Competitors gear up for Townparks Glens of Antrim Rally!

The final round of the Hankook MSA Northern Ireland Stage Rally Championship brings competitors to County Antrim this Saturday for the Townparks Glens of Antrim Rally!

This year's event returns to the forests and after leaving the Loughguile Millennium Centre start on Saturday morning, competitors will tackle 12 stages including Slieveanorra, Parkmore, Beaghs, Glenariff and Ballypatrick.

The event will really sort the men from the boys and heading the entry is Glengormley pilot, Derek McGarrity. Navigated by James McKee, the crew will tackle the season finale aboard their Ford Focus WRC. In recent events, McGarrity has been driving for championship points but this weekend he plans to challenge for outright victory.

Banbridge's Kenny McKinstry will be aiming to stop him in his tracks, and having won the recent F&M Contracts Down Rally, the former champion is full of confidence ahead of Saturday's event. Navigated by Noel Orr, the crew will again have a Subaru Impreza WRC at their disposal.

The Sunoco Fuels Group N category has received a stunning entry with all but one of the remaining top 10 places occupied by production category crews. Alastair Fisher and Barry McNulty, who finished third overall in this year's Irish Tarmac Championship, start at number three in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9.

Carryduff's Jonathan Greer is next in line, but in terms of the tussle for the Northern Ireland Group N Championship spoils, it's all about three crews. Donagh Kelly has the upper hand as he heads the series by seven points, but both Neil McCance and Raymond Johnston are still in with a shout.

The Superdrive two-wheel-drive category has also received an impressive entry. Trevor Moore starts the event at number 12, closely followed by Seamus O'Connell and Philip Hunter, who are among the Montgomery Motorsport historic crews. Drew Stewart and Oran Donnelly will also be in the fray, along with a host of other top drivers.

Crews will blast off the start line on Saturday morning, and after 12 stages, the winners will be crowned at Loughguile's Millennium Centre. More information, including a full entry list, is available online at www.nirally.com.

Townparks Glens of Antrim Rally - top 20 entries

1 Derek McGarrity/James McKee (Focus WRC)
2 Kenny McKinstry/Noel Orr (Impreza WRC)
3 Alastair Fisher/Barry McNulty (Lancer Evo)
4 Jonathan Greer/TBA (Lancer Evo)
5 Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Lancer Evo)
6 Raymond Johnston/Rodney Hicks (Lancer Evo)
7 Neil McCance/TBA Mitsubishi (Lancer Evo)
8 Daimen Tourish/Donal McAlaney (Lancer Evo)
9 Kieron Graffin/TBA (Lancer Evo)
10 Colin Britton/Arthur Kierans
11 John McKeown/Tommy Speers (Escort Cosworth)
12 Trevor Moore/Ray Fitz (Escort)
14 Seamus O'Connell/Sean Magee (Escort)
15 Philip Hunter/Michael Faloon (Escort)
16 Alan Carmichael/Ivor Lamont (Lancer)
17 Colm McFall/Malachy McAuley (Escort Cosworth)
18 James Murphy/Anthony Nestor (Escort Cosworth)
19 Dominic McNeill/Francis Kenny (Lancer Evo IX)
20 Enda McNulty/Ronan O'Kane (Impreza)