Top drivers set to compete in Clare Stages Rally

Details of the Clare Motor Club’s annual Stages rally were announced this week. The event will take place on September 17 and 18 and is a counting round in the Dunlop National Rally Championship and the Top Part West Coast Rally Championship.
The event will attract some of the top cars and drivers to Ennis.
Clare Motor Club has confirmed the Auburn Lodge Hotel as the title sponsor  for a third successive year.
Clerk of the course Dermot Kelleher said, “The event will bring a vital boost to the local economy and this would not be possible without the support of the sponsors.”
The organising team is offering competitors a very compact event featuring three stages, which will be repeated three times.
Event regulations are available to download at the club’s website, www.claremotor club.com
With five victories from as many events, Tim McNulty and co-driver Paul Kiely (Subaru WRC) are on the cusp of clinching the Dunlop National Rally Championship in Clare. The Auburn Lodge Hotel Clare Rally offers them the first of three title-winning events to claim the Vard Memorial Trophy. Tim was also the winner of last year’s Clare Stages Rally and he also won it back in 2007.It’s a unique season insofar as McNulty can become the first driver to win both the Dunlop series and the Irish Tarmac Championship in the same season. He also leads the ITC prior to the final event, the Cork ’20 International Rally. 
With a resounding victory in last weekend’s Galway Summer Rally, the Meath ace reached the 100 points mark in the Dunlop series where competitors can count their best seven scores from the 10 rounds. 
Should McNulty claim another maximum score in Clare and provided Kevin Barrett gets less than 18 points, McNulty can claim the title in Ennis, just like Welsh ace Melvyn Evans did 12 months ago.
Monaghan’s Sam Moffett, who is second overall in the Dunlop series, can also edge closer to the Motorsport Safety Team award  for the top overall Group N driver with Robert Barrable (Skoda Fabia S2000) and Shane Maguire (Subaru) his nearest rivals.
Meanwhile, the rally.ie award for the top two-wheel drive competitor is shaping up for an exciting finish with Frank Kelly (Ford Escort), Washington James (Darrian) along with Sam Smyth, Wesley Patterson and John McQuaid (Ford Escorts) all in the hunt for the crown.