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RALLY NEWS
NO.6 Finish..Sunday 6.30
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 8 - LAST STAGE
1st (1) Niall Maguire/Paul McLaughlin (Impreza) 1.04.11
2nd (6) Donal O'Donovan/Pat Lordan (Celica) 1.04.50
3rd (14) Tim McNulty/Julian Nangle (Celica) 1.06.25
4th (8) Hugh Dunne/Mike Gibson (Legacy) 1.07.20
5th (11) Tommy Graham/Anthony Nestor (Escort Cos) 1.07.52
6th (26) Dessie Keenan/Laura Keenan (Escort) 1.09.34
7th (158) Ollie O'Donovan/David Moynihan (Escort F2) 1.09.44
8th (18) Patrick Elliott/Martin Cahill (Lancer N) 1.09.56
9th (44) Ed O'Callaghan/Nigel Shanahan (Escort) 1.10.22
10th (24) Mick Moloney/Bob Kelly (Escort) 1.10.47
Niall Maguire stamped his authority on this Circuit of Munster
Rally early on and despite one very big moment in stage 6 the
Monaghan man maintained his lead to the end, and reinforces his
Dunlop Championship position. Donal O'Donovan set several
fastest times on his way to 2nd place, while Tim McNulty kept
it all together during the day to score 3rd.
There were several dramas towards the end of the rally.
Paul Harris had been 2nd but his Subaru ground to a halt with
further engine troubles. Denis Cronin saw another good
results, and valuable championship points, disappear when his
BMW's throttle system broke. The biggest drama, however, surrounded
Ray Breen. His Subaru was badly damaged in an accident
at junction 3, over the crossroads, in stage 8, Slieve Felim
Way. Happily, there are no reported injuries to Ray or
co-driver John Purcell.
Niall Maguire climbed from his Subaru here at the Woodlands Hotel
and joked "I'm getting too old for this. It was a good rally,
but a tough one. I left my braking far too late in stage 6, it
was wet and greasy, and the car shot up a bank on a 6 left 6
right, bursting 2 wheels. We were lucky to get away with
it and only lose about 10 seconds."
Patrick Elliott forged through to win group N, Patrick and co
driver Martin Cahill, delayed for a minute on the first stage,
and then were involved in a day long race with the similar Mitsubishis
of English visitor Jon Tainton and Kieran Molloy. Dessie
Keenan also overcame first stage problems to produce a superb
driver in unfamiliar territory to the young Monaghan man, not
only taking a top 10 place but winning class 12. Other
stories towards the end included - Kevin Barrett being delayed
with a puncture. Hugh Dunne was in and out of a ditch on the
last stage. Tommy Graham suffered another puncture in his Escort
Cosworth. Stephen Carway was held up in the last stage behind
Kevin Barrett and also Ray Breen's accident. Looking back slightly,
Ed Synan's retirement was down to an electrical problem. Anthony
O'Halloran's retirement was due to running out of fuel. Rory
O'Connor finished just outside the leaderboard after several
problems towards the end. Many thanks to all at Limerick MC for
a superb day's rallying...BRIAN AND LIZ PATTERSON
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