There is real excitement building as the Sligo Pallets Forest Rally Championship roars back into life with a bumper field ready to take on the Carrick-on-Suir Motorclub’s Willie Loughman Forest Rally, the second round of the 2024 series.
To be contested over six high sped Forest stages north of the event’s Waterford docks base, this years event has attracted a massive entry which is testament to the appetite for loose-surface rallying in Ireland and the real buzz surrounding the 2024 Championship.
Leading the field away are Jordan Hone & Paul Hone, the due brought their Ford Fiesta R5 to a well-deserved victory on the season opening Killarney Forest Rally, the first time the pair ever reached the top of the podium and fine reward for what was a commanding drive that saw them take maximum points.
With some title rivals electing to skip this weekend’s event, Hone will have an eye firmly on building his Championship tally.
Following the Hones on the entry list are a trio of similar Ford Fiesta R5’s with Derek Mackarel & Eamonn Creedon aiming to make a real statement from number 2, former Forest Champion Pat O’Connell & Mark Wiley start at 3 while the ever hard-charging Stephn McCann & John McCabe will be aiming to build on a fourth-place finish on the season opener.
Home crowds will be cheering for local star and former Willie Loughman Rally winner Andrew Purcell who will have Liam Brennan alongside in a VW Polo GTi R5 as they make amends for a disappointing Killarney where they retired from third place, while fellow local crew David Condell & Michael Coady will look forward to stages they excelled on last year to claim a fine podium finish.
In the 2WD section, minds may be cast back to the 2023 Willie Loughman Carrick Forest when a trio of front-wheel-drive machines claimed the podium spots in the hands of a new breed of young rally stars, and this year its Ryan McHugh & Karl Egan who lead the charge in a Ford Fiesta Rally4 off the back of some great results on tarmac.
The largest single class battle of the event once more will be in J1000, with twenty-five crews set to leave the Rhu Glenn Hote on Sunday morning to tackle the 65.98km route that lies in store over the six special stages.
