RALLY NEWS NO.4 Service/near Slieveroe - Sunday - 2pm

UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 4 Barrabehy

1st (11) Kevin Lynch/Gordon Noble (Impreza WRC) 35.53
2nd (1) Niall Maguire/Paul McLaughlin (Impreza WRC) 36.37
3rd (2) Jim Harrison/Harvey Bell (Impreza WRC) 36.51
4th (3) Cathal Arthurs/Jakes Kelly (Accent WRC) 37.05
5th (7) Melvyn Evans/Aled Davies (Impreza WRC) 37.11
6th (6) Patrick Elliott/David Moynihan (Impreza WRC) 37.16
7th (15) Richie Curran/Gerry English (Esc.Cos) 37.34
8th (4) Ray Breen/Andrew Purcell (Impreza WRC) 37.36
9th (14) Kevin Barrett/Barry Goodman (Impreza WRC) 38.26
10th (17) Noel Redmond/Diarmuid Falvey (Impreza WRC) 38.27
11th (9) Denis Cronin/Helen O'Sullivan (Celica) 38.43

Through stages 3 and 4 Kevin Lynch was again fastest. On stage 3, Mooncoin, the Dungiven man recorded a time of 8.06. Melvyn Evans was 8.08. Cathal Arthurs 8.12 and Niall Maguire 8.13. On stage 4 Lynch was 9.23. Maguire 9.37. Jim Harrison 9.40. Cathal Arthurs 9.51. Melvyn Evans well back on 9.53. Lynch and Maguire have been consistent through the 4 stages, several of the other top drivers have been up and down the time sheets. Kevin Lynch commented here at service "No problems, going well, but I lost about 2 pints of fluid, sweat out of my head!" Niall Maguire stalled the car at one point and lost a few seconds. Jim Harrison still has gear change difficulties. Cathal Arthurs' slow time on stage 4 was possibly accounted for by brushing a wall in a farmyard. Ray Breen was in a bit of a rush into service having changed a punctured tyre after stage 4, lost little time. Patrick Elliott was a bit slow on 4 also, having stalled his Subaru at a chicane, let Kevin Lynch past him, so as not to hold him up.

023 Tiles Championship points leader Johnny O'Sullivan is lying just outside the top 10 on 39.08. Johnny saying it just wouldn't flow. Melvyn Evans said "Its hard to get on the right tyres, we're going well now, but I need to go up a bit more". Kevin Barrett is having a good steady run, as is Richie Curran and Noel Redmond.

In Group N Alan Ring continues to lead on a total of 38.44, and that is despite a bit of an accident at a right hand corner, possibly distracted by Kieran O'Callaghan who had crashed there seconds earlier and was stuck. The passenger side of Ring's Impreza bore superficial damage but little time was lost. We did suspect that Sebastian Ling would take the Group N lead but his Impreza blew its turbo on stage 3, he was last reported driving very slowly through the stage and we don't know if he made it through stage 4. James O'Sullivan had a good time through stage 4 but his gpN Lancer is suffering a damaged rear suspension arm. Fastest time we have in gpN for the stage is Gabriel Martin on 10.10. O'Sullivan was 10.11 and Ring 10.12.

Fastest of the 2 wheel drive teams we have so far is Ollie O'Reilly on 39.31 in an Escort. Eamonn Murphy, also in an Escort, is 40.02. David James 40.19. James Coleman, finding no grip with his Escort, 40.46. Paul Mulcahy in the Starlet lost some time when his wipers broke on stage 4. David Long's Sierra went on to 3 cylinders on his home stage, past his own house, his total now 40.23.

More news later. BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON (with thanks to Brian Duggan)
www.rallynews.net