RallyNews No5 Manx International Rally

MANX TAILS NO.5 Jurby-service-Friday 11.45am

UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 7 - Brandywell
1st (15) Mark Higgins/Craig Thorley (Corolla WRC) 52.22.3
2ND (14) Jonny Milner/Nicky Beech (Corolla WRC) 52.45.2
3RD (16) Andrew Nesbitt/James O'Brien (Impreza WRC) 54.49.6
4TH (11) David Higgins/Daniel Barritt (Impreza N) 55.17.9
5TH (1) Justin Dale/Andrew Bargery (Peugeot) 55.54.0
6TH (17) Eamonn Boland/Francis Regan (Impreza WRC) 55.56.9
7TH (20) Alistair Ginley/Rory Kennedy (Lancer N) 57.43.9
8TH (21) Trevor Cathers/D.Wilson (Lancer N) 57.51.1
9TH (31) Dickie Curran/Gary Lyons (Lancer N) 58.12.8
10TH (23) Robert Watson/Sean Crellin (Impreza) 58.14.4

The Brandywell stage was the arena for Jonny Milner to turn in a stunning stage time - through the fog and torrential rain the Pirelli British Championship leader was 12s faster than Mark Higgins, and a full 17 up on Tarmac Champion Andrew Nesbitt. Jonny would appear to have had just the right tyres for the occasion, with neither Mark Higgins or Andrew Nesbitt reporting any real problem for the stage.

David Higgins as ever was highly impressive in his gpN Barretts Impreza and continues to lead the gpN category, at the moment unchallenged.

Super 1600 leader Justin Dale told us "I made a bit of a push in there, it was so slippy and I had a couple of moments. We were pulling over 100 miles an hour following the white line, 6th gear stuff, and couldn't see more than 20 or 30 metres." Justin's Peugeot team mate Rory Galligan did not fare quite so well, caught out on a 5 left and the 206 slid into the ditch, with not a spectator to be seen in the rain or fog to help the lads pull the beached car out. Rory dropped 10 minutes in the mayhem.

We reported on the last RallyNews that Kris Meeke had lost a couple of minutes. The reason was that his Puma would not start before the stage control and Kris tried all the wires and bit and pieces to try to get it to go. It eventually fired up, Kris started the stage, but then his Puma's bonnet blew open, smashing the screen and bending the bonnet pins, which gave the 2 Ulster lads a terrible job re-locating it - all the time stage seconds slipping away. Stuart Darcy is in the wars again - apart from his Puma's clutch slipping, the fire extinguisher went off at the start of the stage. David Henderson was lucky to only lose a few seconds when his Puma broke a drive shaft at the chicane on the way down Brandywell. Simon Hughes had 2 spins in the Clio, power steering trouble not helping. Robert Watson has improved his position, but not by as much as the Manxman would have wanted, his Subaru screen misting up. Guy Woodcock in the RS2000 had wiper trouble in the heavy rain. Alan McMahon has reportedly put his Integra on it's side into a field on West Baldwin. Just outside the leaderboard now we have Martin Sansom in the 106 in 11th. Paul Alexander in the Promax prepared Lancer Evo7 setting some very respectable gpN times, despite ongoing 2nd gear trouble. Nigel Cannell is 13th, Guy Woodcock 14th, Steve Petch 15th. More news later. BRIAN AND LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net