R2: Jonny Greer Heads Entry for Race & Rally Stages at Bishopscourt

Round two of the McGrady Insurance Northern Ireland Rally Championship kicks into action this Saturday (12 March) with the Race & Rally Stages at County Down’s Bishopscourt Race Circuit!

Based a few miles outside Downpatrick, the Ballynahinch and District Motor Club event has attracted almost 90 crews to the popular venue with reigning champion, Jonny Greer, topping the entry list in his Citroen C3 Rally2. 

Navigated by Darragh Mullen, Greer is targeting a third N.I. title this year. He got his 2022 campaign off to the best possible start with victory at last month’s opening round and leads the series by two points as he bids to secure a second consecutive Bishopscourt win.

Derek McGarrity and Graham Henderson will be hot on Greer’s tyre tracks in their Skoda Fabia R5. With a record eight N.I. titles and around 15 Bishopscourt Rally wins, McGarrity’s past results speak for themselves. The venue is one of the Glengormley driver’s favourite hunting grounds and he will be among the main contenders on Saturday.

Stephen Wright and Ger Conway are seeded at number three in their Fiesta. Wright is another former champion and holds third in the series standings, just one point behind McGarrity. He had a strong start at the opening round that saw him finish a couple of seconds clear of former Irish Tarmac Champion, Darren Gass, who is seeded at number four with Sam Hutchinson in a Citroen C3 Rally2.

The father and daughter crew of Kieron and Amy Graffin complete the top five seeds ahead of Aaron McLaughlin/Darren Curran (Fiesta WRC) and Mark Massey/Alistair Wyllie (Fiesta). Joe McGonigle and Ciaran Geaney (Fiesta) are at number eight ahead of Welsh visitor, Steve Wood, in his Fiesta WRC. A late entry has also been received from Cookstown’s Philip Allen who claimed third overall at the opening round of the McGrady Insurance backed series.

Two-wheel-drive

Such is the quality of entry that all of the leading two-wheel-drive crews are seeded outside the top 20. Topping the list are James and Heather Kennedy in their Escort MkII. They secured the category win at round one after an intense battle with the MkI Escort belonging to Andrew White and Paul Hughes.

White impressed onlookers at round one when he powered into an early category lead, only succumbing to Kennedy’s advances during the latter stages of the event. He starts Bishopscourt just behind the Kennedy husband and wife team, while Jamie Grant and Jonny Chambers will keep them honest in their Toyota Starlet.

The Event

The Race & Rally Stages starts shortly after 9am with all six stages held within the confines of Bishopscourt Race Circuit. Admission to the event is £10 per person. For more information, including regular updates as Saturday’s rally progresses, visit our Facebook page.

ENTRY LIST

1 Jonathan Greer /Darragh Mullen  (Citroen C3 Rally 2) [10]
2 Derek McGarrity /Graham Henderson  (Skoda Fabia R5 Evo) [11]
3 Stephen Wright /Ger Conway  (Ford Fiesta R5) [11]
4 Darren Gass /Sam Hutchinson  (Citroen C3 Rally 2) [10]
5 Kieron Graffin /Amy Graffin  (Ford Fiesta R5) [11]
6 Aaron McLaughlin /Darren Curran  (Ford Fiesta WRC) [11]
7 Mark Massey /Alistair Wylie  (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
8 Joseph McGonigle /Ciaran Geaney  (Ford Fiesta Rally2) [11]
9 Steve Wood /Jay Colville  (Ford Fiesta WRC) [10]
11 Emma McKinstry /Kenny Hull  (Ford Fiesta R5) [11]
12 Michael McGarrity /Damien Garvey  (Ford Fiesta R5+) [11]
14 David Kelly /Deanie O Sullivan  (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
15 Ian Dickson /John McCafferty  (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
16 George Robinson /Tommy Speers  (Ford Fiesta R5) [11]
18 Chris McGurk /Conor Duffy  (Ford Fiesta R5) [11]
19 Paidi Hamill /Martin Harte  (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
20 Joe Hegarty /Ashleen Hegarty  (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
21 Michael McCollum /Michael Pearson  (Ford Fiesta) [11]
22 Terry Donnelly /Gareth Donnelly  (Skoda Fabia S2000) [9]
23 James Kennedy /Heather Kennedy  (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
24 Andrew White /Paul Hughes  (Ford Escort Mk1) [7]
25 Jamie Grant /Jonny Chambers  (Toyota Starlet) [6]
26 Brian McFall /Ivor Lamont  (Ford Fiesta) [9]
27 Shane Murray /Gary Hade  (Ford Fiesta) [10]
28 Niall Carey /Ciaran Carey  (BMW Compact) [7]
29 Paul McKenna /Nicola Myles  (Mitsibushi Lancer Evo) [8]
30 Nicky Caughey /Graeme Stewart  (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]
31 Alan Smyth /Gary McCruddan  (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
32 Kevin Wilson /Martin Farren  (Mitsibushi Lancer Evo) [8]
33 Robert Erwin /Andrew Wilson  (Toyota MR2) [6]
34 Colin Price /Ben Teggart  (Toyota Starlet RWD) [6]
35 Conor Cochrane /Chris Johnston  (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
36 Seamus Branniff /Barry Savage  (Mitsibushi Lancer Evo 9) [8]
37 David Porter /Jordan Murphy  (Subaru Imperza) [8]
38 Drew Wylie /Stephen Jess  (Ford Escort) [1]
39 Conor Lavery /Kevin Murphy  (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
40 William Carey /Jimmy Graham  (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
41 Sam Adams /Michael Johnston  (Ford Escort) [5]
42 Derek Gurney /Alan Conor  (Ford Sierra RS Cosworth) [6]
43 Conor Gillespie /Aidan Campbell  (Ford Escort Mk2) [5]
44 Philip Greenlee /Oisin Sherlock  (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
45 Matthew McGaffin /Ryan Lowry  (Ford Escort) [6]
46 Jonny Cargo /David McElroy  (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
47 Adrian Grant /Olivia Chambers  (Ford Escort Mk2) [5]
48 Mickeal Magee /John Magilton  (Subaru Imperza) [8]
49 Simon Gordon /John Henderson  (Vauxhall Astra) [6]
50 Roy Haslett /Gavin Larmour  (Ford Escort F2) [6]
51 Scott Singleton /Dessie Wilson  (Ford Escort Mk2) [7]
52 Barry Fitzsimons /Patrick McMullan  (Subaru Imperza) [9]
54 Michael Nutt /David Nutt  (Ford Fiesta) [4]
55 Gareth Deazley /Ashley Boulton  (Ford Fiesta R200) [4]
56 John Adams /Noel Watt  (Ford Escort) [1]
57 Jimmy Mills /Joanna Mills-Alexander  (Ford Escort) [1]
58 Philip White /Brian Rowan  (Nissan Micra) [3]
59 Stephen Whitford /Phillip Morrow  (Nissan Micra Kit Car) [3]
60 Ronan Greene /Rachel Greene Irwin  (Vauxhall Nova) [3]
61 Gary Rodgers /Brian Crawford  (Nissan Micra Kit Car) [3]
62 Peter Dowds /Steven Dowds  (Nissan Micra Kit Car) [3]
63 Sean Foy /Chris McSherry  (Nissan Micra) [3]
64 Jack Young /Scott McOuat  (Nissan Micra) [3]
65 William McClurkin /Damian McCann  (Ford Escort Mk2) [6]
66 Janice Millar /Stewart McClean  (Ford Escort) [5]
67 Mark Moore /Dion Coyle  (Nissan Micra) [3]
68 Darragh Kelly /Eoin Kelly  (Peugeot 208 R2) [4]
69 Jack Cairns /Martin Cairns  (Ford Fiesta R2) [4]
70 Tommy Maxwell /Sam McMullan  (Ford Focus RWD) [7]
71 Kevin Quinn /Chris Corr  (TBA) [6]
72 Ewan Murdoch /Paul Reid  (Ford Escort Mk2) [4]
73 Thomas Lowry /Harry Johnston  (Talbot Sunbeam) [6]
74 Conor Wilson /Matthew Wilson  (Ford Fiesta Rally4) [4]
75 Philip Gault /Jim Ayre  (Vauxhall Nova) [4]
76 Neil Somerville /Raymond Knox  (Vauxhall Chevette) [3]
77 Michelle Morelli /Rachel McCullough  (Honda Civic) [4]
78 Seamus Goodfellow /Joel McFarland  (Honda Civic) [2]
79 Laura Phillips /Liam Regan  (Nissan Micra) [3]
80 Gareth Dick /Jane Collins  (Honda Civic) [2]
81 Sean Scanlon /Lauren Crozier  (Peugeot 206) [2]
82 Janet Taylor /Marc Taylor  (Proton Satria) [4]
83 Philip Allen /Stephen Dickson  (Ford Fiesta R5) [10]

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