1999 marks another landmark in the history of the Wexford Motor Club as Eamonn Boland takes on the challenge of the Network Q Rally of Great Britain, the first club member to do so.

Having successfull defended his back-to-back wins in Wexford, and got a great three-in-a-row, Eamonn set his sights on the Network Q. During the year, he made a few visits to the forests of Britain and Wales to acclimatise himself with the driving requirements for a loose surface rally.

In his black and yellow Hertz-sponsored Escort WRC, he had a varying degree of success of geting used to the conditions. There is no doubt that these practice rallies will stand him in good stead on his first Network Q.

Having sold his trusty Escort WRC after the Wexford, he has decided to take part in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 5, prepared by Dom Buckley from IRS.

He is running in Class 4, Group N, 2 litre turbo, 4 wheel drive. This will be a slower car than the WRC, with the added disadvantage of being left-hand-drive.

Not only will Eamonn be sitting on the wrong side of the car, but he will have a new man on his other side.

Eamonn has called on the services of Alun Cook, a veteran of many Rallies of Great Britain. Alun, with all his experience of rallying in Britain will undoubtedly guide Eamonn thorugh some of the anomolies which can befall competitors on the course.

There is no doubt that Damien Morrissey wishes them both well and will watch their progress with interest.

Starting out at number 55, this is an unuual position for a man used to starting in the top ten.

He won't be in bad company at 55, as just two places above him is his old adversary from the international rallies at home, Bertie Fisher and Roy Kennedy in a Subaru Impreza 555.

Just a further eight places above Bertie at 45 is none other than Martin Brundle, ex-Jordan Grand prix driver and TV pundit. Martin has a navigator that would be more at home with Eamonn - one Arne HERTZ.

Halfway between Eamonn and Martin is Kenny McKinstry, so Eamonn won't be lonely.

Finally, from all the members of Wexford Motor Club, we wish Eamonn and Alun all the best and safe driving. We look forward to seeing him next year in a Ford Focus WRC.

Entry List Highlights

NO  DRIVER	          NAVIGATOR           COUNTRY  CAR				  GRP
 1  Tommy Makkinen    Risto Mannisenmaki  FIN/FIN  Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution  A/8
 2  Freddy Loix       Sven Smeets         BEL/BEL  Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution  A/8
 3  Carlos Sainz      Luis Mova           ESP/ESP  Toyota Corolla WRC		  A/8
 4  Didier Auriol     Denis Giraudet      FRA/FRA  Toyota Corolla WRC           A/8
 5  Richard Burns     Robert Reid         GBR/GBR  Subaru Impreza WRC99         A/8
 6  Juha Kankkunen    Juha Repo           FIN/FIN  Subaru Impreza WRC99         A/8
 7  Colin McRae       Nicky Grist         GBR/GBR  Ford Focus WRC               A/8
 8  Thomas Radstrom   Gunnar Barth        SWE/SWE  Ford Focus WRC               A/8
 9  Tony Gardemeister Paavo Lukander      FIN/FIN  Cordoba WRC                  A/8
10  Harry Rovanpera   Risto Pietlainen    FIN/FIN  Cordoba WRC                  A/8

16  Gwyndaf Evans     Howard Davies       GBR/GBR  Seat Cordoba WRC             A/8
24  Alistair McRae    David Senior        GBR/GBR  Hyundai Coupe                A/7
45  Martin Brundle    Arne Hertz          GBR/SWE  Toyota Corolla WRC           A/8
50  Kenny McKinstry   Noel Orr            NIR/GBR  Subaru Impreza 555           A/8
53  Bertie Fisher     Rory Kennedy        NIR/IRL  Subaru Impreza 555           A/8
55  EAMONN BOLAND     ALUN COOK		IRL/GBR  MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION  N/4
75  Gary Midwinter    Andy Wynn           GBR/GBR  Ford Escort RS Cosworth      A/8
84  Tony Jardine      Kevin Piper         GBR/GBR  Proton Compact               A/6