Billy Coleman

Billy Coleman is an Irish motorsport rally driver. Nicknamed ''Millstreet Maestro'', Billy Coleman is Ireland's most successful motorsport rally driver and in twenty years of racing has claimed 29 victories, including a number of British Rally Championship and Irish Tarmac Rally Championship titles. He is the older brother of John Coleman who was a Gaelic footballer.

Life and career

Billy Coleman is a farmer native to Millstreet, County Cork, where he still resides. He developed an interest in cars from an early age, reminiscing how his father let him steer the car sitting on his knee at the age of five. His father Paddy Coleman was the local Ford main dealer and owned a motor garage in Millstreet. Spending time at his father's garage further nurtured Coleman's early interest in cars. Coleman studied commerce in University College Cork, but preferred farming as his occupation, and undertook it full time after finishing up his racing career. His first racing car was Ford Cortina which Coleman drove in 1967. In 1969 a crashed Ford Escort was acquired, repaired and converted into a rally car. It was in this car (a self-prepared green Ford Escort Mark I; TIU 250) in 1969, that Coleman won the special stage ahead of the works Ford Escort of Roger Clark. Coleman dominated the rallies in Ireland and Britain the 1970s and 1980s. He has also been seen in international arena, including in Corsica and Monte Carlo. In his racing career, Coleman drove Ford Cortina, Ford Escort, Alpine-Renault, Lancia Stratos, Fiat-Abarth 131, Opel Manta 400, Porsche 911, Porsche 959, MG Metro 6R4 and BMW M3. Coleman's two sons, Robby Coleman and Gordon Coleman, also take part in Irish and British racing events.

Legacy

RTÉ Sports Hall of Fame Award

In 2006, Coleman was awarded RTÉ Sports Hall of Fame Award for his achievements in rallying.

DVD

Coleman features in the ''Tarmac Titans'' DVD series on rally legends.

Young driver of the year award

The Billy Coleman Young Driver of the Year Award was conceived in 2000 in a partnership between Motorsport Ireland, Sport Ireland and Team Ireland. The aim of the award is to "motivate young Irish rally drivers to step up into the international arena and rival the achievements of the young Billy Coleman".

Influence

Irish-American billionaire, philanthropist, life-long motorsports supporter John Campion attributed much of his motivation to succeed to Billy Coleman's achievements as a rally driver. Campion supported the launch of the Team Ireland Foundation in Dublin in 2016, where in his speech he said:

As a young boy in Cork I found myself struggling with school and at a loss as to what I would do with my life. But I always felt a bond with motorsport after witnessing Billy Coleman, a farmer who became a world rallying icon, competing near my home in Cork. After seeing Billy rallying I realised then that if you put your mind to it, you could achieve anything.

John Campion emigrated to United States where he become the chairman and CEO of an international energy corporation, and a philanthropist focusing on health, education and nutrition as well as sponsor of racing drivers through the his motorsports organization CJJ Motorsports. In his possession Campion had a collection of Lancia rally cars, inspired by Lancia Stratos HF driven by Billy Coleman in 1978.

Racing record

Between his active racing years 1968 to 1987, Billy Coleman started in 128 national and international rally events and claimed 29 victories.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Billie
Living people
1948 births
Irish rally drivers
European Rally Championship drivers
World Rally Championship drivers
People from Millstreet
Motorsport people from County Cork