Kevin Lynch and his co driver Francis Regan in their Subaru Impreza WRC S12b put up an extremely impressive performance last Saturday on the Turkington Lurgan Park Rally to win by 11s from Mark Higgins (Mitsubishi WRC) ,with Kenny McKinstry (Subaru) 3rd a further 8s back. Those are the bald facts behind a day of drama and excitement.

For Kevin Lynch this win was a remarkable achievement of 5 back to back victories on the Lurgan Park event. When Lynch brought his Subaru to a halt after that final stage he commented, “I’m very happy. This unique rally is all about commitment. It’s very easy to make a mistake and although I had a couple of misdemeanours we got away with it.” Early morning rain made the Park slippy and difficult for the drivers, but as the day progressed blue skies and soaring temperatures transformed the setting into a high speed showpiece event.

Former British Rally Champion Mark Higgins, who had Michael Gibson return to the co driver’s seat on this occasion masked his disappointment at the end and commented. ”Fair play to Kevin Lynch, he drove brilliantly. I think if I had picked different tyres it could have been closer but I don’t think I could have beaten him”. Mark, who really committed himself to the Lancer deal in his effort to put a Lurgan Park win on his CV, seemed to suffer a lack of ‘seat time’ in the car although he did manage a couple of fastest times. However he was up against a very determined foe in Kevin Lynch.

Kenny McKinstry, who had his daughter Susan co driving for the first time in his Subaru Impreza, said. “I enjoyed the day. I made a few tyre choices which weren’t ideal, but it worked out OK.” Kenny has won the rally 10 times of course but he still gives it as much enthusiasm and commitment as he did over 20 years ago.

Darren Gass was driving an Impreza WRC for the first time in the Park and put up an impressive performance, although perhaps he was a little disappointed to finish 4th. He gave it a real good go right to the end but reckoned he lost 3s at the final chicane. Former Irish National Rally Champion Charlie Donnelly in 5th said. “It was one of those days, a few small problems. I even knocked the fuel pump switch off when adjusting the diff over the gravel section on the final stage.” NI Rally Champion Glenn Allen in his Corolla rounded off the top 6. Glenn had a great battle with Peadar Hurson throughout, just edging it at the end. Hurson, normally right on the pace, only settled down towards the end, but in reality never really got to grips with this short, sharp and furious rally.

Mark & Rory Doyle pulled out all the stops towards the end to win class 3 in their Celica and take 10th overall. Wesley Patterson was just a couple of seconds back in 11th and won class 2, best of the Mk2 Escorts. Brian Dowey was 2nd in class 3 while in class 2 Phil Collins was 2nd, Rodney White 3rd, Camillus Bradley 4th and Kris Meeke, his Escort giving niggly problems all day, was 5th.

Leading retirements included the GpN pacesetters Garry Jennings and John McGlaughlin. The Jennings’ Lancer was sidelined in stage 6 following a collision with a concrete bollard, and McGlaughlin’s Lancer stopped on the same stage with broken transmission. This allowed Gary Rodgers through to win the Production category. Sean Haveron and John McKeown retired their Escort Cosworths, the former with an accident, the latter with a broken gear change.

Turkington Lurgan Park Top Ten

1st (1) Kevin Lynch/Francis Regan (Impreza WRC) 14.52.4
2nd (2) Mark Higgins/Michael Gibson (Lancer WRC) 15.03.4
3rd (3) Kenny & Susan McKinstry (Impreza WRC) 15.11.1
4th (10) Darren Gass/Sam Cross (Impreza WRC) 15.14.4
5th (5) Charlie Donnelly/Noel Downey (Corolla WRC) 15.25.2
6th (7) Glenn Allen/Brian McCracken (Corolla WRC) 15.28.9
7th (4) Peadar Hurson/Damien Connelly (Impreza WRC) 15.29.3
8th (8) James Gillen/PJ Gillespie (Impreza) 15.50.8
9th (6) Denis Biggerstaff/Stuart Biggerstaff (Impreza WRC) 15.57.2
10th (18) Mark & Rory Doyle (Celica) 16.16.8

Issued by Brian and Liz Patterson: Patterson Agencies Ltd

This Saturday’s Turkington Lurgan Park Rally has again attracted an exciting entry, with Kevin Lynch in his stunning Subaru Impreza WRC S12b spearheading the entry of 45 invited crews and sure to be under massive pressure as he attempts to achieve his fifth ‘back to back’ win. Some measure of Lynch’s determination to leave nothing to chance for this Saturday is that he left his Subaru in the garage to make sure that it remained in tip top shape, and drove his Focus WRC to a record sixth win on last Saturday’s Dogleap Rally.

Banbridge’s Kenny McKinstry may have won the rally 10 times over a 20 year period, but even Kenny, dubbed ‘King of the Park’ for many years, has never won the rally more than three times in a row. Kenny beat Kevin Lynch a couple of weeks ago at the Shackleton Rally, and no doubt he’ll be trying flat out to get his Subaru nose in front again on Saturday. But that will not be easy. Kenny would however dearly love to put his name on the Turkington Perpetual Trophy for 2008.

This won’t be just a two-way battle however for the lion’s share of the £3500 prize money. A large slice of the ‘smart’ money will be on former British Rally Champion Mark Higgins grabbing victory at this, his third Lurgan Park attempt. Mark, fresh from winning the Manx International in a GpN Subaru, will drive one of the mighty Mitsubishi WRC’s which came here to the Donegal Rally two years ago and scored a convincing one-two in the hands of Andrew Nesbitt and Mark himself.

Last year in the Park, Mark, a fully professional driver, was right in the hunt against Kevin Lynch but then blew his chances with an uncharacteristic time consuming slide in his Subaru across the wet grass. This time Mark will be fully on his guard against that type of slip up, and if he can get his Mitsubishi ‘set-up’ to handle the unique nature of the Park’s tight tracks, we could have a battle royal in store.

Behind these top three there are several more drivers who could really spring a surprise. Peadar Hurson at 4 in his Subaru can be lightning quick when the cards fall right. Charlie Donnelly at 5 in his nimble Corolla WRC is fast enough and experienced enough to be always capable of shaking the establishment. Denis Biggerstaff in his Subaru at 6 has acres of experience in the Park and shouldn’t be a mile away come Saturday afternoon.

That’s the background to the battle at the front of the field, and in terms of competition there will be equal excitement through all the different categories in the rally. The anticipated battle for supremacy amongst the Mk2 Escort men is mouth watering, with arguably Ireland’s fastest current rally driver Kris Meeke pitched against Mk2 Escort experts such as Wesley Patterson, Phil Collins and Camillus Bradley. In the GpN category Garry Jennings will probably be the man to beat, while John Keatley in his beautiful Porsche 911 should be the yardstick in the small historic section.

As ever in the beautiful environment of Craigavon Borough Council’s Lurgan Park, the day is not just about rallying. The Park will play host on Saturday to families as well as the rally fans, and there will be plenty of interest away from the special stages for all.

Organised by North Armagh Motorcycle Car Club under the direction of William Fullerton and Clerk of the Course Barry Taggart, this Turkington Lurgan Park Rally is a major event for both the Craigavon community as well as in the motorsport calendar. Craigavon Borough Council lends their support to the rally, as do many companies, organisations and individuals. Gary Turkington of Turkington Holdings, in their 3rd year of sponsoring the event, summed it up when he commented, “We are delighted to again be associated with the event. The North Armagh Club works hard to bring it all together and we hope everyone has a great day as well as a safe one by paying attention to the marshals and behaving responsibly. Safety is paramount.”

Turkington Lurgan Park Rally Top Ten Seeds:

1 Kevin Lynch/Francis Regan (Subaru Impreza S12B)
2 Mark Higgins/Michael Gibson (Mitsubishi WRC)
3 Kenny McKinstry/TBA (Subaru Impreza WRC)
4 Peadar Hurson/Damien Connolly (Subaru Impreza WRC)
5 Charlie Donnelly/Noel Downey (Toyota Corolla WRC)
6 Denis Biggerstaff/Robin McCandless (Subaru Impreza WRC)
7 Glenn Allen/Brian McCracken (Toyota Corolla WRC)
8 James Gillen/PJ Gillespie (Subaru Impreza WRC)
9 Richard Hogg/Mark Hanna (Skoda Octavia WRC)
10 Darren Gass/Sam Cross (Subaru Impreza WRC S11)

Issued by Brian and Liz Patterson: Patterson Agencies Ltd

Further to our Press Release on Tuesday the 29th July there has been a change in that Eugene Donnelly has suddenly withdrawn from the rally citing personal reasons for his change of plan.

This change was outside our control and we sincerely hope that it does not inconvenience anyone too much.

Further news on the rally will be released on Monday the 4th August at the Press Launch.

Issued by Brian and Liz Patterson: Patterson Agencies Ltd

The 9th August Turkington Lurgan Park Rally promises to have an interesting entry throughout the 50 strong list, spearheaded by four times winner Kevin Lynch in his Subaru. Hot on Lynch’s heels for the 10.30 am start and 8 special stages will be 10 times winner Kenny McKinstry in one of his Subaru WRC’s.

Next up will be former British Rally Champion Mark Higgins in an ex works Mitsubishi WRC. Mark was close to victory last year, and this time Mark, fresh from winning the Isle of Man International Rally, will be flat out to avenge last year’s Lurgan Park defeat.

One of the most exciting drivers in Ireland, Peadar Hurson, has entered his Impreza WRC, the Warrenpoint man likely to be the meat in a Donnelly sandwich. Tarmac Champion Eugene Donnelly in his Skoda WRC will probably run in front of Peadar, and Eugene’s brother Charlie, a former Irish National Champion, will run behind in his Corolla WRC. The two rallying Champion brothers have competed in hundreds of events, but have made a point of never going ‘head to head’ in similar cars, so this could be a very memorable occasion!

Throughout the various categories in Lurgan Park there are many top drivers. In GpN former Production Tarmac Champion Garry Jennings will have to beat the similar Lancer of John McGlaughlin, in the battle of the Escorts Wesley Patterson, Kris Meeke, Phil Collins and Camillus Bradley are just some of the outstanding drivers who will provide the all sideways action.

This year there is a Historic section, with competitors ranging from John Keatley in his Porsche 911 through to Philip Wylie in his MGB pitted against each other for the newly created Class 5 awards.

As ever there is a total prize fund in excess of £5000 on offer as an extra spur for the competitors. Centralised paddock servicing and many family entertainments should make it another memorable day out within the beautiful environs of Lurgan Park. Craigavon Borough Council as well as Turkington Holdings Ltd are lending their full support.

Issued by Brian and Liz Patterson: Patterson Agencies Ltd

The Turkington Lurgan Park Rally is all stations go this year for Saturday 9th August. The rally, first established in its current format in 1980, will retain the successful mix of eight special stages, centralised service paddock, high octane competition, a £5,000 plus prize fund, all plus a family day out.

Craigavon Borough Council has given their full blessing to this year’s event, as have the sponsors Turkington Holdings Ltd. The organisers, under the direction of event director William Fullerton and clerk of the course Barry Taggart, have promised increased safety arrangements following last year’s accident. They promise a full day’s enjoyment, not just for the 50 invited rally crews incorporating the Mk2 Challenge, but also for the thousands of spectators who support this spectacular event each year.

Issued by Brian and Liz Patterson: Patterson Agencies Ltd