2024 Round 1 – Echlinville Distillery Stages Rally (Kirkistown)
Round One Review as the Excitement Builds for Round Two!
By Andrew Bushe
Hot on the heels of Round 1 – The Echlinville Distillery Stage Rally at Kirkistown, the Micra challenge Round 2 the Race and Rally Stages is almost upon us.
The dust has hardly settled on the excitement of the first round though following the retirement of last year’s champion duo of Stephen Whitford/ Jonny Hart. The led the Micra’s at the half- way mark, but it was all over then as the clutch had failed on the Nissan. As Whitford recalled – “as I neared the stage finish there was a loud noise from the clutch, and I lost drive and had to coast the car to the finish line….”. They were being pressed hard early on by brothers Peter and Stephen Dowds who go on to take a well-deserved inaugural Challenge Win, with some fine driving all day. Dowds had applied the pressure from the start. Whilst Whitford finished the opening stage in his customary first position, he was clearly not going to have it his own way – with Dowds hot on his heels only 1.1 seconds behind. Although Whitford extended his lead by 5.1 seconds on the second stage Dowds took 2.6s back on the third, after which he was in the lead.
Before stage four the heavens opened, and Peter Dowds could not back off. Andrew Bushe was making his Micra debut with Geraldine McBride co-driving, and moved into second, going fastest on stage four, where the Dowd’s had spun in the atrocious conditions. The gap to the lead was down to 11.4 seconds, but Bushe was stuck behind a slow car on stage five, and also felt he wasn’t going to catch the rapid Dowds brothers so settled for Challenge points.
Stanley Orr/ Graham Henderson were fighting with Andrew Bushe and also try to close up on the Dowds brothers. Stanley was a fine third fastest on stage two, actually a fraction ahead of Dowds, but disaster struck on stage three with a minor over-shot leaving him having to reverse off a tyre, over twenty seconds being lost. Despite some more fast stage times later in the day, the game was up, and Bushe finished as runner up to Dowds with a recovering Orr taking the final podium position.
In the new for 2024 ‘Standard Car’ class the competition at Kirkistown was a straight fight between the family pairings of Jonathan Eadie/ Alan Eadie (son & father) and Laura Philips/ Robin Philips (daughter & father). Both teams enjoyed the day pushing their lesser spec’d Micras to some very competitive times and keeping each other on their toes. This surely has to be the most economical way to get into proper stage rallying. On the day despite having the guidance of her father and former Northern Ireland Rally Champion Robin, Laura had to take second place behind former motocross champion Jonathan Eadie who was delighted to take the win on his first rally. In addition to competing on the overall Challenge the ‘Standard Car’ competitors have their own mini-competition with the winner declared after the third round at St Angelo on the May Day rally. Advantage Jonathan Eadie.
With the Race and Rally sponsored Round 2 only days away, the entry list has been published to reveal a fantastic 10 Micras will be in attendance. Whilst Jonathan Eadie and Laura Philips will do battle once again for Standard Class honours, overall victory will be an even greater challenge. With Peter Dowds/ Steven Dowds fresh from their Round 1 victory Stephen Whitford/ Jonny Hart have their Micra re-prepared and back to full health and will be chasing hard for much needed Challenge points. They will be joined at Bishopscourt by one of last year’s front runners Philip White/ Brian Rowan who have their car fully repaired following an unfortunate crash on the Down Rally. Also returning to the fray will be Claudy father and son crew Paul and Jordon Hone – only this time Jordan will occupy the drivers seat! Fresh from his Killarney Forestry win in his R5 Fiesta Jordan will be in very different machinery but he is no stranger to the Micra having rallied one across the UK in his formative years.
Andrew Bushe/ Geraldine McBride and Stanley Orr/ Graham Henderson will hopefully pick up where they left off in Round 1 and will be sure to be pushing to the front this weekend at Bishopscourt. Mark McElwee/ John Henderson are new to the Challenge for 2024 as are Fraser Mulholland/ Mark McLernon who have been burning the midnight oil to get their newly built Kit Car out for his first event. Best wishes to all the crews – this is going to be a cracker!
Round 2 – Race & Rally Stages (Bishopscourt)
Whitford Resists the Challengers
By Andrew Bushe
Whilst it was predicted that the second round of the 2024 Micra Challenge had all the ingredients for a cliff hanger no one could have foreseen just how close the times could be. Just like at the front of the main field where Jonny Greer battled with Aaron McLaughlin, current Challenge Champions Stephen Whitford/ Jonny Hart had to dig deep to take on his pursuers at a much revamped Bishopscourt Circuit. With his Micra transmission refreshed after clutch failure on the opening round at Kirkistown Whitford was in determined mood to bag a haul of points to get his championship challenge back on track.
With 10 Micras entered for the Race and Rally sponsored event there was plenty of competition – although there were last minute withdrawals of fancied front runners Fraser Mulholland/ Mark McLernon and Mark McElwee/ John Henderson due to technical issues.
Of particular interest were Claudy crew and recent Killarney Forestry winners Jordan and Paul Hone and they did not disappoint as Jordan returned to his roots entered in the family Micra. The much anticipated challenge of Philip White/ Brian Rowan was short-lived however as their run of bad luck continued with driveshaft failure on the start line of the first stage. They got back onto the stages with the help of fellow competitors but the resultant stage maximum put paid to any hopes of an overall win.
When Whitford/ Hart emerged from Stage 1 they were encouraged to find they had 1.4 second lead over the Hones with Round 1 winners Peter and Steven Dowds slotting into third place, a further 5.5 seconds behind. Stanley Orr/ Graham Henderson were next up but a wall of death act over the lorry tyre that lined sections of the new infield layout left him over 13 seconds behind the leaders. A further 8 seconds back were Andrew Bushe/ Geraldine McBride – the pair had no great expectations going into the event as they thought their down on power engine would struggle at Bishopscourt but a first corner spin left them with an uphill struggle for the remainder of the day. Standard Car Class competitors Jonathan Eadie/ Alan Eadie and Laura Philips/ Robin Philips picked up where they left off at Kirkistown with Eadie pinching the stage win by 1.9 seconds.
On stage 2 the battle resumed with Whitford/ Hart once again taking the win over the Hone crew but there was little in it with only 1.5 seconds between the frontrunners. Peter and Steven Dowds picked up their pace to maintain third place and were only 8.9 seconds off the lead after two stages. Behind the top three the status quo remained although the field were bunching up as the times improved.
As the cars emerged from Stage 3 Whitford was coming under serious pressure with Jordan Hone continuing to charge – finishing only 0.1 seconds behind the leading Kit Car. Philip White/ Brian Rowan started to recover from their stage 1 disappointment and took a third fastest time only 3.5 seconds behind Whitford. Peter Dowds and Stanley Orr were in close attendance whilst having their own battle for the final podium position.
The sequence continued through Stage 4 but on Stage 5 Jordan and Paul Hone made their move and grabbed the stage win from Whitford/Hart – taking 1.5 seconds back and reducing the overall lead to 3.6 seconds – game on! Philip White / Brian Rowan continued their own recovery and were only 2.6 secs off Hone and 1.2 off Whitford whilst Orr/ Henderson took 0.2sec back from the Dowds brothers to take fourth on the stage. In the Standard Car class Jonathan Eadie has extended their lead to over 30 seconds at the end of stage 5.
By Stage 6 the Micras were the talk of the service area as they defied the laws of physics to throw their cars around the stages. Incredibly the top three Micras were covered by 1.3 seconds when Hones took another 0.5 seconds out of Whitford but White/ Rowan took the stage win – 0.8 seconds ahead of the Claudy crew. Orr, Dowds and Bushe followed behind as the battles raged throughout the field. Incredibly things got even tighter on Stage 7 as only 1 second covered the top three crews – White took another stage win whilst Whitford steadied the ship to take 0.6 back of Hone to extend his lead back to 3.7 seconds with the final stage remaining.
As the spectators held their breath and the crews completed Stage 8, all hell broke loose as the pace of the rally started to take its toll on the highly stressed machines. This time bad luck bypassed Whitford/ Hart as the crossed the finish but Jordan and Paul Hone struggled to the line as mechanical gremlins struck with an engine/ transmission problem denting their charge – second place overall remained theirs however which was the least they deserved after their days efforts. Philip White/ Brian Rowan took another stage win in a case of what could have been after their Stage 1 driveshaft failure. Further back Peter and Steven Dowds hung onto third place overall despite the efforts of Orr/ Henderson who once again took time back on the final stage. Andrew Bushe’s worst fears were realised when his engine finally gave up on him and he conceded a bundle of time as he dragged the car to the stage finish to get some points – albeit only in 6th place as White/ Rowan managed to nip past on the final run.
Jonathan and Alan Eadie continued their winning run and took the Standard Car Class honours with Laura and Robin Philips completing the rally in the runners up position. More competition is expected for this class in the coming rounds.
As the Ballynahinch Motor Club began their post event clear up the Micra crews were still buzzing with the excitement of the day and whilst the maximum points went to Whitford/ Hart the youngsters are coming for him – roll on St Angelo at the start of May!
2024 Round 3 – Jennings Fuels May Day Stages Rally
Mayday Maximum for White
By Andrew Bushe
After a disappointing result on Round 2 of the Micra Challenge – the Race and Rally Stages at Bishopscourt – Philip White was in determined form at the St Angelo Airport based Jennings Fuels and Lubricants Mayday Rally. Three fastest times at Bishopscourt were not enough to overcome a driveshaft failure on Stage 1 and Philip did well to salvage some points at the end of the rally. The compact and competitor friendly 6 stage event at St Angelo provided a perfect opportunity to go for maximum points and get his championship back on track.
Making things slightly easier was the fact that a number of fancied frontrunners including Stephen Whitford, Peter Dowds, Andrew Bushe, Stanley Orr and Jordan Hone were non-runners due to various other commitments. However, Raymond Johnston/ Jody McManus arrived at St Angelo with a newly purchased ex-Derek Crossen Micra, to make sure that there was at least one Kit Car in attendance. Raymond was expected to keep Philip on his toes if he could make the transition from his historic spec Escort to Micra power!
The other focus for the Mayday Stages was the conclusion of the inaugural Standard Class mini-series which allocated points over the first three single venue rallies. This class continues to draw additional competitors but the showdown for this year was between Jonathan and Alan Eadie and Laura and Robin Philips. Both teams have battled it out over the first two event’s and it was all to play for on this final counting round.
Also entering the Standard Car class were Richard Creagmile/ Tracey Baker and Sean Marsh with father Adrian Marsh in the co-driver’s seat. Sean was at some disadvantage as he was competing in a J1000 car but he was up for the challenge! Also making debuts in the main Challenge class were Raymond McLaughlin/ Martin McBrearty and Sammy Gorman/ Niall McCarron with both crews having been keen supporters of the Challenge over the last year.
As the event got underway under overcast skies Philip White/ Brian Rowan stamped their authority on Stage 1 taking an 11.4 second lead over Raymond Johnston/ Jody McManus. This was a pattern that was to be repeated during the day but Raymond improved as he got the feel of the Micra and closed the gap as the stages were ticked off. In the Standard Car Class Laura Philips got off to the better start taking 1.1 seconds out of Jonathan Eadie and slotting into third position overall. Raymond McLaughlin nipped ahead of Sammy Gorman whilst Sean Marsh and Richard Creagmile followed closely behind.
As the day went on Jonathan Eadie pushed to the front of the Standard Car Class, as his greater consistency gave dividends as Laura Philips dropped back a little setting 5th and 6th fastest times. Philip White was able to hold onto his advantage throughout the day although a high-speed spin into a chicane on the final stage did nothing for his heart rate. Raymond Johnston took advantage to set fastest time but it wasn’t enough to stop White/ Rowan taking maximum points on the day. Jonathan Eadie followed through into third position overall which was enough for him and father Alan to take the Standard Car Class championship for this year. The duo also gather points in the overall Challenge and hope to continue with further events this season – they must surely be dark horses for the overall win at the end of the year. Laura and Robin Philips pushed hard all day but couldn’t quite keep in touch with the Eadies as they upped their pace.
The remaining competitors all had a thoroughly enjoyable event with the final standings showing Raymond McLaughlin/Martin McBrearty in fourth, Richard Creagmile/ Tracy Baxter in 6th and Sean Marsh/ Adrian Marsh in 7th. Sammy Gorman and Niall McCarron were the hard luck story of the event breaking a drive shaft on the start line of the final stage.
Looking forward the next event is tomorrow for Go Tour of the Sperrins -good luck to those Micras that can make this super closed road event.
2024 Round 4 – Go Fuels Tour of the Sperrins Stages
Orr Takes First Challenge Win
By Andrew Bushe
The Go Fuels sponsored Tour of the Sperrins was the fourth round of this years Challenge and the cool conditions that greeted competitors presented perfect rally weather – there was even a little sunshine at the finish to welcome the drivers back at the end of a hard day’s rallying. The rally benefited from an excellent service park on the edge of Magherafelt and three cracking stages ran twice by the well organised Magherafelt and District Motor Club.
A popular event last year it was of some surprise to find that there were only three registered Micras in attendance. Of the eight cars that competed on the Mayday Stages two weeks earlier only Raymond McLaughlin/Martin Mc Brearty managed to make the start line of the Tour of the Sperrins. This is perhaps some reflection of Challenge organisers extending the number of counting rounds to 7 (with 5 scores to count) from the 6 that were eligible in 2023. This has perhaps stretched the field too much although once again there were a number of additional competitors keen to make the start line but simply had other commitments which prevented their appearance. Perhaps something to look at for next year.
Thankfully Stanley Orr/ Graham Henderson did enter and were in confident form having taken the class win on the non-Challenge Eakin Bros Brian James Trailers Stages at the end of April. They were joined by Mark McElwee and John Henderson who were competing in Marks son Marcus’s car (who was in Australia). It had been some time since Mark had competed on a closed road event and he was facing the stages with some trepidation.
When the event got underway late morning the Micra competitors were unfortunately re-directed as Stage 1 had to be cancelled for latter runners due to a non-rally medical event in the locality which required the presence of an ambulance. When they did get underway competitively Stanley Orr/ Graham Henderson quickly stamped their authority on the event to take the lead which would be held to the finish. Such was there pace the duo were the lead front wheel drive crew over the initial stages. A finish on this event was not without its dramas however as a leaking power steering pipe led to power steering failure for stages 5 and 6. It took all of Stanley’s strength and stamina to muscle the car to the finish back in Magherafelt. Raymond McLaughlin/ Martin McBrearty’s rally was short-lived with driveshaft failure in the middle of Stage 3 putting them out of the event. Mark McElwee/ John Henderson survived their initial nerves and settled into their Micra as the day progressed, thoroughly enjoying their Challenge debut – despite returning to service post-event to find their service van had a puncture! We hope to see them back on the stages later in the year.
The laurels on this event however went to Stanley Orr/ Graham Henderson who took their first and well deserved maximum score which resulted in the crew moving to the top of driver and co-driver standings respectively. This is turning out to be a topsy-turvy year in the Challenge and it is all to play for with three rounds remaining. We are now looking forward to the next round on July 20th – the Tyrone Stages where a number of other frontrunners are expected to make a return.