RtG The Daily Dispatch - Shamrock - Complete - web - Flipbook - Page 7
8 to 11 May 2023
Day 3
Castlemartyr - Barne - Castlemartyr (146.5 miles)
10 May 2023
Day three of the Vintage Shamrock and the rally has really settled into its stride. Today the schedule
has five Regularities and three Tests, as well as a series of well placed Passage and Time controls - the
former offering some great views and the latter some more amazing hospitality.
Photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
Robert Cook and Geoffrey Morson, kicking up the dust in their 1937 Chevrolet Coupe
As well as the farmland and coastal roads we’ve grown used
to, today the route took in some impressive sections of the
Knockmealdown Mountains, the Comeragh Mountains, the
Monavullagh Mountains and, to wrap up the day’s sport, a
gentle lope through the Drum hills before heading back to
the Castlemartyr night halt.
The first job for the crews was a rendezvous with Fred
Gallagher who, 45 minutes before their start time, provided
them with something to chew on, both figuratively and
literally - handing out the instructions for the day’s Tests
and Regularities, together with a packet of toffees. The
timing began soon after we’d left the gates of Castlemartyr
with a long Regularity section through a network of sunken
lanes around Inch. Single-track tarmac was very much the
order of the day, a thick mossy strip down the middle
confirmed what we already knew, these roads really are
well off the beaten track.
The Salterbridge Test followed and proved to be another
amazing piece of full gas. Gravel parkland with chicanes,
hairpins and narrow gates were tackled, enjoyed and driven
through in equal measure. Once we’d left the grounds of
Salterbridge House and rejoined the public road, the route
began to climb. From here onwards the sharp bends, which
led to the Melleray View Passage Control, saw some of the
bigger cars struggle to get round at the first attempt.
It was thirsty work and by the time the rally arrived at
the Time Control on Mount Melleray a few of the drivers
seemed to be in need of refreshment. Luckily they’d arrived
at the site of a Cistercian Monastery, home to a community
of Trappist Monks, whose gift shop and café provided
excellent refreshment before the rally set off once again.
A Regularity at Newcastle was followed by another Test
at Ballylegan, a fun filled off-road loop around a timber
processing facility between fields of vivid yellow rape and
mountains of neatly stacked logs.
These two sections brought the morning to a close and
the next point of interest was the Time Control at Barne
House which supplied another fine lunch. Today we
www.rallytheglobe.com
