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Murphy masters the Valvoline Forest Championship
2011 was another fabulous year for the Valvoline Forest Championship. This popular championship remained highly competitive throughout the season and it enjoyed good quantities of entries considering the recession. The six round series kicked off with a quartet of Forest rallies based in Munster, starting with the Sean Conlon rally at Mitchelstown followed by the William Loughman at Carrick-on-Suir, the Munster Moonraker at Lismore and the Jim Walsh Cork Forest out of Mallow. The final two rounds were hosted by Northern clubs, Omagh MC with the Bushwhacker and Rathfriland MC with the Down Rally.
The Valvoline Championship was dominated Owen Murphy and James OBrien in the Mitsubishi Evo9.The first all-Cork crew to win this series, they were on the case from the start with victories in Mitchelstown and Carrick. A leaking radiator forced retirement on round three- the Moonraker- but Murphy bounced back with a maximum score at home in Cork. This was a very significant result from Murphys perspective, he now had three max scores from four starts. Another max score would see the Ballincollig man champion, no matter what the other drivers did. On the Bushwhacker, Murphy was delayed by another car on an early stage which pushed rally victory off the agenda. However, Murphy needed to finish ahead of Ryan and when the Cashel man went off, Murphy then needed to finish a few places behind Mc Aree, which he completed with mathematical accuracy. Murphy realised that fifth would see him over the line. In a pragmatic drive, the former karting champion and 2006 Billy Coleman award winner duly finished fifth and lifted his first rally championship.
While Murphy ran out winner with a total of 80 points, he had a margin of 7 points over Vincent Mc Aree. The race for second was a closer affair, Mc Aree (73) was one point ahead of Liam Ryan (72) who in turn had a point to spare in front of Stephen Wright.(71).Ger Lucey was fourth with 60 points.
Runner up was a great result for Vincent Mc Aree in his first full season in a four wheel drive car. Co driven by his brother John Paul, the Ballinode man finished a cautious fifth in Mitchelstown. In Carrick he was lying third in the daylight stages, but in the darkness he was fastest on each stage to claim second, 14 seconds behind Murphy. The Monaghan man had arrived, and he followed up with another second on the Moonraker, nine seconds behind Liam Ryan. This result put him into joint leadership of the championship. However a retirement followed in Cork following damage from a puncture and this result was a setback for his title aspirations .In Omagh, the Monaghan crew were second again, just five seconds behind the Group A car of Enda Mc Nulty. Mc Aree broke a sump while leading in Down which lead to retirement. In the Billy Coleman Award, McAree was a wild card nominee but the prize was claimed by fellow Monaghan driver Sam Moffet, winner of Group N in the national tarmac series.
Liam Ryan came to the Valvoline championship with little driving experience in recent years. In fact he was better known for his preparation work on the Evo 9 of Pat OConnell, last years Forest Champion. At seasons end, Ryans driving CV was much enhanced. In Mitchelstown, his first rally in years, the Cashel driver played himself in with a careful sixth behind Mc Aree. In Carrick, Ryan was second to Murphy during the daylight stages. Then Mc Aree pounced in the dark and Ryan finished a fine third. In the Moonraker, Ryan showed real talent by claiming victory. This result was followed by a third place points in Cork putting Ryan and co-driver Aidan Bourke into overall lead in the championship. However an off road excursion in Omagh terminated his title aspirations and he non started the Down Rally, Ryan certainly made his mark. For a driver to win his first rally and lead the series in his debut season takes talent and determination.
Stephen Wright is yet another quick pilot from Monaghan. Like Ryan, Wright had only four scores in his Evo 6. Codriven by his sister Suzanne, he missed round one, but he was quickly into his stride with fourth in Carrick and Cork, third in Moonraker and he crowned his year with his first rally victory (and max points score) on the last round in Down. Bliss for the crew from Newbliss.
Family rallying continues in fifth position with the Ballyvourney brothers Ger and James Lucey. The former autocross champions had a grand total of sixty points .Ger has campaigned in the woods in his trusty Celica and the move to Evo8 allowed him to show his real potential. The Corkman competed on five rounds, with fine finishes in each, the best was 4th in the Moonraker.
DRIVERS: Owen Murphy 80,Vincent Mc Aree 73, Liam Ryan 72.
CO-DRIVERS James OBrien 80, JP Mc Aree 73, Aidan Bourke 72
2WD Class.
While the Frank Kelly v Paul Fitzgerald show claimed all the headlines in this class, there was a very significant story in the performance of the juniors as well. This competitive class started when Frank Kelly drew first blood in Mitchelstown with Paul Fitzgerald fifth. Fitzgerald replied with wins in next two rounds. Kelly returned in Cork, winning 2WD, finishing 3rdoverall (just missing second by 3.2 seconds. Fitzgerald was third in this class behind Shane Mc Girr. After Cork Fitzgerald had a 76 against Kellys 42. A huge lead on paper but if Kelly got two max scores in his native province, he would be champ. On the penultimate round in Omagh, Kelly duly won while Fitzgerald had dreadful luck. The Corkman slid off on the last bend of the rally, no damage but no finish either. And so it went to the wire in Down. Kelly needed a max score to claim the title. However, the plan went belly-up, when the Moy man went off the road on stage 5 whilst leading the rally overall. Cue celebrations in Charleville where Fitzgerald was presented by an impromptu award by his followers). A feature of the 2WD this year has been the pace of the juniors, particularly Douglas Stewart and A feature of the 2WD this year has been the pace of the juniors, particularly Douglas Stewart and Derek Butler. Stewart was second in this class mid season in his Peugeot 206, thanks to finishing 4th in Moonraker and Cork. Butler was also very rapid in the Honda Civic, finishing 3rd in this class, thanks to claiming 5th in this class in the last three rallies. Stewart and Butler certainly impressed, as it takes skill and courage to get a 1600cc FWD car in among the high powered Escorts.
