RALLY NEWS NO.1 Sligo Park Hotel/Sligo/Sunday 09.00

Good news and bad news to start - No.2 seed Jim Harrison had to withdraw from the rally yesterday just after breakfast here in the Sligo Park Hotel when he when he received the message that his wife Cathy had gone into labour back in Macclesfield. The good news is that Jim was home in time for the birth of his new baby son, who is to be called Stan. Jim's co-driver Harvey Bell, had a private plane on standby at Knock Airport for just such a contingency!

Niall Maguire still starts at No.1 in his quickly rebuilt Impreza WRC. (The car fell on to its roof on the Ravens Rock Rally a couple of weeks ago when Niall was caught out by a flood of water across the road). Patrick Elliott is 2nd on the road, but runs with No.3 on his Elliott Construction Impreza WRC, Patrick had a new engine for the Ravens Rock event, there was a slight hiccup with it, but it has all been double checked and looks A1. Cahal Arthurs in his Hyundai Accent WRC is next up and then Ravens Rock winner Kevin Lynch is next, running with No.5 on his Impreza WRC, but 4th on the road. Kevin, seemingly on the crest of a rally wave at the moment, is tipped by many as a strong favourite this weekend.

Certainly Harrison's withdrawal changes the emphasis of the rally in regard to the Dunlop National Championship, of which this Sligo event is round 6. Harrison is 2nd in the points standings to Niall Maguire, but with Cahal Arthurs, Patrick Elliott, Kevin Lynch and Kevin Barrett not that far away in the points, the door has opened for a change today.

Adrian McElvaney, Daniel Doherty and Ray Breen are all missing from the original published top 10. So Glenn Allen is next on the road, behind Lynch, Glenn driving a Focus WRC from the McGarrity stable instead of his usual Escort WRC. This is a left-hand drive car and it is the first time that Glenn will have driven on the "other" side in competition. He had a test session during the week, enjoyed it, and found the left-hand seat no problem. In the heat of the moment it could be a different story of course. David Armstrong runs with No.10 on his Escort WRC, the Armagh man anxious enough for a top result here in Sligo after a few non-starts recently.

At No.11 there is more than a touch of glamour in George Tracey's fabulous Peugeot 206 WRC. George has French engineers fine-tuning the car, he says it is 'nearly there', but he is waiting for new springs as it is reckoned the car is about 12mm too high. Next up is Sean Gallagher in his new Impreza, then George Robinson in his Escort WRC, then Kevin Barrett with his Triton Showers Impreza WRC. Sean Devine is listed at No.152 in his Impreza WRC, Sean with Brendan Connor co-driving this time, will almost certainly start with the top runners.

At No.17 we have the first of the Group N cars in the shape of Gabriel Martin with his Lancer, then Tubbercurry's Noel McCarrick and Willie Fannin at 18 and 19, both in Group N Subarus. Willie Fannin is the current Dunlop series points leader in the category from Gabriel Martin. Also in the Group N chase will be James O'Sullivan (Lancer) at No.31. O'Sullivan has new Proflex suspension fitted to his car for the first time and is hoping to step up the pace. Dominic McLoughlin is the first of the 2 wheel drive contenders in his Peugeot, and indeed the 2-wheel drive section of the rally should provide its own brand of fireworks. Mac McKenna, Pat Donegan, Enda Keenan, Maurice Moffett and many more should all be in the reckoning and fighting for top 10 positions. Enda Keenan is one of the class leaders in the Border Championship of which this is a counting round. Further changes to entry - non-starters include - Noel Redmond (25): Eamonn Hughes (28): Anthony O'Halloran whose new engine melted a piston while on the dyno on Thursday(29): John Cairns (30): Gavin Harris (32): Paul Gallagher (37): Eddie Kinirons (42): Tim Wilson (44): Change to co-driver include: Sean Moriarty sitting with Enda Keenan. Adrian Deasy with James O'Sullivan. Brendan Connor with Sean Devine. More news to follow. BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net