The opening round of the McGrady Insurance Northern Ireland Forest Rally Challenge takes place on Saturday, with Vivian Hamill the number one seed in his Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 supermini.
Hamill will lead the field of 52 cars away from Fivemiletown College around 9.15am before tackling the first of eight special stages that include Jenkin, Crocknagrally and Doon.
He is aiming to score his first victory at the Omagh Motor Club meeting as will Ryan Caldwell – the reigning Irish Forestry Rally champion – who runs second on the road in his Skoda Fabia R5 car.
An already mouth-watering contest has added spice with the appearance of last season’s runner-up Gareth Mimnagh in a Ford Fiesta R5 – one of eight such examples on the published entry list.
It has been four months since he triumphed by more than a minute at the Willie Loughman Forest Rally in Carrick on Suir with Arthur Kierans, although the experienced navigator is making way this weekend for Shane Byrne.
Andrew Purcell and Derek Mackarel complete the top five, with Niall McGonigle, Paul Britton, James McCarville, Shane Murray, and Paul McCann also lining up in R5-specification machinery.
