Austin McHale has been declared the champion of the Toshiba Tarmac Rally Championship for the fifth time even before this weekend's final round, the Cork 20 International Rally. But the Munster event will be a battle of the tarmac titans nonetheless. McHale and Brian Murphy, in their Castrol Toyota Celica GT4, take on Bertie Fisher and Rory Kennedy, who are desperate for a win in the Subaru Ireland Impreza after a terrible year; Donegal winners Andrew Nesbitt and James O'Brien in a Celica GT4; Rally of the Lakes winners James Leckey and George Millar in an Impreza; Wexford winners Eamonn Bol and Damien Morrissey in a Ford Escort WRC; recent Galway Summer Rally winners Ian Greer and Dean Beckett in a Celica GT4; twice national champions Stephen Murphy and Mickey Joe Morrissey; and former tarmac winner Frank Meagher, with Pat Maloughney on the pace notes, both in Escort WRCs.
Derek McGarrity and Victor Carrothers chase Group N honours in a Mitsubishi Evo.5; Donal O'Donovan and Pat Lordan, and Liam McCarthy and Kieran Murphy, both crews from Dunmanway, Co Cork, should benefit from local knowledge in Ford Sierra Cosworth and Escort Cosworth, respectively.
Liam O'Callaghan, from Kanturk, Co Cork, is after the Formula 2 class in a Ford Escort Maxi and another Cork crew to watch are Frank O'Mahony and Bryan Curtin in a Subaru Impreza. Michael Barrable, in a Celica GT4, is aiming for a trouble-free run this weekend after a dismal year. An unknown quantity is Japanese Group N Champion Toshihiro Arai in a Prodrive Subaru Impreza in Group N spec.
Tomorrow's format consists of a loop of three stages, each done three times at Ballinvuskig, Laharan and Rockhill in the Cork/Mallow area. The first car leaves the Dock Road starting ramp at Tivoli at 8.30 a.m. and should start the first stage at 9.20 a.m. The first car is due back in Cork at 6 p.m.
The Sunday restart, again from the Dock Road, is at 9.30 a.m. and the rally heads for Fermoy for a stage at Ballylusky.
The other 2x2 stages are Cappagh and Dunmahon. The first car is expected back at the Tivoli finish at 5.50 p.m.
Sunday's final Mondello Park races for the season include the penultimate rounds of the STP Uno Cup and the Dunlop Italian Saloons, with the finals at Pembry in Wales on October 25th, the same day as the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch.
Gavin Smith has been the find of the year in the closely matched Uno class. With three wins, he leads the series on 54 points from Liam Rabbitt (two wins) on 49 points, Greg Turley 42, Gilbert McFarland 38, Karl Leonard 37, Andrew McKinney and Seamus McArdle 36 each.
