This series has been exciting and extremely competitive all year, with three different winners in four events and each rally claimed by less than ten seconds.
The Cork Forest Rally is the penultimate round of the 2013 Valvoline series with the final event hosted by the Omagh club on the Bushwhacker rally on September 28th. The Valvoline has now reached "squeaky-bum" time and there are at least three strong candidates for the title still standing. Bonus points and dropped scores will be crucial in deciding the final outcome of the series.
Top of the leaderboard on 94 points is Mick O'Brien. A resident of London but a native of North Cork, he claimed victory on Moonraker in addition to a second and two third place finishes. Unlike his pursuers O'Brien has already collected his bonus points but he has the powerful Focus WRC at his disposal for the fast Ballyhoura tests. A former winner of this event, he will be able to mount a strong challenge for the rally and the championship.
Philip Morrow (EVo9) is second with 80 points. The Lisburn driver is the only driver to win twice this year and he also has two third places to his credit. Morrow is a former winner of the UK MItsubishi challenge and he has nominated the final round in Omagh for his bonus points. If Morrow wins in Cork, it will be his championship to lose.
However Owen Murphy (Evo9) will have his sleeves rolled particularly as it is his home rally. Murphy is a former Billy Coleman Award winner (2006),and was the Forest Rally champion two years ago. He won this rally last year and he has nominated his home event for bonus points this year. His results in the 2013 series include a win, a second and a third. He retired on round two with diff failure. While he may look a distant third on 59 points, when dropped scores are taken into account Murphy will be right at the cutting edge.
Fourth position is claimed by Shane McGirr at the wheel of the exciting Starlet RWD. The Tyrone driver has a total of 52 points and while he has an outside chance of championship victory, he is competing against the latest four wheel drive technology. McGirr could make the championship podium and could be the winner of the 2WD segment and class five championship on Sunday night.
The Cork Forest Rally consists of 8 stages and will be run within the Ballyhoura Mountains on the Cork-Limerick border. Clerk of the Course Sean Daly has designed a compact route that includes a total competitive distance set at 85km.The format includes service after every two stages, rally H/Q at the Corbert Court Hotel, Ballyhea (2km south of Charleville on the N20) and service at the nearby Charleville Show Grounds. First car is away at 0900, returning at 1730. Seeded entry list will be available from Cork Motor Club and www.rally.ie shortly.
Owen Murphy / James O'Brien are pictured below driving their Hankook Mitsubishi Evo 9 in the 2012 Jim Walsh Cork Forest Rally (pic by Ger Leahy).
