RALLY NEWS NO.3                                     Oldcastle/Sunday 4.15  www.rallynews.net

UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTERE STAGE 2
1st (2) Sean Gallagher/Claire Gallagher (Esc.Cos) 19.37.3
2nd (9) Paul McEnroe/Alan Keenan (Lancer N) 19.44.5
3rd (5) Dominic Loughran/Michael Courtney (Lancer N) 19.45.8
4th (11) Martin Brady/Barry Sheridan (Esc.Cos) 19.53.4
5th (10) Joe Curran/Martin McGarrity (Impreza N) 19.53.7
6th (18) Andrew Browne/Teresa Mulvaney (Impreza N) 20.02.0
7th (8) Michael Curran/Mark McNally (Escort) 20.14.4
8th (4) Enda Keenan/Laura Moffett (Escort) 20.24.4
9th (7) Ollie O'Reilly/Martin Cahill (Escort) 20.24.9
10th (17) John Kelly/Robbie Shaw (Lancer N) 20.31.3

Andrew Browne was fastest through stage 2 in his Group N Impreza, but Sean Gallagher retains the overall lead following 2 solid times.  The battle for 2nd and 3rd is no less intense with just a second separating Paul McEnroe and Dominic Loughran through stage 2nd stage.  Sean Gallagher reported a spin on his run, also very slippy roads with lots of standing water, otherwise no real problem, but more or less driving the road as he sees it. Not depending too much on the notes because of the standing water.  Enda Keenan had a good run through that 2nd stage, he also reported standing water, Enda saying that young Laura Moffett on the notes for the first time is doing a brilliant job, and he was 16s faster than on his first run. 

Quickest 2 wheel drive through stage 2 was Michael Curran.  He wasn't even on the leaderboard after stage 1 following an overshoot, but he certainly made up for lost time on stage 2. That was despite a coming together with one of the chicanes.  Dominic Loughran was held up ever so slightly behind Paul McCann on the 2nd stage, which didn't help Dominic's fight with Paul McEnroe.  McCann had a fairly miserable stage, spinning his Escort Cosworth 3 times and dropping out of the leaderboard. Another expected front runner, Garrett McCullagh, is well off the pace today, his Escort not handling at all. 
Ollie O'Reilly dropped 2 places on the leaderboard on stage 2, Ollie running slick tyres on the back and also taking it a bit easier over the bumps and jumps following a first stage fright. 

Other stories include John Kelly's Lancer got jammed between 2 banks. Joe Curran lost his exhaust pipe.  Basil Stephenson lost a couple of seconds with overshoots and dropped out of the top 10. Martin Brady's Escort Cosworth hit a big puddle of water passing the pub and started to misfire which persisted through most of the junctions for the rest of the stage, did well to hold on to 4th place. John Fitzsimons had a spin in the same place as Pat Donegan went off.  Gary McPhillips lost time when he caught a red Escort which then went up a bank. Kieran McCarron got his Civic back on to 4 cylinders for the 2nd stage and set a much better time. More news later. BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net