White eager to defend title

NAVAN driver Paddy White will be aiming to defend his crown at the Aer Lingus Motor Club stages rally which blasts off from the City North Hotel this weekend towards the first of nine stages at Collon. 'I"ll be facing some fairly stiff opposition this year, overall there is a great entry and I just hope that the conditions are a little better next Sunday than they were last year,' stated the 2007 winner at the launch of the event at City North Hotel last week. 'It was monsoon-like conditions last year, it would be better for everyone if we get a dry day. 'The three stages completed three times is a nice format, it"s a very clubman-orientated event as it"s all located in the one area and that helps to minimise the expense. 'I normally compete in Europe, but I won this last year and I want to have another go at what is my local rally and I"m really looking forward to the challenge,' he added. The weekend action will commence officially on Friday evening at the City North Hotel near Stamullen at the Julianstown exit off the motorway. All the officials and competitors will have an opportunity to complete final preparations ahead of a test run on Saturday and the serious action on Sunday. The maximum entry of 150 competitors will face into nine stages, three stages completed three times, with the first car due away from City North at 9.0 on Sunday morning. The action will unfold at three stages at Collon (first stage), Skryne (second stage) and Clonalvy (third stage) with the first car expected back at City North at 6.30 on Sunday evening. Last year the heavens opened on the event which featured stages in the Nobber, Slane and Carlanstown areas. White splashed his way to victory in his Ford Focus WRC, but he will face a stiff challenge as Kenny McKinstry and Kevin Lynch (both Subaru Imprezas) and Sean McArdle (Toyota Corolla WRC) complete the top four. Other locals in the top 10 include Mark Courtney (Toyota Celica), Tom Holton (Toyota Celica) and Pat Donegan (Ford Escort). Completing the top 10 are two English competitors, Mark Jasper and John Stone, each driving MG Metro 6R4s. The man with the biggest job for the weekend is Clerk of the Course John Carroll who admitted that he will not actually find out who wins the event until he returns to City North on Sunday evening. 'It"s funny, I suppose, but although I"m supposed to know exactly what is going on, almost before it happens, I could actually be the last person to find out who the overall winner is as I won"t cross the finishing line until after the last competitior finishes,' he stated. Despite the negative publicity following the fatality which occurred at the Donegal International Rally last month, there is a huge interest and a big spectator element to the unique stage rallying which forms a big part of motorsport activity in Ireland. 'This rally is the culmination of about six months planning. We have to work with the co-operation of Meath Co Council, the Gardai, the City North Hotel hotel who have provided tremendous assistance and are offering great packages for competitors for the weekend,' added Carroll. 'We will be busy from Friday night when competitors will start arriving, we will have a control centre at City North, on Saturday there will be a practice run for the competitors and then a full day of activity on Sunday. 'There will be about 150 marshalls on duty and about another 50 officials, all volunteers, as safety is a very significant part of the rally. While we have our own club members who are not competing, we also rely on other motor clubs to help us, it"s a reciprocal arrangement and it works quite well, we all help each other out at events. 'We were in Portlaoise, Cavan and Carrickmacross over the last few weeks, it"s a vital part of rallying, it"s all voluntary and we couldn"t survive without that input. 'Crowd control on the day is vitally important, sometimes you will meet a member of the public who might be reluctant to comply with a request and will be abusive, but we are there to keep everyone safe and we generally get the co-operation of spectators,' he said. The demand for places in the ALMC Rally demonstrates the popularity of the sport and a maximum of 150 cars will vie for honours in various classes and that will include 18 in the junior category. 'We received 201 entries for 150 places so we have a reserve list, but it represents a success for the club and our sponsors will also be happy,' stated the Clerk of the Course. 'The action will be fast and furious, we have last year"s winner, Paddy White, who will be keen to defend his crown and he can expect a tough challenge from Kenny McKinstry and the top local drivers, we have everything from World Rally Cars down to two minis, all we need is some good weather. 'The cost factor is our biggest challenge, to host this one-day event will cost us about €100,000, insurance would be a major expense, but there are many other items like road closing notices in the local papers, advertising and publicity, safety plans, it all adds up to a significant amount and we rely heavily on sponsors. 'We also need the co-operation of the residents who live along the route of the stages, we have to visit each house to get permission initially, that task would have been completed about six months ago, and then we have to liase with the Co Council and the Gardai, it"s a big undertaking,' he concluded.