It’s going to be a Corker!
The final round of the Fiesta SportingTrophy IE will bear witness to one of the most intense battles in one make championship history when the series moves to Cork City for the Cork ‘20’ Rally next weekend. No less than three drivers can walk away with the overall championship with the possibility of a tie for first and second place, depending on the outcome next Sunday.
Alastair Fisher, Jonathan Greer and Conor Harvey are all in with a chance of lifting the crown as they battle it out over 95 kilometres of stages in the north of the county. The intensity of the competition on asphalt reached fever pitch on the last tarmac round, the Donegal Rally, when the lead changed seven times over the course of the ten stages; with the top two, Fisher and Harvey, separated by just over a second going into the final stage.
Harvey, 22 from Letterkenny, will lead the Fiesta field over the start line of the first stage next Sunday morning as he makes a welcome return to his preferred sealed surface. He has won two of the tarmac rounds so far this season, the UAC Easter Rally and Killarney Rally of the Lakes, and will be determined to increase that tally to three and claim overall victory in the series.
A win next weekend will see him crowned the 2007 Fiesta SportingTrophy IE champion. Current points leader Fisher, and co-driver Barry McNulty, can also claim the overall championship title if they cross the finish ramp in first place next week. After a win on round six of the series, their local Fisher Engineering Lakeland Stages at the beginning of the month, they lead the series by seven points going into the final round. Fisher, 19 from Enniskillen, also takes part in the penultimate round of the UK series next Saturday, the Colin McRae Forest Stages, before flying to Cork overnight to compete in the Irish round on Sunday.
Greer, with co-driver Jonny Hart, will also travel to Cork direct from the McRae Stages, where they are fighting with Fisher for the overall title in the UK series. He has claimed one victory in the Irish series so far this season on the Cork Forestry Rally last month and if he crosses the finish ramp in first place next week he will win the title; providing that Fisher finishes third or lower.
Tadhg Buckley from Ballyhaunis will be fourth Fiesta on the road and he will be pushing for a win in Cork to add another victory to his 2007 championship campaign. While Buckley won the opening round of the series, the Galway Rally, a mechanical problem on round two and a non-finish on round three put his championship hopes on hold. A strong finish from Tadhg and brother Shane can still claim the final podium spot in this year’s championship depending on the outcome next Sunday.
Kyle Orr and Peter O’Toole round off the Fiesta entries and a finish will consolidate fifth place overall in the series for the Dromore driver. Orr is currently tied in fifth place with Barry Greer who is opting out of the final round due to his participation in the McRae Stages.
Series leader Alastair Fisher said:
“I am really looking forward to the event. It is going to be very tight at the top. Everyone will be out for the win. Going from gravel on the Saturday at the McRae Stages to tarmac on the Sunday will be difficult but we will see how the pace is over the first few stages.”
Jonathan Greer remarked:
“It will be good but I don’t know what my plan will be. It will be very tight and anything can happen. It will be hard for us to win with Alastair’s position. It will be a good battle. We’ll be at a disadvantage with the different surface but also at an advantage as we’ll have more time in the car.”
Conor Harvey said:
“The year has gone better than expected, especially on the gravel rounds. I am happy with my performance on tarmac and hopefully it will go well next weekend. We are going for it from the first stage, maximum attack! It is all very tight with the winner taking all so there is a lot to play for. We’ll give it our best shot.”
1 Alastair Fisher 154pts
2 Jonathan Greer 147pts
3 Conor Harvey 129pts
4 Tadhg Buckley 102pts
5 Barry Greer 58pts
6 Kyle Orr 58pts
7 William Mavitty 52pts
8 Colin Flanagan 18pts
9 Paul Quinn 32pts
With drivers only able to claim their best five scores form the seven possible rounds, dropping two scores from the competitors tally so far gives a very different look to the championship table. Alastair Fisher is on 110 points, Conor Harvey has a total of 107 points while Jonathan Greer has a total of 105. There are a number of outcomes next week:
- If Alastair Fisher or Conor Harvey win the event, the victor will take the overall title.
- If Jonathan Greer wins the event and Alastair Fisher is second, they will both tie on points.
As both drivers will have the same number of firsts, seconds, thirds etc, the tie can only be resolved by taking their result on round one and so on. Alastair Fisher will win the championship in a tie-break situation as he finished third in Galway as opposed to Jonathan’s fourth placed finish.
- If Jonathan Greer wins the event, Conor Harvey second and Alastair Fisher third, there will be a tie between Alastair and Conor for second place overall in the series.