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RALLY NEWS
NO.15 End of stage 20..Sunday 2pm
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 20 - MOULDY HILL
1st (3) Andrew Nesbitt/James O'Brien (Impreza WRC) 2.24.40
2nd (1) James Cullen/Ellen Morgan (Impreza) 2.27.37
3rd (5) Ian Greer/Dean Beckett (Celica) 2.29.04
4th (9) Frank Meagher/Dermot O'Gorman (Escort WRC) 2.29.20
5th (11) Daniel & Michael Doherty (Impreza) 2.29.44
6th (8) Eamonn Boland/Damien Morrissey (Impreza WRC) 2.30.55
7th (14) Hugh M Doherty/Mike Gibson (Escort WRC) 2.33.12
8th (24) Eugene Donnelly/Paul Nagle (Escort) 2.35.08
9th (30) Brendan Kelly/Sean Harris (Lancer N) 2.40.35
10th (28) Glenn Allen/Adrian Johnston (Escort) 2.40.38
11th (64) Seamus Heron/Sean Devlin (LancerN) 2.40.41
12th (20) Maurice Gass/Geoffrey Orr (Celica) 2.42.42
13th (42) Connie Smith/James Murtagh (Escort Cos) 2.42.54
14th (19) Sean McArdle/Damien Garvey (Celica) 2.42.56
15th (57) Natalie Barratt/Stella Boyles (LancerN)2.43.16
The spotlight at the front this morning is as much on the race
for 3rd place as it is for overall honours. Just seconds
separate Ian Greer, Frank Meagher and Daniel Doherty. Once again
Andrew Nesbitt was fastest on the stage with a time of 8.50,
but just 2s in arreras was Ian Greer in his Taranto de Pol Toyota
with 8.52, and then Frank Meagher and Daniel Doherty tied with
8.56. James Cullen and Eamonn Boland also tied with a time
of 9.02.
James Cullen had fitted new brake discs before that Mouldy Hill
test, and they had not fully bedded in, last year's winner James
losing valuable seconds when the middle pedal of his Tony Kelly
Cars/4 Lanterns Impreza went slightly soft for a while.
Andrew Nesbitt commented at stage finish "We took it steady,
made the right tyre choice, there was quite a bit of loose gravel
in places, and a lot of spectators, but they were well positioned."
Ian Greer told us that he made a slightly slow start through
the tight stuff but went well towards the end. As Daniel
Doherty moves on to his home territory he is putting up a good
show, but modestly commented at stage finish "We didn't
go so bad". Daniel is mixing it with the big boys
now. Eamonn Boland was checking the left hand side of his
Impreza when he reached stage finish. He had a very close encounter
with a bank, but there was no damage.
Hugh Martin Doherty in 7th place has decided to concentrate on
finishing now, as as modified leader Eugene Donnelly in his G3
Bio Clear Escort. Glenn Allen had a torrid time on that
one, suffering a couple of spins. Brendan Kelly and Seamus
Heron in their respective Lancers had a huge battle for gpN supremacy.
They were tied starting the stage and Brendan was 6s quicker
this time. Heron's Lancer suffered some pad knock on.
We reported late yesterday that we had heard that Phillip Shaw
had retired after an accident when lying in 9th place. It transpires
that he got the car into parc ferme last night, and was 62nd
overall. He was re-seeded to start 12th on the road this
morning - but he has crashed far into a field on that Mouldy
Hill test.BRIAN AND LIZ PATTERSON |
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