RALLY NEWS NO.1
Enniskillen/Good Friday ….late
The Circuit of Ireland has a very
special significance, so much so that whatever happens this weekend,
it will once again go down in the annals of rallying history . No
matter who wins, or if Derek McGarrity scores a unique treble, if
Eugene Donnelly increases his Championship lead, or Austin MacHale
or Andrew Nesbitt recapture their winning form, or Kevin Lynch or
Tim McNulty score their first Pirelli Tarmac Championship win,
or….or ….or, it will be special, another Easter Classic!
There is a new sponsor this year in
the shape of Meteor Electrical, there’s a new ‘SuperSpecial’ set-up
at St Angelo and most of the stages, under the direction of Neill
Malcolm, are new or revamped. The Circuit may not be the same as the
old five day haul around Ireland, but even with its Enniskillen
central base and shorter, sharper format, it’s a tough, tough rally.
First cars on the road will be the
Easter Stages division, headed by Kieran Shaw in his Mitsubishi,
followed by Glenn Allen in a new Corolla WRC, and then Denis
Biggerstaff in his Subaru. Special interest in the Easter Stages
line up will be Dickie Curran/Gary Lyons in a Subaru WRC. Dickie, a
top man in a GpN car, is pretty stunned at how hard the WRC machine
is to master!
In NI Championship terms,
drivers such as Raymond Johnston in his Impreza WRC on home ground,
could go for maximum points, current champion Kevin Lynch having
opted out of the Easter Stages to do the main Circuit. The Easter
Stages start at 08.15 and the drivers will do 9 stages, whereas the
main Circuit starts at 10.00, the drivers do 7 Saturday stages and
then go on to do another 16 over the course of Sunday/Monday.
Derek McGarrity has won the Circuit
for the last 2 years and the Glengormley man leads the main field
away this time. He has been campaigning a Skoda WRC so far this
year, but reverts to the formula which has served him so well over
the last couple of years, a Subaru Impreza WRC running on Pirelli
tyres. The ex Andrea Navarra car visited Prodrive on the way over
from Italy, and a small engine problem resulted in a new unit being
fitted. This meant Derek had to sort the suspension out this
morning from Italian to Irish specification. It went well, and he is
delighted with the car.
Eugene Donnelly said at scrutiny “I’m
wild happy with the car – we discovered a few wee problems after
Mayo – that’s all sorted, ready to go!” Austin MacHale got his Focus
WRC through scrutiny early, went out towards Gerry McGarrity’s at
Irvinestown and was reportedly burning a lot of Pirelli rubber out
there getting the car set up to perfection! Andrew Nesbitt is
reportedly well pleased with his McKinstry Subaru, although the
former Champion is adamant he will take it handy for the first few
stages as he gets back into the way of things following an 8 month
lay-off. If you believe that!!! Eamonn Boland is at 5 and reports
all well, Peadar Hurson is at 6 and tells us that his Subaru has
been more or less completely rebuilt since his stirring drive on the
Galway.
More or less all the leading crews
report themselves and their cars ready and raring to go. First
change to the programme published entry list is Gareth MacHale shown
at No.10, but he has opted to do the Mitchelstown Forestry on
Sunday. Seamus Leonard is slotted in tenth on the road in his
Lancer, but running with 58 on the car. Garry Jennings has Rory
Kennedy co-driving. Young Gareth Jones has Craig Parry on the notes.
Sean Devin has James McKee and Paddy White has Graham Stewart. Car
23 Shaun Gallagher withdrew his entry. While Eugene Ferry was
refused a start following a breach of regulations. There are 3
lady drivers in the rally – Emma McKinstry, Emily O’Mahony and
former Ladies Champion Aisling Dooris. Fisher Foundation winner
Emily O’Mahony is, along with her father Frank and brother Brian,
raising funds for the Temple Street Children’s Hospital. Frank
drives a McKinstry Impreza WRC at No.19 and Brian a Ford Puma
running at 34. Aisling, co-driven by Wendy Blackledge, which makes
them the only full ladies crew, almost didn’t make the start having
fallen off a 40 foot truck she was livering on Wednesday. Final
mention for now goes to possibly the oldest active rally competitor
in the British Isles, Ernest McMillen, who is 75 years old, and
starts at 56 with Dessie McGlade co driving in a Suzuki Swift. More
news later. BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net
