Each Winner is entitled to 1 free ticket for the Awards Dinner which is on in Celtic Ross Hotel, Rosscarbery, Co Cork. on Sat 3rd Jan 2015.
The organisers of the championship would like to congratulate Stephen Carey on winning the 2014 Plastic Bags.Ie Southern 4 Rally Championship
Due to a change in MI Rally 2 rules no points can be awarded to crews who avail of this on any championship event. The organisers of the championship regret that this is the case but have no option but to apply the rule. Details in the Regulations page which is now updated also.
Baltimores Stephen Carey is the surprise leader of the PlasticBags.ie Southern 4 Rally Championship as the crews head to Waterford for the Ravens Rock Rally. Carey has been very fast and consistent to put together four very good scores so far to lead in his Class 3 Honda Civic. His total of 135 points leaves him just one point clear of Wesley Patterson who has been campaigning a historic spec RS1800 to great effect so far. Kevin O’Donoghue is another Escort driver who is performing well and currently lies in third place with 129 points. Winners of the championship for the past two seasons Daragh O’Riordan looked to be on course to have a good lead after Killarney, only to crash out of the event on the second day, a fate which also befell J.J. Fleming. However both drivers are still very much in the hunt and can’t be discounted as dropped scores will begin to take effect after the next round.
Going through the classes, there is a great battle in class 2 with three Honda Civic drivers battling for supremacy, Shane Kenneally, Brian O’Mahony and Christopher O’Donovan, with Kenneally holding a narrow advantage. Class 3 is very much a Stephen Carey benefit, while class 4 sees Brian O’Keeffe lead the way despite not competing in Killarney. Patrick Calnan holds a three point advantage in class 6 from Jason O’Brien while John Quill is still very much in the hunt for overall class honours as well. Colm Noonan has a comfortable lead from Adam Platt in class while a single point separates Daragh O’Riordan from J.J. Fleming in class 8.
In the modified classes, Shane Stanley holds a comfortable lead from Noel O’Sullivan in class 9, while Victor Beamish leads class 10. There are a number of drivers still in with a chance of challenging Beamish such as Donal Dineen, Gordon Dreaper, Gearoid Beamish and Ciaran Casey, but all will need to start scoring maximum points to threaten Beamishs’ advantage. David Duggan holds a good lead after Killarney as maximum point scorer in West Cork, Vincent McSweeney, didn’t compete in the main field in Killarney. Ken O’Neill and Jonathan O’Callaghan could also still have a large say in how the class eventually pans out.
Steve Roberts has a commanding lead in class 12, while class 13 is more competitive with Wesley Patterson leading, but Jeremiah O’Flynn and Sean O’Carroll could be on top of the pile after Ravens Rock. Kevin O’Donoghue leads class 14 from Frank Kelly with Fergus O’Meara and Charlie Hickey very much in the hunt as well. Mick Cremin leads class 15 while Mark Nangle currently heads class 20.
Todd Falvey is leading the historic section in his beautiful Porsche 911, while a great battle is shaping up in the juniors. Conor McCarthy and John Flaherty are currently level on 76 points each, with William Nolan on 70, and Vincent McSweeney in fourth place on 41 points.
The new points scoring format in the PlasticBags.ie Southern 4 Rally championship has certainly made things interesting with J.J.Fleming and Daragh ORiordan tied at the top of the standings after the Quality Hotels West Cork Rally. This year points are awarded for each day of all two day events, so Fleming took maximum points on the first day, but ORiordan moved up the order on the second day and was quickest driver over the course of the day. Both drivers are now on 78 points after two rounds. In third place after two consistent rounds is Frank Kelly in his Escort on 72 points. Stephen Carey lies in fourth place with 70 points and Wesley Patterson makes up the top five with a total of 68 points.
Going down through the classes, Shane Kenneally leads in class 2 in his Honda Civic, while Stephen Carey will be hot favourite to retain class three also in a Civic. Brian OKeeffe leads class 4 after a very successful outing in Clonakilty in his newly acquired N16 Subaru Impreza. Class 6 will be hotly contested as always, John Quill had taken maximum points the first day, but failed to finish the event leaving Patrick Calnan to lead the class. Jason OBrien lies in second with Quill in third. Colm Noonan leads Adam Platt in class 7, while Fleming and ORiordan share the lead in class 8.
In the modified classes Shane Stanley leads class 9, while classes 10 and 11 are ultra-competitive. Victor Beamish leads class 10 from Gearoid Beamish with Ciaran Casey in third place. Vincent McSweeney leads from Jonathan OCallaghan in class 11 after Clonakilty where both drivers were on a serious pace. Padraig McCarthy and David Duggan also scored well and are strongly in the hunt for class awards. Steve Roberts has a commanding lead over Gerard OConnell in class 12 after the latter failed to complete either day in West Cork.
Class 13 is another that looks extremely competitive, with Wesley Patterson leading from Allen Treacy. Diarmuid Keohane, Johnny Curran and Mark Dolphin are also very close to the top of the pile as well. Class 14 sees a battle between Frank Kelly and Kevin ODonoghue with the former two points ahead. Mick Cremin leads class 15 in his Mitsubishi Lancer, while class 20 sees a tie between Mark Nangle and John Hickey on 39 points. In the Historic Class Todd Falvey is dominating in his fabulous Porsche 911, while the junior category is being led by Conor McCarthy in his Honda Civic.
The action now turns to Killarney and the Cartell.ie International Rally of the Lakes on the 4th and 5th May which will host the third and fourth scoring rounds of the championship. With a lot of the class leaders expected to take part, the two tough days of rallying could see another big shake up in the overall leader board and in the classes.
Results are now updated on the results page after West Cork Final results have been ammended by the Stewards of the Rally.
Results after Rd 1 West Cork have been removed following a protest to the Stewards in West Cork regarding final Results. As soon as this matter is resolved Results will be back on Line.