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RALLY NEWS
NO.4
Clonakilty/Saturday/ 3pm
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 4 Aghyohill
1st (3) Donie O'Sullivan/Paul Nagle (Focus WRC) 39.35.4
2nd (5) Liam McCarthy/Kieran Murphy (Corolla WRC) 40.11.2
3rd (9) Denis Cronin/Helen O'Sullivan (Celica) 40.34.0
4th (11) Phil Collins/Howard Davies (Escort) 41.09.6
5th (24) Kieran O'Callaghan/Denis O'Donovan (Lancer N) 41.11.1
6th (1) Melvyn Evans/Marc Jones (Impreza WRC) 41.30.4
7th (26) Willie Fannin/Michael Coleman (Impreza N) 41.34.6
8th (14) Johnny O'Sullivan/Pat Cashman (Escort WRC) 41.40.0
9th (7) Steve Fleck/Patrick Walsh (Impreza) 41.54.5
10th (39) Gwyndaf Evans/Alan Davies (Escort) 42.08.8
Donie O'Sullivan in the Bio-Clear Focus WRC was really flying through stages 3
and 4 and quite a bit faster than his closest rivals. When Donie arrived
here at service in Clonakilty he observed "We lost a few seconds at the
start of stage 4 when I stalled the engine, but the car is going well, although
we're not on an international pace, but still going pretty quick. Despite the
weather the first of the 2 stages was pretty clean, but the 2nd one was holding
some water". Melvyn Evans said "I'm hoping it will dry out, the
damping is not right, especially in the wet. We had a spin there at the hairpin
in stage 4, I'm not having the best of days". The Welshman went on to
say that the problem with the suspension is that the struts need re-bushed and
rebuilt. Liam McCarthy felt that he should have had a more open tyre, he
was finding mud in places pulled out from cars on the first loop. Denis
Cronin in the Celica said he felt really comfortable in stage 4, he is getting
the same type of confidence and the same feel as he had in the BMW.
Maurice Gass crashed on stage 3 and held up a lot of the following cars. Maurice
and co driver Andrew Cullen as far as we are aware, uninjured. Phil Collins has
softened the suspension on his Escort, reckons the car is handling a bit better,
more predictably, but at the same time Phil recounted "We still had a few
big moments over the gravel, 5th gear sideways, even unsettled your man Howard
here!"
Johnny O'Sullivan is going well despite having no alternator, Johnny made do
with charging the battery at service. 023 Tiles man James O'Sullivan arrived off
stage 4 with all the differential lights flashing on his Lancer, doesn't know
what is wrong but it does not look good. Fastest Group N through that
stage 4 was Willie Fannin, 1s up on Kieran O'Callaghan, but the latter of course
still holds the advantage in GpN. Gabriel Martin, running with 169 on his
Lancer, is starting to set some very quick gpN times. Munster Joinery man Alan
Ring is on a total of 43.26.7 as he settles in to his new series 10 Impreza.
In the battle for the Mk2 Escorts Phil Collins is still the man. Willie McCarthy
has lost 5th gear in his Mk2. Tom Randles is recovering from earlier
alternator troubles and not that far out of the hunt. Gwyndaf Evans has crept
into the top 10, his Escort is going well, but Gwyndaf isn't. He reckons
he has possibly broken his thumb in some way when the steering wheel kicked back
on a stage 4 hairpin. Hard man that he is, he is not giving up. We hear
that English visitor James Hoseason has put his 6R4 into a ditch but got going
despite some damage, and Tadgh Lenihan put his Lancer off the road avoiding the
Metro 6R4. James has brought the Metro into service but has decided to retire.
The reason for John Morgan's retirement was a damaged clutch on stage 1, now
fixed and hoping for a Sunday Run. Shane Branniff pushed his Hyundai into 1st
service after the engine stalled constantly on stage 2. Emily O'Mahony is
having a difficult time settling into her Puma in today's slippery conditions.
Con Randles is settled into his new Kit Car Nissan Almeira, the engine has a bit
of a misfire and he is finding the sequential change a fair handful. David Parle,
normally a class winner here, has suffered some delay following stage 1
punctures. More news later. BRIAN AND LIZ PATTERSON
www.rallynews.net
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