Limerick Competitors Report

Sunday 10 November 2013 was probably one of the wettest days so far this year. From the moment crews awoke to the moment they were back partying at the hotel it did not stop raining. When it’s raining like this you have a few problems to deal with – one of them being surface water, the other been big floods and the last being Ed O’Callaghan and Ger Clancy.

When other drivers took a cautious approach Ed took his driving skills to the top to lead by 15 SECONDS after stage 1. But stage 2 was not so good! The crew had a massive slide on shiney tar, went through a water splash and off the road into a wall. The crew lost a lot of time and the bang caused some heavy looking damage to the front of his Escort. After stage 2 Ed was back in 5^th 18 seconds off the leader Mike Quinn. Stage 3 saw Ed and Ger leap back into 3^rd with a second fastest stage time (fastest being Alan O’Callaghan in a WRC) Ed trailed rally leader Mike Quinn by 11 seconds. Stage 4 was another great time for Ed but it was not enough to catch Mike. Ed managed to take second overall which was a fantastic result considering the stage 2 meeting with that now infamous Kerry wall.

Top 3 after stage 4

Ed Synan was also quick out of the box to be 3^rd overall after the first loop. Any little spin or overshoot can knock you back in time when you are up on top and so it did . Stage 3 saw Ed move back to 5^th behind Galway’s Pat Kelly after the Escort crew suffered an overshoot. Ed entered the last stage with the West Coast Championship in mind and finished the stage 6^th overall and first in class 14. Ed and Denis have also taken second place in the West Coast Rally Championship. Keep an eye on www.limerickmc.ie for a report on Ed and Denis’s championship in the coming weeks.

Limerick man Keith Moriarty navigated Tipperary’s Barry Ryan to 7^th overall and 1^st in class in the 1600 Escort.

Paul Purtill sent in a late entry to the delight of all the spectators finished 9^th overall and first in class 13.

Gerry Lynch and Mike O’Connor Jnr finished 11^th overall and first in class 20.

Joe McCarthy and Jason O’Brien had an eventful day as they lost time and lost 2 stages due to accidents and ended up losing 1^st in class to scrub times. A small over shoot cost Joe some time on stage 3 and he exited the stage 5 seconds behind 1^st in class. But it was not going to stop there. Stage 4 seen the boys come out 12 seconds quicker which gave them the class win by 7 seconds. Joe has won his class in three championships this year so keep an eye on www.limerickmc.ie for a report in the coming days on Joe and Jason’s year.

John Collins and Peter McDonnell fought for the top spot and did indeed hold 1^st in class on stages 2 and 3. The pair finished 33^rd overall and 2^nd in class 3. A great result for a crew that have very little rallying done this year!

Eamonn Barrett and Ken Kenneally won class 9 and finished a fine 36^th overall.

Jonathan Keane navigated Eddie Kennelly from Kerry to a class 10 win and finished 38^th overall.

Con Mulcahy and John Nugent Finished 2^nd in class and 41^st overall in the little Nova.

Aileen Shanahan navigated Cork’s Dan Kelleher to 5^th in class and 46^th overall.

Podge Doody and Stephen O’Brien set out on getting a bit of seat time for a licence upgrade but despite a misfiring engine he managed to entertain the crowds and kept the 205 swinging around the stages! You might not have seen many 205’s as sideways as this one! We can’t wait to see Podge take out his hidden gem and maybe we could have a future champ? Sebastian Doody? The pair finished 52^nd overall and 3^rd in class 10.

Ian Ryan and Connor Cagney finished 9^th in class 16 and 61^st overall

Hazel O’Callaghan and Gary Cusack finished 3^rd in class and 65^th overall.

Denis Bourke and Jack Dalton finished 3^rd in class 9 and 68^th overall.

Pat O’Connell and Moss Forde finished 4^th in class 9 and 69^th overall.

Donal O’Sullivan and Linda Curtin finished 5^th in class 9 and 73^rd overall

Denis and Donal Dineen finished 8^th in class and 77^th overall.

Mikey Walsh navigated by Kerry man TP McNamara finished 9^th in class and 78^th overall.

Kenneth Ryan navigated by Kerry man Keith McCarthy finished 6^th in class and 79^th overall.

Jimmy Kiely and Micheal John O’Brien had a very troublesome day. They suffered clutch problems all day and showed clear signs of an over shoot on stage 3 with some directional tape stuck to the roof. They also suffered with the windscreen fogging up and making visibility very hard. But all that said they still took the car home on their second ever rally. Hats off to the lads! They finished 84^th overall and 11^th in class.

Gerard Dineen and Donal Balfe retired on stage 4.

Sean Moran and Mark O’Sullivan retired on stage 4.

Limerick Motor Club would like to thank all the marshals that went on behalf of the club. Congratulations to all who took part, it was a tough day and credit is due to any crew who took to the start line. Well done to Jakes Kelly and his team on picking two fantastic stages and running them very well despite Mother Nature. And finally, well done to Mike Quinn and Tony Healy on winning the 2013 Kerry mini stages rally.

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Full result at Shannon Sports IT