THE 14 round RIAC/Coras Vard National Rally Championship gets into gear with the Ballina Motor Club's Downhill Hotel Mayo Stages Rally on Sunday, March 10th, The Ballina Motor Club, now in its 20th year, will follow last year's successful formula of 4x3 stages over 80 miles.
Last year's championship was won by Carlow's Stephen Murphy in a Ford Escort Cosworth. The previous year's winner Mickey Farrell (Ardee) was second in a Subaru Legacy and Eamonn Boland (Wexford) was third in another Escort Cosworth. Murphy and Farrell are expected to only race in selected rounds this year, and Boland is a hot favourite for the title. His main challenge will come from fellow Escort Cosworth driver John Gilleece.
The fourth and final round of the RIAC National Forest Stages Rally Championship takes place on Sunday the Willie Loughman Memorial Forestry Rally promoted by the Carrickon Suir Motor Club. This is actually the longest running forestry rally in the country.
Run out of Waterford, the event will cover eight stages over 68 miles in the Suir Valley area. It is also round three of the All Ireland Forestry Championship and round three of the South East Rally Championship. The stage locations are: Portlaw, Gurteen, Slievenamon and The Anner; service in Grangemockler.
Eamonn Byrne has won the 1995/96 Hewison Trophy Autotest Championship with two out of the 16 rounds still to run. Byrne missed the first two rounds, but with 10 wins out of 12 starts, he literally demolished the opposition at the wheel of his Mini Special. This is his fifth Hewison title and he has equalled the record of four in a row set by Kevin Murray of Sligo from 1951 to 1954. Long time leader JJ Farrell is likely to hold second place. MEC hold Sunday's Hewison event, the Freeman Cup Trial, at Whitestown Industrial Estate, Tallaght.
Meanwhile, Billy Nutt of Coleraine, the driving force behind the hugely successful North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix, will co ordinate a full season of motorcycle race meetings at Mondello Park this season. The season starts with meetings on March 24th (Fingal MCC) and March 31st (Loughshinny MCC).
