Following a mid-season break, the race to claim the 2024 Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship roars back into life this weekend as we head south to tackle the classic Jim Walsh Cork Forest Rally, the third round of a season that has already delivered plenty of excitement and is set to really come alive in the Ballyhoura Mountains.
The tale of the 2024 season so far can be described as one of breakthroughs and emerging stars, with both rounds so far being won by first-time victors with Jordan Hone & Derek Mackarel savouring a win for the very first times in their careers. It was Hone, guided as always by his father Paul, who would kick things off with a bang in Killarney.
With a bumper entry for a season opener, 91 cars left the town of Castleisland to tackle the opening round of the 2024 Sligo Pallets backed Championship contested over six stages. The opening Mullaghareik stage would see the Ford Fiesta R5 of Hone top the time sheets, and it would remain that way to the finish as three more stage wins would see the Donegal father-and-son pairing claim a well-deserved first win with 11.2 seconds to spare.
Second to the Hone pair was the VW Polo GTi R5 of Vivian Hamill & Gary Nolan, with the final podium spot going to the ever spectacular and quick Niall McGonigle & Caolan McKenna in another Fiesta.
The success in Killarney was special for Hone, and heading to Cork this weekend he retains the Forest Rally Championship lead thanks to a dramatic second place finish on Round 2, the Carrick-on-Suir Willie Loughman Forest Rally. A spin in a tight section of the opening Ballytarsna test would see them set only the 9th fastest time, but a trio of quickest stage times, including a mad dash over the final Carriglacken test would see him claim 2nd by just 0.2 seconds.
The pair he pipped were Stephen McCann & John McCabe, their fine drive all day being rewarded by a well-deserved podium, but they will feel slightly disappointed to lose their grasp on second right at the end. The podium in Carrick though would be a clean sweep for Ford Fiesta R5’s, with the victory going to yet another of the rising stars of the sport, Derek Mackarel and the late called up Darren Curren winning by 20.6 seconds.
This weekends Cork Motor Club event has attracted a huge entry, with the club announcing that over 100 crews are ready to tackle the Jim Walsh Cork Forest Rally, with the event entirely based out of the Mallow Autograss complex.
In the 2WD class, it has been the Shane & Denver show. In the flying Lada VFTS, Shane McGirr & Denver Rafferty have claimed wins on both events so far this year, beating the Ford Escort Mk2 pair of Mickey Conlon & James McEneaney and Hugh McQuaid & Declan Casey in Killarney, while also claiming top honours in Carrick ahead of the Ford Fiesta Rally4 of Ryan MacHugh & Arthur Kierans and Conlon & McEneaney.
In J1000, things are wide open in the championship as they begin the second half of the season. Tommy Cronin leads the Championship battle by a single point, having finished on the podium on both rounds so far, and he is a single point ahead of long-time rival Ross Ryan. Chasing the experienced pair are our two event winners so far this year, Danny Brady & Darren O’Brien winning in Killarney by 8.2 seconds and Oisin Mc Shane & Fabian McShane winning in Carrick by 8.2 seconds.
This weekend’s Jim Walsh Cork Forest Rally is the longest event on the calendar, with crews tackling 82km of high-speed action over eight special stages, and once the dust has settled the 2024 Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship goes to the Lakeland and Bushwhacker rallies in Northern Ireland in September, before finishing the season with the much anticipated return of the Clare Forest Rally in October.
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