Tour of the Sperrins is GO – full entry list revealed!

An impressive entry of more than 100 crews has been received for this Saturday’s ‘Go’ sponsored Tour of the Sperrins Rally, round two of the McGrady Insurance MSA N.I. Rally Championship!

The Magherafelt & District Motor Club event will feature six closed-road stages in the Cookstown area, with rally headquarters and the event service area all based at Meteor Electrical’s premises in Cookstown.

Former Irish Tarmac Champion, Garry Jennings, will lead the 101-strong field across the Meteor Electrical start ramp on Saturday morning. Navigated by Michael Moran, the Impreza WRC mounted crew are one of the firm favourites for victory. However, a few days before the event, their Impreza WRC wasn’t quite ready for action and Jennings played down his chances of a win…

“I’m waiting to get an ECU from Prodrive,” Jennings revealed. “It’s supposed to be here this week but if it doesn’t arrive in time, I should be able to borrow one to get the car going.”

He added: “I’m not going out to win the rally. My navigator, Michael Moran, works for Go and we do a lot of business together so we’re going out for a bit of craic!”

Stiff opposition will come from N.I. Championship leader, Derek McGarrity, who starts at number two in his Impreza WRC. Having won the opening round of the McGrady Insurance backed series in March, the Glengormley driver is aiming for another strong finish in a bid to bolster his chances of claiming the 2018 N.I. Championship crown.

Portglenone’s Desi Henry is the first of the ‘R5’ mounted drivers at number three. Having finished third overall at last weekend’s Killarney Rally of the Lakes, Henry and navigator Liam Moynihan should be up to speed fairly quickly aboard their Skoda Fabia R5.

At number four, Joe McGonigle and Ciaran Geaney will have their Mini Countryman WRC at their disposal. Their most recent victory was claimed at the 2017 end-of-season Turkey Run Rally and they have just missed out on podium finishes on a handful of events this year, so will be hungry to make up for lost ground.

Dungannon’s Paddy McVeigh starts the event at number five in his Impreza WRC, while Ballymena’s Alan Carmichael is at number six in his Mini WRC. He also holds second overall in the N.I. Championship standings, just two points behind McGarrity.

Other notable crews include Connor McCloskey, who holds third overall in the N.I. title race. Former champion, Stuart Biggerstaff, is at number 12 and a host of high powered two-wheel-drive crews are set to do battle. They include Camillus Bradley, Scottish visitor David Bogie, Ryan Loughran, Wesley Patterson, Kevin Gallagher in a stunning Darrian, and 2016 event winner Marty McCormack.

Crews will leave the Meteor Electrical start ramp on Saturday at 10.30am before tackling a total of six stages (three stages completed twice). Spectators who want to follow the event can purchase event programmes containing the essential rally information from nearby filling stations. Event updates will also be available online at fb.com/nirallying.

ENTRY LIST

1 Garry Jennings/Michael Moran Subaru Impreza WRC 8
2 Derek McGarrity/Paddy Robinson Subaru Impreza WRC 9
3 Desi Henry/Liam Moynihan Skoda Fabia R5 9
4 Joseph McGonigle/Ciaran Geaney Mini Countryman WRC 8
5 Paddy McVeigh/Denver Rafferty SUBARU S12B 9
6 Alan Carmichael/Ivor Lamont Mini Countryman WRC 9
7 Connor McCloskey/Tba Ford Fiesta R5+ 8
8 Frank Wray/Joe McNulty SUBARU S11 WRC 9
9 Philip Allen/Martin Connolly Hyundai i20 R5 9
10 Alan Smyth/Mac Kierans Mitsubishi Evo X 8
11 Niall Henry/Damien Duffin Citroen Ds3 8
12 Stuart Biggerstaff/Anthony Nestor Subaru Impreza 9
14 Camillus Bradley/Crawford Henderson Ford Escort 7
15 David Bogie/John Rowan Ford Escort MK II 7
16 Ryan Loughran/Gareth Doherty Ford Escort MK2 7
17 Wesley Patterson/Johnny Baird Ford Escort MKII RS 7
18 Kevin Gallagher/Noel O Sullivan Darrian T90 7
19 David Armstrong/Paul Mulholland Ford Escort MK2 7
20 Barry Morris/Declan Campbell Ford Escort MK2 6
21 Martin McCormack/Laura Conlon Ford Escort 10
22 Paul Britton/George Tinsley Subaru Impreza N12B 2
23 Darren McKelvey/Aaron Johnston Mitsubishi Evo IX 8
24 Gary Cooney/John McElhinney Subaru Impreza 9
25 James Laverty/Barry McNulty Subaru Impreza N12B 2
26 Jonny Morrow/Simon Morrow Mitsubishi Mirage RS 8
27 Amy Cox/Caron McCormack SKODA S2000 9
28 Stanley Orr/Graham Henderson Ford Escort RS1600 10
29 Fintan McGrady/Ray FitzpatrickFord Escort 7
30 Oran Donnelly/Paul Hughes Ford Escort MK2 6
31 John Bradley/Ryan Crozier Ford Mk2 Escort 6
32 John Devlin/John McCarthy Ford Escort 6
33 Gary Rodgers/Geoff Patterson Mitsubishi Evo 9 2
34 Colm McFall/Tba Mitsubishi Evo 9 2
35 Peter Bennett/Simon Jones Mitsubishi Evo 9 8
36 Conor McCrossan/Connor Murphy SKODA S2000 8
37 Brian McFall/Matthew McKenna Mitsubishi Evo 9 2
38 Shane Cullen/Tba Ford Escort 6
39 James Kennedy/Heather Kennedy Ford Escort Mk2 6
40 Alan Gardiner/Dave Robson Ford Escort Mk1 7
41 Paul McErlean/Niall McKenna Ford Escort MK2 6
42 Jason Black/Thomas Wedlock Toyota Starlet 4
43 Kyle White/Sean Topping PEUGEOT 208 4
44 Stanley McKeown/Nigel Gourley Ford Mk2 Escort 6
45 Brian Muldoon/David Burns Ford Escort 7
46 Niall Donnelly/Dave Birt Ford Escort MK2 4
47 Ian Green/Amanda Green PEUGEOT 205GTI 5
48 Drew Wylie/Tba Ford Escort 10
49 Raymond Johnston/Marc Johnston Ford escort RS 1800 10
50 Christian Cochrane/Martin Lynch Ford Escort 6
51 Stephen McFerran/Martin McBrearty Ford Escort 5
52 Anthony Cairns/Mark Preston Subaru Impreza 8
53 Raymond Doyle/Marc Nugent Toyota Corolla 4
54 Jamie Grant/Tba Toyota Starlet 5
55 Ryan McCusker/Barney Mitchell Ford Escort Mk 2 5
56 William McClurkin/Tba Ford Escort MK2 5
57 Joe Hegarty/David Turkington Mitsubish Evo 6 8
58 Christopher Quinn/Thomas Nevin Subaru Impreza 2
59 Paul McKenna/Patrick Kelly Mitsubishi Evo 6 8
60 Neil Kirkpatrick/Richard Livingston Mitsubishi Evo 9 2
61 Liam Egan/Patrick Brides Subaru Impreza 2
62 Gary Cairns/Mark Preston Mitsubishi Evo 9 2
63 Cathal Mulgrew/Darren O’Brien Ford Escort 6
64 Simon Devlin/Michael Laverty Ford Escort MK2 6
65 Michael McGarrity/Damien Garvey Citroen Ds3 r3 4
66 Andrew Bustard/Tba Ford Escort Mk 2 5
67 Andrew McCormick/Rudy Tate Vauxhall Chevette 6
68 Eamon Doherty/Tba Ford Escort 5
69 Philip Wylie/Lewis Dunlop Escort RS1800 10
70 Chris McGurk/Liam McIntye Mitsubishi Evo 9 8
71 John Cairns/James Cairns Mitsubishi Evo 9 8
72 Conor Lavery/Mo Downey Ford Escort 6
73 Derek Crossen/Jody Patterson Ford Escort 6
74 Darren Hamill/Karl Egan Ford Escort 6
75 James Wylie/Tommy Speers Ford Escort 5
76 Graham Patterson/Keith Hall Toyota Corolla AE86 4
77 Conor Cochrane/Micheal Johnston Ford Escort Mk 2 3
78 Philip White/Sam McMullan Nissan Micra 3
79 Geoffrey Nevin/Paul Nevin Ford Escort 5
80 Mervyn Tate/Dennis McMullan Talbot Sunbeam 3
81 Kieran O’Kane/Sean Devlin Opel Ascona 7
82 William Morgan/John Henderson Ford Escort 7
83 Andrew Bushe/Chris McSherry Vauxhall Chevette 10
84 Richard Somerville/John Nicholl Ford Escort 6
85 Malcolm Pedlow/Billy Regan BMW 2002tii 10
86 John Adams/Noel Watt Ford Escort 10
87 Dermot Grant/Glenn Laverty Ford Escort Mk 2 6
88 Stephen McGurk/Mark O Connor Ford Escort 6
89 Conor Gillespie/Martin Harte Ford Escort Mk 2 5
90 Mark Stewart/Chris Hobson MAZDA MX5 4
91 James Convery/Tba Ford Ka 3
92 Gerard Neeson/Michael Murray Peugeot 106 GTI 4
93 Daniel Hamill/Nathan Quin Peugeot 106 4
94 Ryan O’Kane/James Duffin Honda Civic 1
95 Michael Nutt/Dessie Nutt HONDA CIVIC 1
96 Gerard Hughes/Paul Hughes Peugeot 205gti 3
97 Stephen Caldwell/Steven McCrossan Vauxhall Corsa 3
98 Daryl Sproule/Kevin Duggan Vauxhall Astra 6
99 Mark Robinson/James Holland Honda Civic 1
100 Harry Brown/Martin McGrath Hillman Avenger 3
101 Bill Arbuthnot/Jason McGuckin Subaru Impreza 8
102 Paddy Quinn/Joe Comerford Ford Escort MK1 3

REVERVES:
103 Ross Brusby/Tba Ford Escort 7
104 Kevin McBride/Tba Mitsubishi Evo9 2