Craig Breen heads star cast in Carrick

Craig Breen, the reigning World Rally Academy Champion, is top seed in Saturday's Wm Loughman Rally, Round 2 of the Valvoline Forest Rally Championship, writes Austin Shinnors, PRO Valvoline National Forest Championship.

The Waterford star - who is a member of the Carrick-on-Suir M.C. - is at the wheel of his Ford Fiesta S2000 and heads a mouth watering list of forestry racers.

Included are Owen Murphy, current Forest Champion (Evo9), Pat O'Connell, the 2010 Forest champion (Evo9), and Garry Jennings (GpA Impreza), winner of the first round of the 2012 Valvoline Forest Championship in Donegal last month (pictured after his win). This quartet will set an electrifying pace in the woods around Carrick, and the winner maybe the driver who is bravest in the dark.

A plethora of other drivers will be in the frame if any of the big names slip up. Take your pick from Stephen Wright (2nd in Donegal), Colin Britton (3rd in Donegal), Vincent McAree (2nd in Carrick last year). Ian Cochrane, Mark Donnelly and Enda McNulty are also capable of an upset. While Ger Lucey won the free entry for the rally, the Corkman will pray his good fortune survives the weekend.

Fans of 2WD will be keen to evaluate the Citroen DS3 of Desi Henry, making its competition debut in Irish Forestry. If tail sliding is your thing, look no farther than the RWD cars of Adrian Hetherington, Shane McGirr, Shay Power, Seamus O'Connell, James Coleman and 2011 2WD champion Paul Fitzgerald. At least 54 cars will make the start line, including five juniors.

Last year Carrick M.C. introduced all-inclusive one day rally, with the day neatly divided into three segments. The morning was devoted to scrutiny for the competing cars. The competitive racing started in the afternoon for three daylight stages. These stages were repeated in the darkness of the evening and it proved a very exciting and popular formula. The club continues with this successful format for the 2012 event, but the stages are located in Gurteen - a mammoth 25km test followed by a rare visit to the Portlaw area for the Towerhill and Bealough stages.

Clerk of the course, Barry Duggan and his team have centralized the event in Carrick- on-Suir as the rally continues its successful partnership with co-sponsors the Carraig Hotel and Suirway Forklifts. The main hub of the event will be in the Mill River Business Park which contains mechanical scrutiny and the service area. The first stage is scheduled for 15.00hrs and the podium celebrations will commence at 2100.

Top Seeds for the Wm Loughman Carrick-on-Suir Rally"

1. Craig Breen, Navigator Gareth Roberts, Ford Fiesta S2000, Class 8
2. Owen Murphy, Navigator Jameds O'Brien, Mitsubishi EVO IX, Class 8
3. Garry Jennings, Navigator Barry McNulty, Subaru Impreza, Class 6
4. Colin Britton, Navigator Arthur Kierans, Mitsubishi EVO IX
5. Pat O'Connell, Navigator Mark Wiley, Mitsubishi EVO IX, Class 8
6. Ian Cockrane, Navigator Ray Fitzpatrick, Mitsubishi EVO IX, Class 8
7. Mark Donnelly, Mitsubishi EVO IX
8. Vincent McAree, Navigator JP McAree, Mitsubishi EVO IX, Class 8
9. Stephen Wright, Navigator Susanne Wright, Mitsubishi EVO IX, Class 6
10. Enda McNulty, Navigator Paul Sheridan, Subaru Impreza, Class 6
11. Gerard Lucey, Navigator James Lucey, Mitsubishi EVO IIX, Class 8
12. Desi Henry, Navigator Niall Burns, Citroen DS3
14. Adrian Hetherington, Navigator Gary Nolan, Ford Escort Mk11, Class 5
15. Shane McGirr, Navigator Jakie Elliott, Toyota Starlet, Class 5