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.
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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.
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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.
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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.