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RALLY
NEWS NO.1
Rally HQ-Portumna-Sunday
morning
No.1 seed Michael Barrable
surveyed his fabulous Subaru
Impreza WRC as it was checked
over by the scrutineers last
night and told us, " It's
quite a few years since I've
been on the Galway Summer
Rally. I've always enjoyed it
in the past. Even though it
isn't a round of the National
Championship this year, I
decided to give it a blast. It
will be good for me as well to
get more miles in the car. I'm
only really settling in to
it" Dublin car dealer
Michael, who scored an emphatic
win on the Tipperary
Stonethrowers a couple of weeks
ago, continued, "The car
only needed a good check over
after Tipperary, plus we've
fitted new brake discs and
filters. The stages here seem
good, although there are a few
tricky places." The only
fly in Michael's ointment,
apart from the quick men
behind, could be a touch of the
flu. However he has had it all
week so maybe the worst of it
is over.
Behind Barrable is outgoing
National Champion Paul Harris,
the Letterkenny man remarking,
"It's just good to be out
on a rally again. The car has
had a few changes to the
suspension, mostly back to the
original set-up, so hopefully
it will be good. There is some
driving in these stages,
particularly towards the end of
the Rahyconer one""
Third seed JJ Fleming, like
Barrable driving a World Rally
version of the Impreza Turbo,
reported that he hadn't been
near the car his last outing on
the Killarney Lakes. As he
pushed and pulled the myriad of
switches on the Subaru's
fascia, JJ joked, "This is
the first job - trying to
remember what everything does.
I'm sure it will take a few
miles though to get back into
the swing." Patrick
Elliott is next up, the Cavan
man hoping for a good run after
clouting a rear wheel and
corner of his Impreza on the
Stonethrowers, which affected
the car's handling then for the
whole rally. George Cullen is
at 5, with Sean Mullally
co-driving, George only making
sporadic rally outings now and
looking forward to a good
finish to the event. John Spain
rounds off the top half dozen,
his ex McHale Manta showing
signs of a misfire as it was
warmed up for the rally, so
hopefully 'all will be well' on
the day'
Anthony O'Halloran, Philip Shaw
and George Tracey complete the
top ten. No9 Sean Keenan is
missing, overwhelmed with work.
O'Halloran, like John Spain in
a Manta but in a different
class, should go well here.
Philip Shaw should be the MK 2
Escort benchmark, while Tracey
is the top seed in what should
be a fascinating GpN battle.
Tracey's GpN Subaru is state of
the art, but will be under real
pressure from a horde of
Lancer's not least Dominic
Loughran and James Foley seeded
just behind.
There are many drivers seeded
outside the top ten who could
have a bearing on the top
results as well. John Dempsey,
a top finisher here in the
recent past, is seeded back at
27 in his Subaru. Interestingly
his son Paul Dempsey, seeded
back at 91 in his Suzuki, has
transferred from class 1 to 5,
just in case there would be any
hassle at the finish over the
limited slip differential
fitted to his Swift. Further
non-starters include John
Rooney (37), and James Cole
(39). John Folan has had big
disappointment in that a new
Focus that was to arrive from
England hasn't appeared so it
looks like he won't be going.
Ironically John has given his
regular Ford Ka to Excelsior
Motor's Shane Cuniffe who is
00'ing in it and isn't about to
give it back!
There are interesting cars and
drivers throughout the entry
list. Martin Ward is
driving his historic Manta,
Shaun Gallagher is in Adrian
McElhinney's Peugeot for some
last minute practice before the
Ulster Rally, Tom Lawless is
home from the States to compete
in his Civic, Niall McNamara is
moving from his wheelchair to
his Colt, complete with hand
controls. Finally for now, if
you are spectating, stage 2/5/8
finishes several miles short
from what is shown in the
programme. More news after
stage 1 - BRIAN & LIZ
PATTERSON
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