Wexford to go two wheel drive crazy.
Website office(Wexford)
John Dier
Thursday 19th July
Gary is up to his usual trick in plugging the club at every chance!! Here he tells us about the two wheel drive challenge at this year's Riverbank House Hotel Dick Bailey stages rally.
For 2007, the Riverbank House Hotel Dick Bailey stages rally moves into a whole new dimension as for the first time ever, it hosts it’s first ever two-wheel drive challenge. The challenge will see some of the finest two-wheel crews battle it out over the 16 demanding stages for the title of two-wheel drive champion, whilst also taking the top cash prize on the event that see’s a total prize fund of €3,500!
Last years event saw an epic battle between Welsh pairing Neil Williams and Eurig Davies, local brothers Willy and Johnny Whitty, both crews piloting Mk2 Escorts, and the Astra of Tomas O’ Rourke and John McGrath. In the end, it was the Welsh crew that came out on top, after the Whitty’s suffered time penalties on the Sunday stages and O’ Rourke had an uncharacteristic and spectacular off. This years event is likely to see a similar battle with the prospect of the Darrian’s of James Stafford and last years top two-wheel drive seed John Dalton likely to take to the start. Add to this the returning Liam Wall and you already have the likelihood of a fantastic battle in store! Also this year, Wexford will see the debut of the unique Honda S2000 powered Mk2 Escort in the hands of Graham Scallan. Now that’s bound to be interesting!
This is a complete new venture for the club, a venture which could not be hosted without the backing of a three-way joint sponsorship agreement, the companies being Rallytrader.ie, Murform Structures Ltd and Ruth Motorsport.
Rallytrader.ie is one of the newest and most popular rally sales websites on the Internet. The site has hundred’s of cars and parts on offer and is growing at a phenomenal rate. It is the cheapest site to advertise on, with adds costing just €20 for cars, with the customer able to add up to four pictures’s to his or hers advert. Also, all parts advertisements are free and this extends to all adds until the end of July! The site can be accessed through www.rallytrader.ie, where you will find everything from steering arms to Ford Focus WRC’s on offer!
Murform Structures Ltd are a Wexford based company who specialise in concrete, formwork and rebar. They are involved in the construction of concrete framed buildings, multi storey car parks and various other cast insitu structures all over Ireland. The company is run by brothers Peter, Damien and Larry Murphy, long time competitors and supporters of the Wexford rally.
Ruth Motorsport is the largest suppliers of rally parts and race wear in the southeast. It has developed into one of the largest dealerships in the country, based on the outskirts of Kilkenny city. Well-known competitor, John Paul Ruth, runs the business. Once again, a full range of items available from Ruth Motorsport can be viewed on it’s website at www.ruthmotorsport.com.
The two-wheel drive challenge will take it the majority of the classes on the event, with entrants in class’s 1,2,3,5,6,7,9,10,11,12,13 and 14 all eligible to battle for the cash fund of €3,500. The top two-wheel drive crew will receive two trophies and a cash prize of €1,500, with the second place crew picking up the runners-up prize of €700 and the third place crew taking home €500. Last years battle was as intense as any seen on the Wexford stages before, but the added incentive of the 2007 event promises to make it electric!
Not to be left out, many of the crews in the up to 1650cc machinery often get there cars in amongst the more powerful two-wheel drive cars. With this in mind, the first crew up to 1650cc (and outside the top three two-wheel drive finishers) will receive €400. And also the crews up to 1450cc, who often provide giant killing acts, the first crews home there (outside the top three two-wheel drive finishers) will also receive a prize of €400! There’s going to be battles left, right and centre over the weekend!
So the stage is set for one of the most exciting and surely entertaining Wexford rallies ever witnessed. It’ll be Escort verses Darrian, Nova verses Corolla, Corsa verses Civic as the 2007 Dick Bailey stages rally goes two-wheel drive crazy! Make sure you don’t miss it! Regs are now available.
JD