Sébastien Loeb was today awarded a knighthood, receiving the ‘Légion d’honneur’ at the Elysée Palace in Paris from Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of the French Republic.

The ‘Légion d'honneur’ is the highest award that can be given to any private individual in France, instituted after the French Revolution. It recognises outstanding achievement from French citizens in any branch of the country’s activity, leaving aside social or hereditary factors.

The ‘Legion d’honneur’ award ceremony took place at the Elysée Palace in Paris, where Sébastien Loeb was given his knighthood. Surrounded by his family, close friends and PSA Group senior management, the five-time World Rally Champion was warmly congratulated by Nicolas Sarkozy.

Sébastien Loeb at the event:

I am extremely honoured to have been recognised in this way by the President of the Republic. This award is given to an individual, but I would like to share it with each and every member of the
Citroën team. Every time that we hear the French National Anthem played at the end of a rally, we all feel exactly the same pride at having showcased France to the best of all our abilities. I hope now that I can continue to worthily represent my country by claiming a sixth consecutive World Rally Championship title at the end of this year.

TOPAZ DONEGAL INTERNATIONAL RALLY GOES ‘RADICAL’
Wednesday, April 29 2009 12:57

Donegal Motor Club has released preliminary details of the Topaz Donegal International Rally Ireland for the June 19th – 21st event. The rally is a pivotal round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, and incorporates a National Rally for modified cars, a section for older, Historic, rally cars and a round of the Ford Fiesta Challenge on Saturday 20th. A Junior Rally, for up and coming drivers, takes place on Sunday 21st.

Danny Gormley, Clerk of the Course said “We are delighted with Topaz’s continued support of the Rally, particularly in the current economic climate. They have brought new thinking to the event and have helped us open up the sport to a much wider audience. Topaz is a wholly Irish owned company and their commitment has been fantastic. They understand the significance of the Rally for the region, as well as being a major sporting event.”

“For 2009 we’ve made fairly radical changes. The route has been given a major shake-up and only two stages from last year’s route remain the same. I have no doubt competitors are going to find it a real driving challenge”

“Donegal poses a unique challenge in Irish rallying. For example, the National part of the event, for modified cars, has taken on a life of its own in recent years. It seems that the very best Mark 2 Escort crews in Ireland and the British Isles have adopted it as their unofficial ‘Olympics.’ That part of the entry has proved to be very popular with spectators.”

“I should say a particular thanks to Motorsport Ireland who have helped us with measures to give competitors better value for money. This year will see the introduction of “Rally Restart”, where competitors who break down may be allowed return to the rally the following day, subject to certain conditions. ”

“I would appeal to competitors to study the entry selection criteria in the Regulations carefully and to provide the fullest possible details of their results. We are also inviting help from Marshals available to help us run the rally and they can contact us via the website.

Entry Lists
Monday, April 20 2009 10:14

No Driver/Co-Driver (Car) [Class]
1 Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Ford Focus WRC) [A8]
2 Eamon Boland/Mick Morrissey (Subaru Impreza WRC) [A8]
3 Eugene Donnelly/Paddy Toner (Skoda Fabia WRC) [A8]
4 Gareth McHale/Brian Murphy (Ford Focus WRC) [A8]
5 Derek McGarrity/James McKee (Subaru Impreza WRC) [A8]
6 Tim McNulty/David Moynihan (Subaru Impreza WRC) [A8]
7 Peadar Hurson/Damian Connolly (Subaru Impreza WRC) [A8]
8 Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC) [A8]
9 Denis Cronin/Helen O'Sullivan (Subaru Impreza WRC) [A8]
10 Aaron McHale/Killian Duffy (Ford Focus WRC) [A8]
11 Shaun Gallagher/Paul Kiely (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [N4]
12 Colm Murphy/Martin Flannery (Subaru Impreza N12) [N4]
14 Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [N4]
15 Sean Flanagan/Brian Duggan (Subaru Impreza N12) [N4]
16 Ger O'Donovan/Sean Hayde (Subaru Impreza N12B) [N4]
17 Alastair Fisher/Barry McNulty (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [N4]
18 Mark Nangle/Michael Clyne (Subaru Impreza N12) [N4]
19 John Joe Fleming/Robbie Ward (Ford Focus WRC) [A8]
20 Wesley Patterson /Martin McGarrity (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M14]
21 Martin Magee/Arthur Kierans (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M14]
22 Adrian Hetherington/Gary Nolan (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M14]
23 Kevin O'Donoghue/Joe O'Leary (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M14]
24 Fergus O'Meara/Liam Brennan (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M13]
25 Jon Stangle/Frank Sweeney (Darrian T 90) [M13]
26 Willie Power /Frank Curtin (Darrian T 90) [M13]
27 Manus Kelly/Donal Barrett (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M14]
28 Tommy Doyle/Tony McDaid (Renault Clio) [A7]
29 John Hickey/TBA (Subaru Impreza 555) [M15]
30 Eoin Doyle/Peter Brennan (Subaru Impreza WRC) [A8]
31 Dave Randles/John Young (Nissan Almera) [A7]
32 Eugene Meegan/TBA (Honda Civic Type R) [A7]
33 Thomas Randles/Sean Duggan (Toyota Celica ) [M15]
34 Peter Kelly/Peggy Kelly (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M14]
35 Charlie Hickey/Johnny Hickey (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M13]
36 Vincent O'Shea/Brian Hickey (Escort Cosworth) [M15]
37 Brendan Brosnan/Gerard Conway (Peugeot 205 RWD) [M14]
38 Brendan Dennehy/Willie Buchanan (BMW M3 Compact) [M13]
39 Eddie Power/Jonathan McGrath (Toyota Corolla) [M15]
40 Thomas White/TBA (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [M16]
41 Mick Cummins/Don Montgomery (Mitsubishi Evo [N4]
42 Rory Byrne/Jeremy Patterson (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [N4]
43 Martin McCormack/Liam Moynihan (Citroen C2 Max) [A6]
44 Craig Breen/Gregory Roberts (Ford Fiesta ST) [N3]
45 Kyle Orr/TBA (Ford Fiesta ST) [N3]
46 Mark Donnelly/Paddy Robinson (Ford Fiesta ST) [N3]
47 Shane Buckley/Thomas McGuire (Ford Fiesta ST) [N3]
48 Paul Quinn/Sorcha Kelly (Ford Fiesta ST) [N3]
49 Leonard Downey/Mark Murphy (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M13]
50 Adrian Randles/TBA (Ford Escort MK 2) [M13]
51 Gary Reidy/Stephen Reidy (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M14]
52 Darragh O'Riordan/Sean McCarthy (Renault Clio S1600) [A6a]
53 Keith Power/TBA (Peugeot 106 ) [A6]
54 Ken O'Neill/Ronald Riordan (Ford Puma S1600) [A6a]
56 Jason McSweeney/Denis O'Mahony (Honda Civic) [M11]
57 David Fleming/Kieran Doherty (Honda Civic ) [A6]
58 Paul Ahern/Kieran Murphy (Subaru Impreza ) [M16]
59 Kevin O'Sullivan/Martin Riordan (Honda Civic Type R) [M16]
60 Lloyd Hutchinson/Kevin Flanagan (Austin Cooper S) [M9]
61 Raymond Conlon/James O'Reilly (Toyota Corolla TC) [M13]
62 John Riordan/Shane Buckley (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M11]
63 Dermot Hannifin/Claire Mole (Subaru Impreza N12) [N4]
64 Barry Ryan/Donal Falvey (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M11]
65 Andrew Fanning/Paddy King (Ford Puma S1600) [A6a]
66 John Buttimer/Declan Buttimer (Subaru Impreza) [A8]
67 Joe McGonigle/Alan Whyte (Honda Civic) [N2]
68 Kieran Marshall/Mark Horgan (Honda Civic Type R) [N3]
69 Stephen Wright/Paul McGee (Ford Fiesta ST) [N3]
70 Robert Barrable/Seamus O'Grady (Ford Fiesta ST) [M16]
71 Desmond Henry/John Rowan (Ford Fiesta ST) [M16]
72 William Walsh/Ed O'Neill (Toyota Corolla TC) [M11]
73 Noel O'Sullivan/Nicky Burke (Ford Escort Mk 2) [M9]
74 Alan Bardon/Edwin Du