It is with deep regret that Galway Motor Club has learnt of the passing of PJ Vaughan husband of our club secretary Joan.
Our thoughts are with Joan and family at this time.
As a mark of respect the hillclimbs due to take place on Saturday and Sunday in Ballyvaughan have been postponed.
Fantastic Entry for this week-end's Safety Direct Galway International Rally!
Galway Motor Club is delighted to confirm that there is a capacity entry of 115 teams for this year's Safety Direct Galway International Rally. The event is the first in Galway to support "The Gathering 2013" initiative bringing a welcome early season boost to visitor numbers to Galway city and county. It is expected to generate over 2,000 bed nights.
Victor Farrell, Clerk of the Course, said "Galway Motor Club is indebted to the staff of Galway County and City Councils, An Garda Siochana, Failte Ireland, the Road Safety Authority, the Directors and staff of Safety Direct, the 300 volunteer marshals from all over Ireland, and most of all the residents of the route in the east of the county for their assistance with temporary road closures to ensure the safe running of the event."
The event will have a Ceremonial Start in Eyre Square on Saturday 2nd February at 8pm, following afternoon scrutineering of cars at MotorPark, Terryland, from 2pm. These are ideal opportunities to see the rally cars and drivers prior to the start of the competition.
Headquarters for the event is the Clayton Hotel, Ballybrit, Galway. The rally route will cover 8 closed road stages in East Galway, on Sunday 3rd February. The rally Service Park will be in Ballinasloe Mart grounds that day. Sunday evening will see the Ceremonial Finish, in Ballinasloe town centre at 5pm. Admission to all events is free over the weekend.
Road Safety:
The Safety Direct Galway International Rally is an event that is sanctioned by the FIA under an official Permit issued by Motorsport Ireland, and supported by the RSA – The Road Safety Authority of Ireland. The 'Keep the Race in its Place' campaign is extremely successful in talking to young people who follow motorsport. The Galway Motor Club is eager to remind everyone of the need to drive safely at all times – hence the message "Keep the Race in its Place''. All competing cars will carry this logo and message, and Safety Direct is providing extensive signage to promote this road safety message.
Victor Farrell, Clerk of the Course, encourages fans travelling to the International Rally on the 3rd February to heed the message from the organisers to 'Keep the Race in its Place', to slow down, never drink and drive and to always wear a seatbelt. All spectators on the closed road stages must obey the marshals at all times. A comprehensive traffic management plan has been put in place with the support of the Gardai.
Nominated Charity:
The nominated charity for the 2013 Safety Direct Galway International Rally is ACT for Meningitis. The charity's volunteers will be promoting awareness at various locations along the route and all support will be much appreciated.
Rally Programmes:
The Official Rally Programme contains full listings of stage times, service area times, detailed Ordnance Survey Route Maps and all of the information required to locate the many spectator access points. The programme costs €10 and is available from Safety Direct at Riverside Commercial Estate, Tuam Road, Galway, the Clayton Hotel and from filling stations, newsagents and outlets in the city and county listed on the rally website, www.galwayinternationalrally.com
Media Coverage:
For 2013 rally enthusiasts worldwide will benefit from extensive media coverage of the event. County Galway based TG4 ,which provides "free to air" terrestrial TV nationally will broadcast two 30 minute programmes devoted to the event during February, while Motors TV will have a one hour programme on its Satellite Channel, available across Europe, on Friday 22nd February at 9pm. For 2013 the organisers have arranged facilities for the ever increasing number of on-line rally followers, with regular video uploads to be provided from the start, live interviews and action from the stages during the event. In another "first" for the rally, the progress of the event will be covered on the smart phone App "iRally", and on their website. Locally the event will receive extensive coverage from the Galway Bay FM sports and news teams on Sunday.
Leading Entries :
Top seeds are last year's winners and 2012 Tarmac Rally Champions, Darren Gass from Armagh, and co –driver Enda Sherry. He will be followed off the start ramp by Derek McGarrity from Belfast, triple British Rally Champion Keith Cronin from Cork and Garry Jennings from Enniskillen. The highest seeded local crews are JJ Fleming from Salthill in his Ford Focus World Rally Car, co-driven by Robbie Ward from Loughrea at number 8, Tom Flaherty from Circular Road at 12 in his Escort Mk2 and Eamon Dervan from Loughrea at 18 also in an Escort, and Neil Pierce from Loughrea in a Honda at number 22.
Galway Entries in the Historic Car section include Ray Cunningham from Carnmore in a Mini Cooper, James Power from Loughrea in an Escort Mk1 and Pat Neville from Taylors Hill in a Volvo 142. The Galway competitors will be competing for the prestigious Brian Thornton Memorial Cup.
Safety Direct Galway International Rally Timetable:
Saturday 2nd February 2pm : Scrutiny at Motorpark, Terryland.
Saturday 2nd February 8pm : Ceremonial Start in Eyre Square.
Sunday 3rd February 9am : 8 Special Stages in East Galway.
Sunday 3rd February 5pm: Finish in Ballinasloe Town Centre.
Sunday 3rd February 7pm : Prizegiving at Clayton Hotel, Galway.
Leading Local Entries:
Car Driver Navigator Address Make/Model
8 John Joe Fleming Robbie Ward Salthill Focus WRC
12 Tom Flaherty Patrick Curley Rahoon Escort Mk2
18 Eamon Dervan Greg Kennedy Loughrea Escort Mk2
22 Neil Pierce Enda O Leary Loughrea Honda Civic
24 David Quigley Des Sherlock Loughrea Honda Civic
25 Pat Kelly Jonathan Kelly Ballybane Subaru
31 Jonathan Folan Ger Myers Galway Subaru
H4 Ray Cunningham Adrian Cusack Carnmore Mini Cooper
There are 115 entrants, the Top 10 seeds being:
Car Driver Navigator Address Make/Model
1 Darren Gass Enda Sherry Armagh Subaru Impreza S10
2 Derek McGarrity James McKee Belfast Subaru Impreza S14
3 Keith Cronin TBA Cork Subaru Impreza S11
4 Gary Jennings Neil Doherty Enniskillen Subaru S12B
5 Thomas Fitzmaurice Fionn Foley Tralee Subaru S12B
6 Donagh Kelly Kevin Flanagan Donegal Subaru Impreza S11
7 Declan Boyle Brian Boyle Donegal Subaru S12B
8 John Joe Fleming Robbie Ward Galway Ford Focus WRC
9 Eoin Doyle Peter Brennan Waterford Ford Focus WRC
10 Sam Moffett James O'Reilly Monaghan Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9
Information provided by Mark Parsons,
Media Officer, Safety Direct Galway International Rally 2013.
Contact Mobile +353 87 7679712
Contact e-mail mark@galwaymotorclub.ie
26th January 2013.
Safety Direct Galway International Rally 2013
Promo Video
Congratulations to David Fallon who is the 2012 National Autocross Champion.
Congratulations to Sylvie Mullins
Congratulations to Sylvie Mullins who is
The 2012 National Hillclimb & Sprint Champion
Championship Results
Galway Motor Club would like to congratulate the following members as award winners in the 2012 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship
Ray Cunningham - Overall Historic Champion 2012
Ian Hynes / Noel Mannion - 1st in Class 1.
James Power and Declan Kelly - 1st in Class C3.
David Walsh - 3rd in Class M1.
Dean Raftery 2012 Irish Junior Forestry Rally Champion
Congratulations to Galway's Dean Raftery who clinched the 2012 Valvoline Irish Junior Forestry Rally Championship. Here is how the season unfolded…
The season began back in January, with Donegal Motor Club hosting the opening round. Dean led for most of the event until he picked up a puncture and was forced to change it during the stage, eventually finishing third. Next up was the Willie Loughman Rally based in Carrick-on-Suir where Dean went one step closer to victory, finishing second.
It was to be third time lucky for Dean at the Moonraker Rally, with new navigator Aileen Kelly on board they claimed their first victory of the season and moved to the top of the championship table. The new pairing worked well as their success was to be repeated with victory at the Jim Walsh and Sean Conlon Rallies. They also climbed to the top of the 2WD standings.
The championship then headed north of the border for the penultimate round – The Bushwhacker Rally, based in Omagh. The team headed to the event knowing that a victory would clinch the title and that was to be realised, they lead from start to finish!
Dean commented after the event: "We came here today with the plan to drive our own rally and not make any mistakes. It worked perfectly and I am delighted to have won the championship, especially at my first attempt".
Dean also clinched the 2012 South East Stages Rally Junior Championship. The championship, which is unique in Ireland as it combines both gravel and tarmac rallies, provides a real challenge for the drivers. Dean won the final round at the Dick Bailey Stages Rally in Wexford and the championship with it.
"It was great to win my first championship and also to get my first tarmac Junior win makes it twice as good".
This week Dean received more good news, after being announced as the winner of the motorsport category of the Galway Bay FM Sports Stars of the year awards.
"It is nice to get some recognition from outside the motorsport world, I have received a lot of calls and texts congratulating me".
Dean would like to thank his navigator Aileen, his father-Daragh, Bob, Craughwell Tyre Centre, King Batteries & Hankook Tyres for their continued support and finally Gerry from Broderick Motorsport, the car didn't miss a beat all year!
Hewison Autotest 27th October 2012 Results
1 Steven Ferguson (Mini Special) 605.5s,
2 Eamonn Byrne (Mini) 621.9s,
3 Simon Echlin (Caterham) 623.6s,
4 Mark King (Nova) 637.2s,
5 J J Farrell (Mini Special) 637.4s,
6 David Thompson (Nova) 638.9s,
7 Paddy Power (Mini Moke) 646.6s,
8 Paul Mooney (Nova) 653.3s,
9 Paul Phelan (Mini Special) 657.8s,
10 Chris Grimes (Mini) 658.8s,
11 Timmy Lynch (Westfield) 663.8s,
12 Darren Quille (Westfield) 666.0s.
Class winners:
Eamonn Byrne,
J J Farrell,
Simon Echlin,
Mark King.
Semi-expert award: Timmy Lynch.
Novice award: Peter Falvey (Nova) 745.6s.
Congratulations to the following Championship Winners
DRIVER NAVIGATOR
Irish Tarmac Rally Champonship
Class 1
Ian Hynes 3rd Noel Mannion 3rd
Overall Historic
Ray Cunningham 1st
Class C3
James Power 1st Declan Kelly 1st
Dunlop National Championship
Class 2
Brendan Dunne 3rd place Brendan Murphy 2nd place
Class 6
Justin Comer 1st place
Class 8
Pat Kelly 2nd place
Class 11
Neil Pierce 1st place Enda O'Leary 2nd place
Class 16 (Juniors)
Damien Boyle 2nd place Joseph Boyle 2nd place
Welcome to Galway Motor Club
The Safety Direct Galway International Rally is the first major motorsport
event annually in Ireland. Over the years the event has attracted entrants from
England, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, the former Czechoslovakia, France, America,
Gambia, Belgium, Arabia, Norway and Finland.
The event is one of the most popular in the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, and has been it's first round since the series was founded in 1978. It is fully sponsored by Safety Direct and based in Galway's Clayton Hotel, and is supported by Failte Ireland.
It is a busy club - all volunteers - we organise one other stage rally each year, the popular Galway Summer Rally, and also a number of Sprints, a two day Hillclimb, an Autotest and various social events and charity fund raisers.
Galway Motor Club is very active in the promotion and development of Motorsport in Ireland, and supports Motorsport Ireland through active participation in it's various committees.
The Ultimate Rally News TV Coverage of
The Mor Oil Galway Summer Rally 2012 will air on TG4 on Sunday September 2nd at 5:10pm.
Mor Oil Galway Summer Rally 2012
Galway Motor Club are delighted to announce that Mor Oil Ltd will once again be the title sponsor for the Mor Oil Galway Summer Rally 2012.
Speaking at the announcement, Kieran Donohue, president of Galway Motor Club said “ we are delighted with the continuing support of Martin Kearney and the team in Mor Oil Ltd which is vitally important for the rally in the current climate. The rally will bring a significant boost to the local economy in the Loughrea area and we could not run the event without the support of Mor Oil”.
The rally will be run on Sunday 26th of August and is a counting round of The 2012 Top Part West Coast Rally Championship and the 2012 GMC Club members Championship. The 2012 rally also incorporates the Grp4 Fabrications sponsored “ King of the Mk2”. This event has brought some of Irelands top Mk2 drivers to Loughrea over the past 2 yrs and will do so again this year.
The event will be run from a base in The Lough Rea Hotel & Spa over a distance of 279.6 Kilometers, of which 143.1 will be over 9 special stages in the Loughrea area.
Online entries for the rally are now open via, rally.connect.ie/evo. The closing date for entries is August 13th.
Joe attended his first rally in 1978 and has been a huge fan and supporter of the sport ever since. He began taking his first photo’s of rally events in 1981. Since then he has attended Motorsport event’s all around the country, taking many superb photos of the rally action along the way.
It didn’t matter to Joe how far away an event was, or what hour of the night he needed to leave his home to get there, he would always pursue his passion for rally photography.
Any fellow photographer’s and marshals that knew Joe, would agree that he was always up for a laugh and having the craic at stage junctions, while waiting for the rally cars to pass
through.
Joe also had an interest in Formula one Motorsport. We remember Joe’s story of how he managed to convince one of Jordan Honda’s mechanics to give him some free memorabilia which he then treasured. Also the story of his purchase of two Jordan Honda race suits which he was very proud of, even if they did cost a small fortune.
Many rally competitors around the country have received photos from Joe over the years and he will be dearly missed by all. He was a true gentleman and friend of Motorsport.
Joe has always been extremely helpful to both the Galway Motor Club and Safety Direct over the years and we are very saddened by the news of his untimely passing.
We wish to extend our deepest sympathies to Joe’s wife Martina, his son Graham and daughter Shóna and the extended Lane family.
Photo shows left to right - Dermot Kelleher (Clare COC), Cillian Connole (Driver),
Joan Vaughan (Galway COC), Sylvie Mullins (Driver)
Rounds three & four of the “Connaught Competition Engines Irish Hillclimb& Sprint Championship 2012” will take place near Ballyvaughan in North Clare on
April 14th. & 15th.
This year’s 12 round Championship takes place over six weekends taking in some
of the most scenic parts of Clare, Galway, Wexford, Wicklow and Donegal and the
events bring a much needed boost to the local economy with demand for
accommodation, food and entertainment.
For the second year in succession The Clare Motor Club have teamed up with the
Galway Motor Club to co promote one hillclimb weekend. The Clare Club will run
the Corkscrew Hill on Saturday under Clerk of the Course Dermot Kelleher from
Clarecastle while Sunday’s hill Ballyallaban will be run by the Galway Motor Club
under Clerk of the Course Joan Vaughan from Ballyvaughan. This will give
competitors a great opportunity to compete on two of the best and most
challenging hills in the Hillclimb Championship series.
“Logue’s Lodge”, Ballyvaughan have again stepped in as the main sponsor of this
year’s event and both clubs are very grateful to Alan for his generous
sponsorship.
A special weekend menu will be available each night over the weekend including
prizegiving, video footage of each day’s action and music till late.
All the championship contenders are expected to attend including current
Hillclimb champion Simon McKinley driving his Lant RT4.
There should also be a big turn out in the Rally Car Classes with Clare & Galway
Motor Club members fighting for positions in the various classes.
Event secretary for the Clare / Galway event is Aisling Grimes and Aisling can be
contacted on 087-7753560 between 6.00pm and 9.00pm
Optional Mechanical & Documentation Scrutiny will take place at the Ballyvaughan
Filling Station, Ballyvaughan on this Friday evening 13TH. April between
6.00 and 8.00pm. There will also be Mechanical & Documentation Scrutiny in the
paddock of both hills between 8.00am and 10.00am.
Prizegiving will take place on Saturday & Sunday Evenings at Logues Lodge,
Ballyvaughan and will be followed by music and entertainment. Meals will be
available all day in the restaurant.
