2024 Moore & Faloon Springfling Report

Hunters Capture 2024 M&F Springfling for Themselves.

After having to share the Springfling win last year, Philip and Kim Hunter from Cookstown were the clear, sole winners of the 2024 event in their Toyota MR2, held on 20th April.  Dungannon Motor Club, now in its 70th year, set the entire event in the Davagh Forest complex, giving competitors a change of driving challenge versus the usual farm lane and yard format.  

Last year’s joint winners, Robert Woodside Jr. from Greenisland and Steven Dowds from Bangor in a Mazda MX5, had to settle for second place this time, despite leading the event in the very early stages.  Completing the top three were the Southern crew of Eamonn Byrne (Bray) and Ronnie Griffin (Dublin) in the first of the front wheel drive cars, a Toyota Yaris.

There were 48 crews on the list as the cars assembled at The Braeside Bar and Restaurant at Orritor.  Clerk of the Course, Douglas Millar, had five tests close together in the nearby Davagh Forest, and the action would come thick and fast with crews completing the course three times.  Two of the tests were a mile or more long, offering the chance to have wider gaps in times between the top drivers, and to make the driving more fun.

Local hopes lay with Dungannon brothers Jordan and Darrell Burns in their self-prepared Ford Fiesta and Caleb and Robin Cuddy from Cookstown in another Toyota MR2.  Further down the list at number thirty three were none other than Donaghmore men Michael Faloon and Sam Hayes, Michael being the main sponsor for the event, and their reward would be a fine top10 finish.

After a short delay to get all the marshals and timekeepers into position, the action got under way in beautiful sunshine, something which could not have been predicted a week earlier, and as the day went on, driving conditions on the forest tracks actually improved, much to the delight of the drivers. 

The Club had arranged the timing such that just as the last competitor was starting the first test, the first competitor was only a few minutes away to start the second pass at the tests.  This meant that the action was virtually continuous, and that the whole event wrapped up in the mid afternoon.

After the first run over the five tests, Philip and Kim Hunter had already established themselves as front runners, but their time was matched by the Donaghmore pairing of Mark and David Faloon (Toyota MR2) and Niall Donnelly (Beragh)/Stephen O’Hanlon (Ballygawley) also in an MR2.  Philip must have though last year was bad with one other crew matching his times, and here were two on the same pace.

After two laps, the Hunters were out on their own at the front, and despite a couple of minor slips, Robert Woodside Jr was now in the runners up slot.  Close behind was Eamonn Byrne, followed by Jordan Burns and top semi-expert Caleb Cuddy who were tied on the same total time. Early front runner Niall Donnelly was forced to retire his car at the end of this second lap with gear selection problem.  

A steady but fast performance by another semi-expert, Ronan Cox (Enniskillen) and Joe O’Neill in a Ford Puma, had them sitting in sixth place overall, just ahed of semi-expert rivals Robert and Peter Haslett in a Toyota Yaris.

The third pass through the five tests didn’t produce any major changes to the leaderboard but the fun level was still high for the competitors.  Feedback at the finish showed that everybody thoroughly enjoyed their day of Targa rallying and most encouraged the club to keep this format for the future.  

In his opening remarks at the prize-giving, Clerk of the Course Douglas Millar drew attention to the fact that it was also a fast and furious day for the timekeepers and marshals who stood out to observe the tests, without whom such events could not take place.  Thanks must go to everybody who helped out.

The full results book can be found here ===> Full Results

Have a look at some great video clips from Blackcave Motorsport at ==> VIDEO

RESULTS

1. P.Hunter/K.Hunter (MR2) 29:08;
2. R.Woodside/S.Dowds (MX5) 29:25;
3. E.Byrne/R.Griffin (Yaris) 30:06;
4. C.Cuddy/R.Cuddy (MR2) 30:07;
5. J.Burns/D.Burns (Fiesta) 30:10;
6. R.Cox/J.O’Neill (Puma) 30:12;
7. R.Haslett/P.Haslett (Yaris) 30:47;
8. M.Walker/J.Smith (MX5) 30:48;
9. Mark Faloon/D.Faloon (MR2) 30:59;
10. Michael Faloon/S.Hayes (MR2) 31:01.

CLASS WINNERS

1. E.Byrne/R.Griffin
2. P.Hunter/K.Hunter
3. R.Cox/J.O’Neill
4. C.Cuddy/R.Cuddy
5. A.Hammond/A.Hammond
6. M.Faloon/D.Faloon