RALLY NEWS NO.5                                Dingle-Sunday 7pm

UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 8 Brandon Creek (Last stage)
1st (2) Niall Maguire/Paul McLaughlin (Impreza WRC) 50.42
2nd (7) Jim Harrison/Harvey Bell (Impreza) 50.42
3rd (5) Liam O'Callaghan/David Hogan (Impreza) 51.10
4th (6) Tim McNulty/Julian Nangle (Impreza) 52.04
5th (9) Donal O'Donovan/Pat Lordan (Celica) 52.08
6th (10) Kieran Shaw/Crawford Henderson (Esc. WRC) 52.25
7th (8) Patrick Elliott/Sean Moriarty (Impreza) 52.34
8th (28) Andrew Stewart/Fabian McShane (Lancer N) 53.15
9th (14) JJ Fleming/Robbie Ward (Impreza WRC) 53.20
10th (18) Sean Gallagher/Liam Costello (Escort Cos) 54.24

There was certainly a dramatic finish to this Circuit of Kerry Rally, with Niall Maguire coming from behind to tie with Jim Harrison, Monaghan man Maguire getting the nod on the tie break rules which state that the fastest on the last stage decides.  The big twist to the situation is that Harrison definitely lost 2 or 3 seconds when he caught up with Tim McNulty whose Subaru had piled into a wall just before the stage finish.  McNulty finished the stage and indeed was 4th overall on the rally, but the front right corner of his Subaru is well smashed.  For Niall Maguire it is still a terrific victory today and increases his lead in the Dunlop National Championship.  For Jim Harrison it is a bit of a heartbreak result. He has been so close many times, led the rally for most of the day, and then to be just pipped on the post once again, his first National victory still eluding him.

Niall Maguire commented at the end "We certainly went really hard over the last couple of stages, no problems, no dramas".  Harrison said "That's rallying, it wasn't Tim's fault, I don't blame him in any way, it was just one of those things that happen".  Third placed Liam O'Callaghan said "I really enjoyed the rally, we seemed to suffer when the temperatures went up, but I drove hard, although not as hard as the guys in front!"  Tim McNulty was relieved to finish 4th and score some points, he reckoned the accident was down to the front tyres losing all their grip as they overheated towards stage finish.  Donal O'Donovan in 5th was slowed towards the end when his Celica again had a water injection problem. While Kieran Shaw in 6th lost time on the penultimate stage when he spun his Escort Cosworth at a hairpin.

Andrew Stewart drove a fine rally to take 8th overall and win the gpN category in his Mitsubishi Lancer, while Anthony O'Halloran finished just outside the top 10 on 54.46 to take the best 2 wheel drive award.  

Finally for now, very well done to Richard & Ann Talbot and all the team from the Kerry MC, plus many other clubs who helped out on the day, for a superbly run rally. Our thanks to all who helped and supported the RallyNews service. BRIAN AND LIZ PATTERSON
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