04/09/06 - This Saturday's Fisher Engineering (Lakeland) Stages sees some of the leading exponents in Irish rallying wipe the dust off their rally cars and head to County Fermanagh for the sixth round of the Pacenotes MSA Northern Ireland Rally Championship.

Although not registered for the Pacenotes backed series, Gareth MacHale and Paul Nagle top the entry list in their Ford Focus WRC. Fresh from finishing 15th overall in Japan, a round of the world championship, Ireland's young WRC hopeful is aiming to give the regular championship competitors a run for their money.

Kevin Lynch and Francis Regan confirmed in August that they would complete the remainder of the championship. Although they trail series leader Glenn Allen by seven points, they start the event with number two on their door. Lynch already has four victories to his name, only missing points at the Tour of the Sperrins as a result of business commitments. But the Dungiven driver remains as the hot favourite for championship success, as his achievement record shows that he has been unbeaten in the Northern Ireland Championship scene for two years.

Championship leaders, Glenn Allen and Damien Connolly, will be third on the road in their Toyota Corolla WRC. Allen, who hails from Cookstown, really gave Lynch a run for his money at August's Dogleap Stages Rally. Trading seconds with Lynch, the event was set to see one of the closest finishes in NI series history, until Allen punctured both front tyres with two stages remaining. Can he stop Lynch's domination this time?

Local man Raymond Johnston will also be in the hunt with his Subaru Impreza WRC. He came close to winning the rally a couple of years ago after a tussle with Niall McShea. In the end, it was McShea who came out on top but Johnston has since moved into the WRC arena and could well pose a threat, as will Sean Devine.

In Group N terms, former World Production champion, Niall McShea, also returns to action for his home event. The local driver will use Charlie Mavitty's Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 and he will be against current Irish Tarmac Group N champion, Garry Jennings. Also a local man, Jennings is no stranger to loose surfaces as he cut his teeth in the British Championship forests when he was a Peugeot 'works' driver a number of years ago. Johnny McKenna, Neil McCance and Stanley Ballantine also join the fray.

Rear-wheel-drive crews are hugely popular with spectators, their sideways driving style is always very entertaining. The two wheel drive category is also sponsored by Superdrive, and James Kennedy is the top seed among these men. Frank Kelly, Mark Barnett and Andy Magee are also among the leading exponents.

The rally starts on Saturday at 9am with spectator maps available from the headquarters in Mahon's Hotel, Irvinestown. The all-forestry event features nine special stages and 42 stage miles of competition, with the winner due to cross the finish ramp at approximately 5.30pm.

Leading entries

1 Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Dublin)
2 Kevin Lynch/Martin McNicholl (Dungiven)
3 Glenn Allen/Damien Connolly (Cookstown)
4 Raymond Johnston/Richard Bell (Ballinamallard)
5 Sean Devine/Damian Duffin (Strabane)
6 Niall McShea/Noreen McShea (Enniskillen)
7 Garry Jennings/Rory Kennedy (Ballinamallard)
8 Johnny McKenna/Eugene O'Kane (Draperstown)
9 Kevin O'Kane/Martin Brady (Omagh)
10 Neil McCance/Sean Ferris (Comber)
11 Stephen Moore/Stephen Griffith (Cookstown)
12 Donagh Kelly/Mark Cassidy (Frosses)
14 Brendan Connor/Alan Redstone (Cross)
15 Raymond Mason/Peter Martin (Moneyreagh)
16 Stanley Ballentine/Richard Hyland (Strabane)
17 James Kennedy/James McCullough (Antrim)
18 Frank Kelly/Aiden Friel (Moy)
19 Mark Barnett/Jonathan Charlesson (Strabane)
20 Andy Magee/Gerard Callaghan (Ballymena)
21 Brian McGillin/TBA (Omagh)
22 Martin Cairns/TBA (Strabane)
23 Rodney McKnight/TBA (Cookstown)
24 Eamon Mimnagh/TBA (Omagh)
25 Paul McShea/Jackie Donaldson (Enniskillen)
26 Conor Kelly/David Vance (Beragh)
27 Andrew Trotter/Kevin Creighan (Enniskillen)
28 Martin McCormack/Ian Kidd (Draperstown)
29 Trevor Elliott/Keith Boyd (Kesh)
30 Damien Hagan/Janice Mackarel (Smithborough)

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