The 2017 Ravens Rock Rally is over. Terence Kearney and team put in enormous time and effort into the penultimate event of the Carrick on Suir Motor Club calendar. This has been Terence's second year as COC and his wealth of experience and depth of knowledge shows throughout every event he organises or partakes in.

The event itself ran smoothly with cars departing Parc Ferme on The Quay in Waterford after Driver's Briefing to head to Service, based in the Cork Road Campus of WIT. A large thank you is owed to WIT for allowing Carrick on Suir Motor Club hold their service there, in top class facilities. Teams from Ireland, England and Wales lined up ready to hit the stages run through picturesque County Waterford, with 9 stages in total run over 3 routes in Kilmacthomas, Clonea Power and Mothel. The residents of County Waterford as always were obliging to us in disrupting their Sunday routine.

Crews battled it out throughout the day, to try and claim the overall title and the new 1600 Modified Masters. Roy White for a time held the overall position out of Sam Moffett's reach. Alas, Sam Moffett snatched the lead on SS. 5 with only +0:01.1 separating the two. Unfortuantely, White was unable to catch Moffett, who stretched his lead with each passing stage and claimed the Power Stage on SS.9 to take him one step closer to claiming the Triton Showers National Rally Championship.

A special mention should be given to club members Craig Breen and Patrick (Whack) Croke, who finished 3rd overall in a Ford Escort. I'm sure many of us have seen the little snippets that are available on Whack's Facebook page. We needn't say too much more, just make sure you watch them. Whack was also acting as Media Officer for the day. It was definitely a day to remember for both driver and navigator, and a huge achievement also. We know it isn't the last we will see of these two, and we look forward to the next chapter.

Richard Harney in a Ford Escort took home the 1600 Modified Masters title, the first man to do so.

Club members Killian and Conal O'Sullivan took home the Class 16 Juniors title. The team started SS.1 on 3rd in class but hit their flow on SS.2 to hold the lead throughout the day, finishing with 0:14.2 to spare between them and their nearest competitor Aaron Browne and Daniel Hanratty.

History was made in Class 13. In memory of the late Paul Mulcahy, The Paul Mulcahy Memorial Trophy went of the country to very deserving and appreciative winners Adrian Evans and Martin Henry. The Welsh team were thrilled to have won the trophy and are regular visitors to Irish events. 

We would like to thank all of our competitors, spectators, marshals and the team behind the Ravens Rock Rally 2017. We look forward to the 2018 event which, planning will begin in the coming weeks. Also, we would like to remind everyone that 2018 will be the 60th anniversary of the Carrick on Suir Motor Club. Throughout 2018 you can expect a flurry of exciting events and news updates. As our Chariman, James Coleman remarked last night, the aim for 2018 is to bring back the old atmosphere of the Circuit of Ireland into Waterford and we have no doubt, we will do our utmost to achieve this. To all, thank you very much, and we hope to see you at other events throughout 2017 and we look forward to an exciting 2018.

Results are available from the below link. Results will be updated after each stage.

http://results.shannonsportsit.ie/results.php?rally=RR17

The Ravens Rock Rally 2017 started this morning in the sunny south east. Competitors lined up in Parc Ferme on the Quay in Waterford across from Rally HQ in Dooleys Hotel. 85 cars in total began the morning in high spirits. Sam Moffat was first out over the ramp in his bid to claim the Triton Showers National Rally Championship. Also starting this morning was WRC star and Carrick on Suir club member Craig Breen with his co-driver Patrick (Whack) Croke hoping to have a go at the days stages laid out over County Waterford. A new face to tarmac rallying was Lauren Kelly, daughter of Frank Kelly. Lauren has previously navigated in the forest, but this will be her first time on the tarmac. Best of luck to all of our competitors. We wish you a safe and enjoyable day of motorsport.

  Mickey-Joe Morrissey

Although Mickey Joe is well known as an International co-driver, he has occasionally competed as a driver.  He will again this year, drive a 00 car in the Ravens Rock Rally. He is a former COC for the Ravens Rock, and a 3 times winner also. With his wealth of knowledge and experience, he is a truly remarkable asset to the motorsport community.

Mickey Joe  is the type of unassuming man that you immediately want to know more about. He first joined Carrick on Suir Motor Club in 1971 to compete in the Ravens Rock Rally when it was run over six stages in a forest at night. He began co-driving on and off from 1972, and currently navigates for Eamonn Boland on the world stage. To his credit, he has competed not only in Europe but in Mexico, Canada and as far flung as the Middle-East, actually clocking up almost 80 rallies there, with great success. There are only four rallies in the WRC calendar that Mickey-Joe hasn't done, and those are: Argentina, New Zealand, Australia and Poland. Mickey Joe's first WRC event was 1000 Lakes. He also has 9 finishes in the Monte Carlo Rally. We think it's fair to say that in terms of WRC starts, he rivals another club member, Craig Breen.

A little known fact about Mickey-Joe, is that he was the man responsible for introducing the number system for pace notes in Ireland in the 1980's.