Mackarel & Creedon win on the Bushwhacker!

For Derek Mackarel, yesterdays Omagh based Bushwhacker Rally will one that will live long in the memory, as he managed to secure the 2024 Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship title on the penultimate round of the series, and did in style as he raced to secure maximum points over the highest speed challenge in the Irish Gravel Rallying season.

Heading into the 66km event, Mackarel knew that finishing in the top 6 amongst the Championship registered crews would be enough, but there were concerns right from the off as power steering issues plagued the Ford Fiesta R5 of Derek and navigator Eamonn Creedon on the opening Killeter test, allowing rivals David Condell & Mick Coady to make the stronger start. In a Ford Fiesta Rally2, Condell & Coady would have a 0.9 second advantage at the end of the second stage, but a spin on the Lough Bradden would see Mackarel & Creedon arrive at the mid-day service with 0.5 seconds to spare.

Over the afternoon loop, and with the gremlins sorted, Mackarel & Creedon upped the pace and none of their rivals could live with them. By the finish, the title was wrapped up in style for Derek as he returned with 33.5 seconds to spare, with the attention turning quickly to a similar strong result in Clare to see Eamonn claim the Navigator title. The leading Fiesta’s were joined by Ian Dickson & John McCafferty on the podium, the pair delighted to achieve their first Sligo Forest Rally Championship top three result and making it a Ford 1-2-3!

The 2WD title race it was delight for Shane McGirr and Denver Rafferty as they clinched the title when their nearest rivals Mickey Conlon & James McEneaney and Hugh McQuaid & Declan Casey both retired their Ford Escorts on an attritional day in the Tyrone countryside. Plagued by clutch problems on the opening loop, the Lada VFTS of McGirr & Rafferty returned to service with 6.3 seconds to spare over Sam Stewart & Alan Johnson, but with a few tweaks and some prayers said, the Lada never missed a beat to come home with 22.6 seconds to spare over the Escort of Stewart & Johnson.

Throughout the field, many of the class battles were intense watches, as leads jumped nearly from stage-to-stage at times. In Class 2 in particular, the season finale in Clare in two weeks’ time is now looking to be a two way duel between Craig Rahill & Killian McArdle and Cian Caldwell & Shane Byrne, but in Omagh it was Rahill & McArdle who claim the bragging rights.

Locked in a titanic tussle all day with Rahill and Caldwell were Ryan McHugh & Declan Boyle, the pair still showing incredible pace on what is still their debut season on Gravel. The pair led the class at the Service halt, but were unable to live with the pace of Rahill in the afternoon and finished 7.9 seconds off their rival. For Tommy Moffett & Domhnall Lennon, mechanical issues in the morning saw them drop into Rally 2, but they showed strong pace and gained valuable Championship points.

In Class 2A, the title race was blown wide open when John Ward & Brian Martyn when their Ford Fiesta R2 ground to a halt on Stage 3, allowing Jack Harris & Ben Thompson to grab a huge haul of points. The result means that John & Jack will be battling it out for the Drivers title in Clare, while Brian Martyn has done enough to claim the Navigators crown.

In Class 4, its was another drama filled day for Lukasz Czapnik & Piotr Szadkowsk but they made it home to grab vital points. Fresh from an engine rebuild in the two weeks since their retirement on Round 4 in Enniskillen, the pair thought their day was over when a boost pipe came loose on their Mitsubishi early on. Fixed in service, the pair were delighted to make the finish for the first time this season.

Mike Garahy & Iarla McCarthy were the sole crew in Class 10 and drive smartly all day to grab all the points on offer, and they know making the start line on the final round will see them grab the Class title, while in Class 12 its set to be a showdown between Brian Little and Donal Connolly. The pair both lost out to Mark Stewart in Omagh, but the head of the field is now separated by only a handful of points.

Once more though, the tightest battle looks set to be in Class 11F. Having missed the last round in Enniskillen, Ian McCarthy & Patrick O’Sullivan got back to winning ways as they took the victory, their fourth this season. Even still, the ever-consistent Eugene Ward & Patrick Heaney still hold a slender advantage heading to the last event of the year.

The 2024 Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship concludes on October 5th, as Gravel Rallying returns to Co. Clare for the first time in 42 years. Entries have been flying in, and included amongst them are BoyZone star Shane Lynch, and as announced yesterday 2003 World Rally Champion Petter Solberg, so it’s one definitely not to be missed!