us on facebook.

Safety is paramount on an event like this and spectators are asked to think of their own safety at all times, please obey the marshals at all times as they are there for your safety.

Please also respect other road users and drive with due care and consideration on this event. If you are spectating do not cause any damage to private property.

Derek Power the Clerk of the Course said it’s been a long wait for this event and almost a year’s work has gone into the planning of it. Please think safety and drive safely. I would like to thank all the members of the IMC club and other motor clubs who have worked hard to make this event happen. It should be a great spectacle and a busy weekend in Midleton.

The Imokilly Motor Club are providing live results of the event on the day. So if you are out spectating and wondering how the results are going.  www.harcon.ie

The Imokilly Motor Club would like to wish all competitors a safe and enjoyable event.

Our Associate Sponsors are

Centra  Cloyne .
Ace  Signs.
Park Hotel Midleton

www.imokillymotorclub.com   follow us on Facebook

Top 11 for the GREAT STUFF CATERERS Imokilly Single Stage.
1 Colm Murphy / Don Montgomery Co. Limerick Subaru Impreza N12 4
2 Roy White / Liam Brennan Co. Tipperary MG ZR 15
3 Barry Meade / Liam Moynihan Co. Cork Ford Escort RS Mk2 14
4 Darragh O’Riordan  / Sean McCarthy Co. Cork Renault Clio 6
5 Owen Murphy  /  Sean Mullally Co. Cork Mitsubishi Evo 9 4
6 Fergus O’Meara /  Diarmuid Lynch Co. Kerry Ford Escort Mk2 14
7 Brian O’Keeffe /  Donnacha O’Callaghan Co. Waterford Subaru Impreza N 4
8 Allen Treacy  /  Bob Fitzgerald Cork Toyota Corolla 13
9 Paul Mulcahy  /  James McCarville Co. Waterford Toyota Starlet RWD 13
10 Frank Kelly  /  Mossie O’Connor Co. Tyrone Ford Escort 14
11 Jason Ryan  /  Tadgh O’Sullivan Cork Honda Civic 11