1^st Ken McKinstry/Noel Orr (Subaru) 40.23.5

2^nd David Mann/Alun Cook (Subaru) 40.47.3

3^rd Steve Hendy/Mark Milton (Esc. Cos) 41.46.1

4^th Steve Hill/Andrew Bargery (Lancer) 41.48.9

5^th Warren Philliskirk/Eurig Evans (6R4) 41.51.0

6^th Steve Fleck/George Thaw (Subaru) 42.05.1

7^th Mark Perrott/Garry Mansell (Escort WRC) 42.07.9

8^th Steve Petch/John Richardson (Hyundai) 42.21.1

9^th Charlie Payne/Craig Thorley (Lancer) 42.24.7

10^th Peter Stephenson/Stephen McAuley (Subaru) 42.38.4

The sting went out of the battle for the lead somewhat with the news that Mark Perrott had spun his Escort WRC in St Leonards, the engine would not restart, dropping him from 2^nd to 7^th at a fell swoop, as the seconds ticked by. Kenny McKinstry was in buoyant mood as he arrived in here to service, his co driver Noel Orr commenting about their two fastest times through the St Leonards stages.."We kept it neat and tidy". McKinstry himself said "Yes, it’s going well, I clipped a chicane at one point but happily there’s no damage". David Mann came within a hairsbreadth of equalling McKinstry’s times through stage 9, so the race certainly isn’t over, but with 7 stages remaining David will be hard pressed to close the 24s gap to the similar Subaru in front. Steve Hendy has done well to move into 3^rd and that is despite the fact that he doesn’t feel quite at home in the forests, but he iscertainly staying consistenly on the pace.

Mark Perrott said of his spin…"It was past the crop circles at the karting track in St Leonards, the car went loose and then slid into the mud. Heaven and earth wouldn’t restart the engine and I knew that 2 cars had passed me, so we were down well over a minute before the engine fired up again". Brian Bell in the Focus WRC is lying just outside the leaderboard, another spin in stage 9 not helping his cause but basically still going very well. Steve Hill overshot the "bus stop" somewhat in stage 9 and just drove his Lancer over the retaining wall, the 2 feet drop doing no damage.

Further retirements include…Ian Freestone in the works Skoda, gone, as is Andy Burton in the Peugeot/Cosworth, both with mechanical problems. We reported earlier that Ollie O’Donovan was struggling towards service, his Legacy low on oil, as it transpired, the London based Limerick man, boss of Shannon The Civil Engineers, was forced to pull the car to a halt. His stage times were showing him approx. 7^th overall at the time.In the gpN category after stage 7 Jeremy Easson has moved into the lead in his Mitsubishi Lancer from Dave Wood in theSubaru with Andrew Hadden 3^rd, Will Nicholls 4^th and Kevin Stevens 5^th. TV F1 pundit Tony Jardine reports some problem with his Lancer’s clutch but still going strong, while Louise Goodman is also going well in her Peugeot 106, Louise commented "We’re not going too bad, the last time we went out on a rally my enthusiasm overcame my expertise so this time I’m being a bit more cautious. I like to finish rallies, not spend all the money and then do 2 stages". More news later…BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON

ã 2002 www.rallynews.net (Patterson Agencies). All rights reserved. Unauthorised duplication is a violation of applicable laws. Last update24/02/02 00:51:09