Personal

Name:

Sean Moriarty

Age:

31

Marital status:

Hopelessly single

Children:

None

Occupation:

Courier

Place of birth:

Letterkenny, Co. Donegal

Country or county where you live:

Tralee, Co. Kerry

Any other hobbies?

Is there anything better to be doing?

Your opinions

Favourite food:

Steak

Favourite drink:

Guinness Or Coke

Favourite motorsport paper / magazine:

Rally XS, Carsport

Favourite sports person (other than rallying):

Joey Dunlop

Favourite film star:

Homer Simpson

Which TV sports programmes do you watch?

On the limit Motorsport,  RPM and any rally programme I can find.

Starting out

How did you start out?

1991 I was involved with my local motor club; a local driver needed a co-driver for the Kerry Winter Stages (now the Kerry Single Stage) and asked me. We finished 2nd overall!

First driver you sat with:

Brendan Brosnan. 2.0 liter Ford Escort MK2

First event:

Kerry Winter Stages Rally 1991

Rallying background

Type of licence held:

International

Which motor club do you belong to?

Kerry Motor Club

Do you contribute towards your rallying?

Yes

Have you ever driven on a rally?

No. it wouldn’t be considered safe!

Did you ever marshal on events?  When and where?

I am always willing to help out on any of the local rallies I am not competing on. I marshalled on the 2 days of the West Cork Rally this year.

How many events do you get to watch?  (e.g. per year)

5 in 2002

* 2003 about 10
and overseas: Golden Tulip Rally (Sep), Manx National (May), Manx Trophy Rally (Aug), STPR, Pennsylvania, USA (June)

2004 Ihave marshalled on two days West Cork, Limerick
Single Stage and day 1 of Lakes International as well as attending Galway Interantional as a spectator - so far.....

How many rallies do you take part in?  (e.g. per year)

* 17 in 2002
19 in 2003
7 so far in 2004

Have you competed abroad? Where and when?

France and America

Your opinions (rallying)

Favourite rally car:

Opel Ascona/Manta 400

Favourite rally driver:

Frank Meagher

Favourite rally co-driver:

Tina Thorner

Favourite bit of road or forest:

Connor Pass, Dingle, Co. Kerry

Do you prefer pace notes or map reading events?

Pace Notes

Things you dislike about rallying?

Organisers that won’t take competitors’ views on board. Competitors who won’t put some time back into the sport. Imagine if both parties met halfway how much the quality of events would improve.

Who do you think will win the World Rally Championship in 2002?

Marcus Gronholm

Rallying history

Drivers you have sat with:

2002 Brendan Brosnan. Brendan Framer, Peter Clifford, Tony Murphy, Declan Burke, Bernard Hanley, Kevin Williams, Neil McCarthy, Charlie Hickey, Sean Willoughby, Adrian Randles, Liam Egan , Willie Fannin, John Dannagher, John Kearney , Anthony O’Haloran, Patrick Elliott, Johnny O'Sullivan, Kevin O'Donohue
* 2003 Dessie Keenan, Enda Keenan, Derek Jobb, P J McDermott, John Drislane, Sean Gallagher, Joseph Shinnors (night
navigation rally)
2004 Frankie Sweeney

Best driver you have ever sat with?

They were all very good in their own right, but  Patrick Elliott’s turn of speed this year has been very impressive and the results Anthony O’Halloran achieved in a Manta that was well past its sell-by-date were amazing.

Best result:

I have finished in every position in the top 10 except first!!

Worst result:

Circuit of Kerry 1996. I had barely the first 3 notes called when the engine blew 100 yards into the first stage.

Championships contested:

Irish National, West Coast Rally Championship, South East Stages, Border.

Best Championship result:

2nd overall co-driver 2000 West coast.
Currently 2nd overall 2002 Irish National and leading the southeast Stages.

Best rally memory:

Rallye Charlemagne 2001. The whole trip from the moment we left Tralee to the moment we got back was the best craic ever.

Strangest incident on a rally:

During the recce of Rally Charlemagne July 2001, the first stage started in a village and there was a very good-looking French girl spectating the recce. On our second run over the stage we stopped to “chat her up”.   My French would not be the best, as was her English, but we managed conversation anyway.

On the day of the rally, just as we were about to be counted down by the start marshal, we spotted the girl in the crowd . She was holding up a large placard that read “Go John and Sean. Car 36 is best.“ We started the stage roaring laughing!!

Biggest accident:

* PJ McDermott, Killarney Historics 2003, went in over a bank on a right hander but the field was a lot lower tha the road, landed on my side before starting a series of barrell rolls, glancing off a spectator's car parked in the field before eventually coming to a rest against a cluster of trees. Car was wrecked but thankfully we were both ok!

Achievements gained from rallying:

Lots of very good friends from all over Ireland and beyond. 

Your current performance

Your current driver(s) and events or Championships being contested in 2002

Irish National
South East Stages

... and in 2003

West Coast with Johm Kearney, Ford Escort Mk II. We
finished 2nd overall

... and in 2004

West Coast with Johm Kearney, Ford Escort Mk II
Irish National Forestry wth Patrick Elliott, currently lying 5th overall and 3rd Grp N

How could you improve your ‘own’ current performance?

Get more rest before an event, maybe get fit, and improve my own handwriting   

How could you improve your current driver’s performance?

More time in the car.

If you had £50,000 to spend on rallying, what would you do?

Throw one hell of a party!

Your future in rallying

Where would you most like to compete (in the world):

Sweden or Australia

Which rally would you most like to compete in?

Tour of Mull

Which driver(s) would you most like to co-drive for?

Ari Vatanen in a Ford Escort Mk 2

Ambition in rallying for the future:

To continue to enjoy it as much as am now.

What would you like to put back into rallying?

If I ever retire from the hot seat I would like to get more involved in organising events.

The future of rallying

Which up-and-coming rally driver can you recommend?

John Kearney

Which up-and-coming rally co-drivers can you recommend?

Jakes Kelly, Diarmuid Falvey, Greg Shinnors, Brian Duggan  and Paul Nagle - all members of a circle of friends that look out for one another during events.

What would be the best tip you could give to other co-drivers?

Join your local motor club and get to know the rulebook and the way organisers think.

updated 23/5/04 (items marked *)

That's me on the right by the way, wearing the glasses.  The pic was taken after the Clare Rally where Patrick Elliott and I finished second.

Photos courtesy of Ger Leahy

updated 26/9/02