It’s rally time again
Wood and Moriarty seek three in a row
THE SCENE is now most definitely set for this, the 47th running of the now Wexford Volkswagen stages rally.
The event, the only two-day non-championship rally in the country, has long been heralded as one of the great clubman rallies in the country, known for its compact, competitor friendly route and an entry fee that provides one of the best value for money rallies in the country.
Winners for the last two years, Steve Wood and Keith Moriarty, return in 2018 to try to make it three wins on the bounce. They return with the Subaru Impreza S11 WRC which brought them to victory in 2017.
They certainly start the event as favourites, but they will face stiff opposition, especially from the two-wheel drive ranks.
At number two are last year’s runners-up, Ian Barrett and Eoin O’Flaherty. Last year they debuted their Ford Fiesta WRC on the event, but in 2018 they return in a Darrian T90 GTR.
Ian, navigated by Paul McGee, scored a very impressive victory on the national section of the Donegal International rally in June, and the Joule-backed car will not only be expected to set the bench mark in the two-wheel drive race, but also mount a considerable challenge to the lead Subaru.
At three is last year’s two-wheel drive winner Gary Kiernan, with Darren ‘Speedy’ O’ Brien on the notes. Kiernan was head and shoulders above the two-wheel drive opposition last year, but he faces a far sterner test this year to retain his title.
Seeded at four are the Welsh wizards, John Dalton and Gwynfor Jones. John has had some fabulous runs in Wexford over the years and, despite a six-year absence from the event, he will be very much tipped as one of the favourites for both two-wheel drive and overall success.
John has forever and a day longed to take victory on one of Ireland’s premier events. He was second on this year’s Raven’s Rock rally, so can he go one better in Wexford?
Fifth on the road is Tyrone man Frank Kelly with Wexford’s John McGrath in the hot-seat.
Frank is famous all over the world for his antics aboard his famous ‘baby-blue’ Escort, but there’s nothing Frank Kelly loves more than a race, and he has a major one on his hands this weekend.
Second to Barry Meade in Carlow earlier in the year, Frank will be sure to challenge the men ahead for overall honours.
The remainder of the top ten is just as strong for this year’s event. At six are the Condell brothers, David and George, in their 2.5 Millington-powered Escort.
David won the Imokilly mini-stages rally earlier this year and indeed won the Carlow stages rally in 2017.
With brother George on the notes, they will pose a strong challenge to Kiernan and Kelly for top Mk2 on the event.
At seven is the Darrian of the 2015 winners, Mark Straker and Mike Coady. Mark has been hard at work developing his 1.6 litre turbo-charged Darrian, and he will be looking to make strides forward with his very different car on this year’s event.
It’s great to see another Welsh crew at eight, with Meirion Evans and Jonathan Jackson aboard the state-of-the-art Hyundai i20 R5.
This will be Meirion’s first event in the new car, and it will be interesting to see how the latest R5 car fares against the opposition on the Wexford stages.
Another former two-wheel drive winning crew is at nine in the shape of Wesley Patterson and Johnny Baird in their immaculate Mk2 Escort. Wesley was second overall to Mark Straker in 2015, and third overall in 2014, so the Lisburn man knows how to get a result in Wexford.
Rounding out the top ten is another Welsh crew, Tomas and Eurig Davies in the Scott Williams motorsport Mk2 Escort.
Tomas was on the podium on the Imokilly stages rally when taking third overall.
After bad luck on both the Raven’s Rock and Stonethrowers rally, they will be looking for a good performance here in Wexford.
Outside the top ten, there are a number of crews well capable of challenging the front-runners. Richie Moore and Brian Halligan were sixth overall last year, and they will be looking to improve on that result.
Simon Chapman last competed in Wexford in 2015, when he took a fine fifth over all and a class win. With Neil Colman alongside him, he will be looking for a similar result this year aboard the Millington-engined Proton which Gary Kiernan used to win the national section of the West Cork rally earlier in the year.
At 14 is fans’ favourite Liam Howlett. The Palace man has equipped himself with Ryan Loughran’s fabulous Smith & Jones 2.5 litre Mk2 Escort for this year’s event.
A shake down in Galway saw Liam take a fine ninth overall, and with Gary Nolan in the co-driver’s seat on this year’s event, hopes are high for a good result aboard the SJC Autos-backed machine.
Rounding out the top 15 in this fantastic entry is another local crew, James Bradley and Maria Kehoe in their giant-killing Honda Civic. James and Maria have had some fantastic runs in both Carlow and on the Raven’s Rock, winning their class on both occasions and mixing it with the more powerful Escorts.
More of the same will be expected on their home event, and it would be no surprise to see the Civic well inside the top ten.
The action kicks off from Wexford town on Saturday morning, when the crews will tackle nine stages in the north of the county, with centralised servicing in Enniscorthy mart.
A further six stages will be tackled on Sunday with service again in Enniscorthy mart before the finish back at the Riverbank House Hotel on Sunday evening.
As always, the rally cannot run without marshals and for anyone who is free to help in any way on the event, please contact chief marshal Seán Sammon on 0874185671.
The club would like to take this opportunity to thank all the residents on the rally route, without whose help and co-operation the event simply would not be possible.