1984 Season in the Manta 400

Written by Michael O'Carroll.

Just imagine an athlete, a hurler, a soccer star or a jockey bowing out of his sport having reached a, world-class level.  Two or three years later he decides to make a comeback.  Not only does he succeed but also he scales the heights he reached before. It's impossible you may say. But such is not the case.  Neither is the story from a schoolboy’s comic book.  It's for real and the script was written by the 36., year old farmer from Cork, William J.  Coleman, rally driver supreme.

Barring Paddy Hopkirk, from a different era, Billy Coleman is the best rally driver Ireland ever pro­duced.  Whether he is better than Hoppy was at his height we'll never know, but we do know that Billy Cole­man is now back among the top two dozen drivers in the World after a self and condition imposed lay-off which made many of us think that he was finished.

But last December in the hired Sydney Meeke Ascona 400, Billy made his comeback with a vengeance by winning the Glen Eagle Killarney Rally of the Lakes International, and then with support and guidance from Dealer Opel Team Ireland he took their Opel Manta 400 to no fewer than three out-right wins in Inter­national events in 198.4. In fact from seven starts dating back to last December, Billy has had five wins, a second and a fifth - some record.

King Billy, as he has been christened, was again on the rampage in 1984.  But not only that, on his own admission, he was hungrier than ever for success and because his rallying goes back to 1966 when he was an eighteen year old student that hunger was, peppered with a vast amount of guile and experience.  He would tell you himself that he is now more anxious to win than ever in his life. Yet, he is far more relaxed.

For those very reasons he could make a successful comeback in 1984, particularly since he had a great car in the Opel Manta, support from the Opel Senator Club and Irish Shell (who have always supported him) as well as a proficient partner in Ronan Morgan, and expert guidance from his own family as well as Tom Walsh, a bank manager in real life, but in between bank hours a Coleman mentor.

We saw in 1984 how Billy Coleman paced himself to win the Rothmans Circuit.  How he showed his adept­ness for pace notes and speed in Donegal despite a sick tummy and how he literally cruised to victory in the Cork "20".  He would be the first to praise his opposition in all events, particularly his team mate Austin McHale, but because he had fire in his belly and a burning ambition to make the ranks of being a paid rally driver, he was in no humor to take prisoners.

Now, Billy Coleman has just con­cluded a deal which gives him a plum drive in the Rothman's Porsche, a pay cheque each month, guaranteed entry in at least six Internationals in '85 with the Porsche 911 SC RS and an opportunity to test the new four wheel drive Porsche 957 when it appears in March or April.  It's no small contract either.  If it happened in motor racing it would be classified as Formula 1 a front of the grid opportunity.  So, Billy is delighted!

"I made mistakes in the past.  I sometimes had not my heart in the sport.  I know that now.  But now I see myself with six or more years in the sport and 1 intend to make use of them".  Those were his thoughts as he accepted the Porsche and Rothmans deal.  He already had soundings from Audi, Colt and Dealer Team Opel.  But the 350 horse power Porsche appealed to him particularly since he had a run in it last September. "I only did forty or fifty miles in the Dublin mountains during a promotional photographic session for the Circuit of Ireland.  The Porsche felt different with its power and incredible high revving engine.  You could literally go anywhere in any gear." It was then that Rothmans set about getting his name to a contract firstly because the Irish branch liked him and saw a potential, and also because the team manager in Britain Dave Richards was an ex-Coleman co-driver and he knew 'the talent' first hand. But forget it if you think Dave Richards or Rothmans gave the drive on sentiment.  Billy Coleman has a lot to offer in return for their confidence.  He is a superb test driver as Ford and Colt's Alan Wilkinson will vouch, not to speak of Sydney Meeke.  He never damages a car, and the 91 1 sc is a £75,000 projectile not easy to repair, while his skill, craft, judgment and controlled speed makes him a driver apart. So you wonder am 1 comparing him with Mikkola, Blomqvist and Rohrl?  Why not?  Had Billy Coleman applied himself like they did over the past 18 years he could also be a rally­ing world superstar.  He can still be of course, and the move to Porsche is another step in the right direction.  This time it will be three Irish events at least, the RAC and perhaps two others.  Next year Billy would hope he can have a go in the 957 Porsche in the World championship.  Why not I say?

I know the Millstreet man very well.  He is highly intelligent without being in the least bit superior.  As a driver 1 can only go by his perfor­mances and his records.  When I combine all aspects he is really a man apart because combined with his driving, he is a family man of the highest caliber and he is an extensive farmer who has gone through diffi­cult years making the soil pay uncompromising bank managers.  At times he has had difficulty with the latter.  But a good rally driver doesn't give up! Billy is also a patient man.  His road car was stolen no fewer t four times in six months on visit Dublin.  Two combine harvesters were sabotaged last August unknowns while he was trying to I to finish off a successful harvest, and last December he even had the customs officers try to stop him bringing Ascona from Sydney Meeke's place in Bush, to Killarney.  I wonder was that vigilance on the part of the customs officers or the work of a "supporter"?

( The car was eventually got across the border when Tom Walsh had to go find the head customs officer in a pub in Dundalk) 

Billy is an above the board person. He shrugged off those incidents saying that the customs men had every right to make their enquiries. Now above all he wants to leave Dealer Opel Team Ireland on friendly terms "Those people in Tallaght are gentlemen and I am sorry I have to leave them.  But even they understand situation and I have to see my agreement with them to the very end," he told me.  So he goes to the Carling Killarney in the Opel.

So now the three times winner the Circuit of Ireland should get first real pay cheque as a driver. He has been so near the top before, In1974 when he was British champion driving the Thomas Motors Blackpool Escort, or 1979 was third in the European the Ford of Ireland Escort Monte spec - API 100, the best car he claimed he ever drove.  Had missed finishes in Elba and with mechanical problems in Heeson he could have done better. But that achievement was not fully recognized?  Think of where Jimmy McRae finished this year? Neither is it known or appreciated that his family, Coleman Millstreet, footed many

Billy is always a serious man, but not always about his rallying. Still he knows more than any one else what are his real capabilities, and that is why his comeback is no Roy of the Rovers story. He wants to succeed, he has got the capacity to go to the top. We suggest that “we ain’t seen nothing yet” and with his presence in places like Killarney, next year’s Rothman’s Circuit and the Shell Donegal, will bring the huge crowds out asking “How’s Billy doing,” “What’s the latest on Billy.” He is their folk hero, even though some of them may have never met or spoke to him in their lives. If they did, if they knew him well, they would not have changed their minds. Coming from Millstreet, from such a supportive family as Coleman’s in’ Minor Row has been an advantage to him. So have those who have helped him on his way. But above all Billy Coleman himself has had the sheer raw talent to be a great competitor in many sports, not just rally driving. This year he became the STP Tarmac champion in a common hack canter.

1985 Season in the Porsche

AS with the previous season, 1985 rallying in Ireland will primarily be remembered for the mighty battles between Austin McHale and Billy Coleman. The two men have long opposed each other but, until this season, the canny Cork farmer has invariably prevailed over the undoubtedly quick but tacitly immature Dublin plant hire contractor. The number of their meetings this year was unexpected, given that in December last Coleman signed for the fully professional Rothmans Porsche outfit based in England and was provided with a varied programme of World Championship and Irish events in the ageing but still competitive Porsche 911SC RS. For his part, McHale was rewarded for his 1984 disappointments by being made Dealer Opel Team Ireland team leader and, armed with a Manta 400, given the task of wining the STP Irish Tarmac Championship. The duos were only expected to meet in two Irish tarmac events during the year, the Circuit of Ireland and one other. As things turned out they met on three Irish events, the Circuit, the Donegal and the Uniroyal Cork 20. Of these, Cork and Donegal turned out to be classic events with absolutely nail biting finishes - McHale winning the former by eight seconds and Coleman the later by one. In both instances gamesmanship formed a major part of both men's narrow victories. In Donegal there were allegations that Coleman was "hiding" behind other competitors so McHale would have no idea of the stage times he was setting. In Cork McHale was accused of misleading Coleman - again to conceal stage times. The fact of the matter is that McHale learned an awful lot from Coleman while they were team mates with DOTI in 1984 and matured considerably as a rally driver in his two seasons of direct competition with the Corkman. For Coleman, however, this was a disappointing end to what had promised to be a very successful season. In what, was, remarkably, his first season as a fully paid works driver, Billy was promised a couple of World Championship events, some Irish events, and work on the development of Porsche’s much vaunted 959 model, which was supposed to be operational by the end o this year. After a lot of develop merit work early in the season with the elderly 911 SC RS car, he helped prepare the car for what turned out to be a busy early season, with Beguin scoring regularly on European Championship events and even leading the series for a while. However, Coleman’s first outing in the car in anger was on the circuit where fourth place was way behind expectations before the event. His first World Championship rally for many years, was the Tour de Corse which proved more than fruitful with Billy just missing securing an “A”, seeding for the coming season by finishing fourth against much more difficult opposition than on the Circuit. The Donegal win came soon after and Billy’s final outing in the car brought that second place in Cork The fact remains that the 911 SC RS was at uncompetitive proposition for much of the year and both Rothmans and Porsche saw little point it running for, anything, but victory. The season with the team was not wasted by any manner of means.