KA CHAMPIONSHIP

FORD IRELAND KA RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

PROTEC RACING, PROVINCIAL HSE, ABBEYFEALE, CO. LIMERICK.

Round Two Circuit of Kerry

TRAVERS -KING OF THE HILL.

Carlow, 7^th May 2000 – James Travers from Kilkenny took a commanding victory on the third round of the Ford Ireland Ka Rally Championship, the Carlow Stages Rally.

James in the Barry Pender Motors Ford KA set a blistering pace catching all the other crews napping on the opening stage to settle into a secure and dominant lead. John O’Dowd from Moate, James’s closest challenger made a poor start allowing James a fourteen second lead after the first loop of stages. John fought back on the next reducing the deficit to just six seconds, however John crashed out on stage six handing the victory and the Championship lead to James after three rounds.

“The Championship is developing into a great battle, I had to fight every inch of the way to secure my second win of the season. My Ford KA performed faultlessly all day, however I had a close call at the flying finish of stage two when I glanced off a bank damaging the front of the car but I was lucky and I was able to continue” said James

Pat Quinlan in the BDBC Ford KA was involved in a great battle all day with Oliver Stanley Both drivers swapping times throughout the day, eventually after a titanic battle they started the third and final loop of stages on equal time. Quinlan took the advantage taking the fastest stage time on stage seven and secured second place from Oliver Stanley by eight seconds.

John Carroll in the Dooley Motors Ford Ka and Liam Denning in the Fort Motors/Dennings Garage Ford KA tied for fourth place overall.

The Ford Ka has performed brilliantly over the last three arduous rounds of the 2000 Ford Ireland KA Rally Championship, which underlines the total reliability, strength, and driveability of the Ford KA” said Declan Foley, Ford KA Brand Manager

The 2000 Ford of Ireland Ford KA Rally Championship is the first, one make, manufacturer supported Championship in the history of Irish Rallying. Designed to promote young Irish rallying talent, the Championship is part of Ford's stairway to success that sees the Ford Motor Company providing young drivers with competitive rally machinery throughout their racing careers. The Carlow Stages was the third out of eight events throughout Ireland.

Position	Name	Address	Time
1	James Travers	Kilkenny	0
2	Pat Quinlan	Clonmel	0.51
3	Oliver Stanley	Durrow	0.08
4	John Carroll	Kilkenny	0.02
=	Liam Denning	Dublin	0.00
6	Barry Barrable	Dublin	0.44
7	Gus Kearney	Clonmel	0.18
8	Trevor Harding	Cashel	0.19
9	Keith Colton	Clonmel	0.56
10	Denise Ryan	Athy	0.49
11	Eoin Dooley	Cork	8.49
DNF	John O’Dowd	Moate	DNF
DNS	Noreen Mc Daid	Letterkenny	DNS
DNS	Ken Lyons	Limerick	DNS

FORD KA RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

Championship Results after Round 3

Position	Name	Address	Points
1	James Travers	Kilkenny	86
2	Oliver Stanley	Durrow	67
3	John Carroll	Kilkenny	57
=	Gus Kearney	Clonmel	57
5	John O’Dowd	Moate	56
6	Liam Denning	Dublin	54
7	Barry Barrable	Dublin	51
8	Denise Ryan	Athy	36
9	Eoin Dooley	Cork	33
10	Pat Quinlan	Clonmel	26
11	Keith Colton	Tullamore	25
12	Trevor Harding	Cashel	23
13	Noreen McDaid	Letterkenny	0

Round	Event		Date	Winner
1	Galway Spring Rally	Portumna, Co Galway	26^th March	James Travers
2	Circuit of Kerry	Dingle, Co. Kerry	9^th April	John O’Dowd
3	Carlow Stages	Carlow	7^th May	James Travers
4	Ravens Rock	Waterford	25^th June
5	Sligo Stages	Sligo	9^th July
6	Stonethrowers	Clonmel	13^th August
7	Rally of Ireland	Dublin	27^th August
8	Cork 20	Cork City	6^th & 7^th October

NEWS RELEASE Round Two

KA 04e/00

LYSTER APPLAUDES CHAMPIONSHIP.

Dingle, 9^th April 2000 – Michael Lyster, RTE Sports commentator secured a fine tenth place finish on the second round of the Ford Ireland Ka Rally Championship in the Circuit of Kerry Rally.

The event marked Michael’s first event in a 1300cc front wheel drive Rally Car. Michael was really thrown in at the deep end against the regular experienced Ford KA Rally Championship competitors who had much more experience in the Ford KA.

'This event has been a complete baptism of fire for me. The pace of the Championship contenders is absolutely amazing, I was not prepared to try and give chase however I totally enjoyed myself. The Ford KA is really an amazing car with superb brakes, handling and the car has huge levels of grip” said Michael.

Michael added” The Ford KA Rally Championship is really the way of the future and I have to applaud Ford Ireland for their wisdom and foresight to create such a wonderful Championship, which is not only good for the sport of rallying but also develops young Irish talent to compete on the world stage”.

“The Ford KA has performed faultlessly over the last two events taking two outright class victories on some of Ireland’s toughest terrain, the level of healthy competition between all of the crews has made the Championship very exciting and we are all really looking forward to the rest of the Championship” said Declan Foley Brand Manager Ford KA.

The 2000 Ford of Ireland Ford KA Rally Championship is the first, one make; manufacturer supported Championship in the history of Irish Rallying. Designed to promote young Irish rallying talent, the Championship is part of Ford's stairway to success that sees the Ford Motor Company providing young drivers with competitive rally machinery throughout their racing careers. The Circuit of Kerry Rally was the second out of eight events throughout Ireland.

FORD KA RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

Results Round 2 – Circuit of Kerry

Position	Name	Address	Time
1	John O’Dowd	Moate	.0
2	James Travers	Kilkenny	1.32
3	Gus Kearney	Clonmel	0.21
4	Oliver Stanley	Durrow	0.08
5	Barry Barrable	Dublin	0.38
6	Liam Denning	Dublin	0.13
7	John Carroll	Kilkenny	0.52
8	Denise Ryan	Athy	1.32
9	Eoin Dooley	Cork	0.01
10	Michael Lyster	Dublin	5.32
DNF	Trevor Harding	Cashel	DNF
DNF	Noreen Mc Daid	Letterkenny	DNF
DNF	Ken Lyons	Limerick	DNF

FORD KA RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

Championship Results after Round 2

Position	Name	Address	Points
1	James Travers	Kilkenny	56
=	John O’Dowd	Moate	56
3	Oliver Stanley	Durrow	44
4	Gus Kearney	Clonmel	42
5	John Carroll	Kilkenny	36
6	Liam Denning	Dublin	34
=	Barry Barrable	Dublin	34
8	Denise Ryan	Athy	25
9	Eoin Dooley	Cork	23
10	Keith Colton	Tullamore	13
11	Trevor Harding	Cashel	10
	Pat Quinlan	Clonmel	0
	Noreen McDaid	Letterkenny	0

Round	Event		Date	Winner
1	Galway Spring Rally	Portumna, Co Galway	26^th March	James Travers
2	Circuit of Kerry	Dingle, Co. Kerry	9^th April	John O’Dowd
3	Carlow Stages	Carlow	7^th May
4	Ravens Rock	Waterford	25^th June
5	Sligo Stages	Sligo	9^th July
6	Stonethrowers	Clonmel	13^th August
7	Rally of Ireland	Dublin	27^th August
8	Cork 20	Cork City	6^th & 7^th October

TRAVERS TRIUMPH – first victory on first round of the 2000 Ford Ireland KA Rally Championship.

Portumna, 26^th March 2000 – James Travers from Kilkenny scored his first victory on the opening round of the 2000 Ford Ireland KA Rally Championship in Portumna today.

James one of the front runners of the 1999 Ford Ireland KA Rally Championship secured a fine victory driving with a blend of high speed, consistency and caution over the treacherous Galway terrain to secure his first win by over one minute. John O’Dowd from Moate, Co. Westmeath a newcomer to the Ford KA Rally Championship made an impressive debut setting some blistering times to take a secure second place. Oliver Stanley from Durrow, Co. Laois displayed his skill by taking a fine third place.

The newcomers Eoin Dooley, Trevor Harding and Denise Ryan’s introduction to the 2000 Ford KA Rally Championship was a baptism of fire, due to the high level of healthy competition and the closeness of the competition. Eoin Dooley a newcomer to the sport of rallying finished in tenth position, Trevor Harding bent his rear axle on stage two loosing four minutes and relegating him to eleventh position, Denise Ryan took the Ladies Award and finished in a creditable ninth position overall.

The thirteen strong field of Ford KA’s performed faultlessly throughout the day with the Ford KA taking the top five positions in Class Five whilst also finishing within the top fifty overall.

“All drivers, competing under the same wet conditions, with identically prepared and powered Ford KA’s means that it was the best driver one the day who won. Competing on such treacherous terrain we always knew that the Ford KA would prove to be a strong and reliable car” said Declan Foley, Brand Manager Ford KA, Henry Ford & Son Ltd.

“I am delighted with the high level of spirited rivalry and enthusiasm shown by all the competitors. The closeness of the competition augers well for the next round of the Championship, the Circuit of Kerry on the 9^th of April” said Tom Collins, Championship co-ordinator.

FORD KA RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

Results after Round 1

Position	Name	Address	Points
1	James Travers	Kilkenny	30
2	John O’Dowd	Moate	26
3	Oliver Stanley	Durrow	23
4	John Carroll	Kilkenny	21
5	Gus Kearney	Clonmel	19
6	Liam Denning	Dublin	17
7	Barry Barrable	Dublin	15
8	Keith Colton	Tullamore	13
9	Denise Ryan	Athy	12
10	Eoin Dooley	Cork	11
11	Trevor Harding	Cashel	10

Contact: Liam O'Callaghan or Tom Collins Declan Foley

Protec Promotions Henry Ford & Son Limited

068-32599 021-329277

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