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RALLY NEWS NO.7 Dolgellau - Sunday 1pm
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 8 TALIESIN (LAST STAGE)
1st (1) Jonny Milner/Nicky Beech (Impreza WRC) 1.45.18.5
2ND (3) Austin MacHale/Brian Murphy (Focus WRC)1.46.22.7
3RD (2) David Higgins/Craig Thorley (Accent WRC) 1.46.45.0
4th (6) Paul Bird/Andrew Bargery (Focus WRC) 1.47.45.2
5th (7) Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin (Focus WRC) 1.48.37.6
6th (4) Steve Perez/Daniel Barritt (Focus WRC) 1.49.37.2
7th (16) Kris Meeke/Chris Patterson (Corsa)1.49.46.6
8th (57) Julian Reynolds/Ryland James (Impreza WRC) 1.50.09.2
9th (5) Barry Johnson/Stewart Merry (Impreza WRC) 1.50.09.5
10th (30) Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh (Ignis) 1.50.32.4
11th (8) Dorian Rees/Patrick Walsh (Impreza N) 1.52.37.0
12th (15) Jon Ingram/Mark Lewis (Impreza WRC) 1.54.52.2
Jonny Milner and co driver Nicky Beech ran out the winners of this Rally of
Wales International by more than a minute, to put their Pirelli British
Championship hopes back on course. Overnight rally leader David Higgins was very
disappointed to get 2 punctures today and finish only 3rd. Higgins' first
puncture was in Hafren when he drove 8 miles on a flat front tyre, then on the final
stage, Taliesin, when he was making a charge for Austin MacHale's 2nd place,
his Hyundai punctured again. Same front left corner. The frustrating thing
for Higgins was that he picked a safe tyre for today. Milner commented "We kept
our noses clean today, I always felt it could have been decided by punctures,
as it always has been. " David Higgins' co driver Craig Thorley said "I've
had better days!" David pointed out "I can't understand what has caused the
punctures, I was definitely not cutting corners". 2nd placed Austin MacHale
said "Happy enough with the result, it's a long time since I've been in Wales,
and I'm delighted for my son Aaron to have finished 2nd group N. I was a bit
disappointed on the first stage this morning. Jonny Milner got a 2 minute gap
and so avoided the dust, but the organisers wouldn't give us the same".
Behind Higgins it was Paul Bird in 4th place after a good run in his Focus
WRC. Then young Matthew Wilson having survived 2 punctures today and a very high
speed trip backwards into a hairpin, also felt his car wasn't handling the
best after his stage 6 puncture. Steve Perez in the Vodka Kick Focus WRC was
suffering from a cold all weekend, felt as well his car was a bit loose this
morning, so was happy enough with 6th. Jon Ingram was having a good run and
heading for a top 10 place, but his Impreza got stuck in 3rd gear for the last 2
stages and was lucky to make the finish in 12th.
Young Kris Meeke again showed a lot of class in winning the Super 1600
category in his little Corsa, Kris saying "I'm quite happy, took it steadier today,
learning all the time, it gave us a lot of confidence for the Acropolis".
Interestingly his co driver Chris Patterson is being whisked off by Colin McRae
in his helicopter to catch a flight out of Manchester to start a recce early in
the morning for the Jordan Rally. Guy Wilks was 2nd in Super 1600 after a
good battle with Meeke, Guy right up with the fastest super 1600 times today.
Gareth Jones was surprised to find himself 3rd S1600 after a rally where he
struggled all the way with poor handling on his Clio. The result puts Gareth
leading the S1600 in the Pirelli BRC.
On a sad note, Gareth's engineer Geoff Jones was knocked down by another
vehicle at the refuelling halt outside Sweet Lamb. Geoff is in hospital, we
believe with minor head injuries.
In Group N Dorian Rees scored victory, both in the category and in the
Prodrive Subaru Cup. Aaron MacHale was 2nd gpN in his Lancer and Robert Gough 3rd.
The 2 lady drivers, Jenni-Lee Hermansson and Lorna Smith retired their
Imprezas. Jenni-Lee's example touched a bank in Sweet Lamb, the car was unbalanced and
rolled to a halt against a tree. Lorna's example lost drive at the end of
the stage.
In the Fiat Stilo Cup Chris Davies won despite a scare on stage 8 when the
cooling fan didn't click in. Will Bonniwell was 2nd, Paul Tod 3rd. Joan Roca was
struggling to the finish with some mechanical problems. Bonniwell also
struggled, his power steering not working since parc ferme this morning.
Finally for now, well done to the great team of organisers who put this Rally
of Wales International back on track. Many thanks to all who helped and
supported the RallyNews service. BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net
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