RALLY NEWS NO.5 End of stage 7 - Sunday - Noon


UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 7 Streamhill Bridge

1st (1) Kevin Lynch/Francis Regan (Impreza WRC) 48.11.2
2nd (8) Dominic McNeill/Francis Kenny (Escort WRC) 50.20.8
3rd (11) John Shanahan/Liam McLoughlin (Impreza N) 50.44.4
4th (4) Dermot Kelly/Greg Shinnors (Escort WRC) 50.50.7
mpreza WRC) 51.12.3
7th (10) Adrian McElvaney/Paul Goodman (Impreza) 52.00.5
8th (18) Brian Lawlor/Peter Kavanagh (Escort) 52.03.4
9th (17) Pete Willoughby/Paul Nagle (Lancer N) 52.04.2
10th (7) James Murphy/Con Mulcahy (Escort Cos) 52.08.2

The opening test of this 2nd day of the Cork Forestry Rally left most of the top drivers pretty stunned. It is the longest forest stage of the year, very fast, good surfaces. Kevin Lynch took up where he left off last night with a fastest time, his cause perhaps made easier now with the retirement of Robbie McGurk, the Tyrone man's Subaru reportedly stuck in a ditch halfway through the stage. Dominic McNeill moves up into 2nd, his stage time .2 of a second faster than Dermot Kelly, 15s faster than John Shanahan. Lynch didn't appear too happy at stage finish. Despite his fastest time Kevin was unhappy with the car, feeling that there was something wrong with either the centre or rear differential. Dominic McNeill said he was lifting off ever so slightly on the long straights, as his Escort WRC is blowing a fair bit of oil out of the engine breather, and he wants to try to preserve it as best he can.

John Shanahan, very firmly in control of the Group N situation, felt he didn't drive particularly well in the stage. Dermot Kelly reported that he was flat out, the car is geared high anyway, and as he said himself "The roads are there to do it". When queried about the dust situation, Dermot, and indeed most of the top drivers, reported that it was no real problem, the slight breeze and the open nature of the stage combining to keep it relatively clear. Pat Norris and Kevin O'Kane both reported good runs. Pete Willoughby, 2nd in gpN in the Derrick Jobb Lancer, reported losing a small bit of time on a couple of hairpins, and felt that he had made a wrong tyre choice, picking too hard a compound. Also in Group N, Stephen Moore lost quite a few seconds, his car well down on power because of a broken exhaust. Young Brendan Murphy had a good run in his Impreza, 5s faster than Moore in the stage, and he moves up to 3rd Group N, 11th overall.

James Murphy had a good run, as did Adrian McElvaney, Adrian jumping a few places on the overnight leaderboard. A further retirement would appear to be Kieran Shaw, his Impreza WRC reported to be stopped and parked at the side of the road. John McGlaughlin went well in his GpN Lancer, and he has got ahead of Patrick Elliott. Unofficially, John McGlaughlin will have moved up to 12th overall and 4th Group N, Stephen Moore 5th and Patrick Elliott 6th.

Glenn Allen was 39th overall on the overnight results in his Escort WRC and he set a fabulous time through that long Streamhill Bridge stage, .2 of a second faster than Dominic McNeill, so he will have jumped up many places in the classification. Glenn had a couple of very big moments towards the end of the stage, in and out of ditches at very high speed. Co driver Damian Connolly describing them as "sky moments!"

More news later. BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net