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RALLY NEWS NO.1 Maghera/Saturday 09.00
Magherafelt Motor Club has gone to extraordinary lengths to make this
Sperrins Rally very special. Proceedings started during the week with wheelbarrow
races down the main street, the rally has had lots of promotion and attracted
drivers from all over the British Isles. Massive resources and manpower have
gone into making the forest tracks as smooth and attractive to the drivers as
possible.
What drivers we have as well……it is a star studded line up. In a somewhat
different twist introduced this year 10 "down the field" drivers will lead the
rally away here from Walsh's Hotel, headed by John Keatley/Dean Beckett in a
Ford RS1600. Behind Keatley is Yorkshire visitor Duncan Percey in his fabulous
Datsun 240Z and then 8 small capacity cars to give the drivers some taste of
what a smooth stage is like at the head of the field. Keatley was in starter
motor problems with his Escort last night, with Greg McCormick helping him out
with a spare unit.
Derek McGarrity is No.1 seed in the ex Austin MacHale Subaru Impreza WRC S7.
Derek had forest suspension flown in for the car on Thursday night, managed
to get it installed and get the car out for a run yesterday, and is well
pleased with it. Kevin Lynch at No.2 drives the same S9 Impreza WRC with which he
won the Munster Middleton rally last Sunday. It has been a remarkable week for
Lynch. He wrecked the Subaru last Friday morning on a Co. Antrim test
session. The car was rebuilt just in time to win the rally. Kevin has a split
coccyx bone at the base of his spine, can hardly sit down, but yet is determined
to compete. Robin Phlips at No.3 is in the David Greer Corolla WRC. Former NI
Champion Robin last competed in the car at Kirkistown a few months ago, so he
is on a bit of a learning curve today. Kieran Shaw at 4 has just had new
forest suspension put in his Subaru, so it will be interesting to see how Kieran
goes, on what could be described as his home territory. Glen Allen at 5 is in
all sorts of problems with his Escort WRC electronic engine brain, he thinks
that it has been at last sorted, just last night, so its fingers crossed for a
good performance. Denis Biggerstaff rounds off the top 6 in his Metro 6R4.
Denis, another former NI Champion, fully admits that the Metro is becoming old
hat in the company of all these world rally cars, but still it is amazing what
the Kinallen man can do in the car. He can never be underestimated.
There are lots of really top drivers outside the leading 6 - James Gillen,
Kevin O'Kane, Gary White and Brian McCloskey make up the top 10. All could
figure in the top results. Interestingly, Brian McCloskey's son Conor is seeded
down at 90 in his Peugeot 206. Conor, 18 years old, is only getting going in
rallying but still won his class in Midleton last week and finished well inside
the top 20.
The Group N category of the event should prove to be a real feature. Raymond
Mason is the highest seed, with drivers such as Jonny McKenna, John
McGlaughlin, Sean Devine, Seamus Donnelly, Stephen Moore, Michael & Dickie Curran and a
whole lot more will surely have a ding-dong battle for top honours. Seamus
Donnelly has changed from the Subaru advertised in the programme to a Lancer
Evo6. He has had a last minute rush to get all sorts of new brakes and
suspension in the car and hopefully all will be well. The highest seeded visitor,
besides Duncan Percie in the Datsun, is Jimmy Christie from Inverness in the ex
Derek Crossan Impreza. This is Jimmy's first rally here. He is an accomplished
driver but will surely be in at the deep end a little. Some changes to entry
list include Martin Hanna sitting with Kevin O'Kane. Philip Morrow was to have
started at 17, his car is not ready, so he is co-driving for Dickie Curran.
Fabian McShane is co-driving for Michael Curran, and not Glen Patterson as
advertised. Craig Bennet was to be at 14 but he had a problem with his Focus WRC
in testing this week and hasn't made the start.
More news later. BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net
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