RALLY NEWS NO.9            Clones Service/Sunday 2pm

UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 11 GARRANROE

1st (4) Andrew Nesbitt/James O'Brien (Impreza WRC) 1.07.12.7

2^ND (1) Derek McGarrity/Dermot O'Gorman (Impreza WRC) 1.07.19.2

3^RD (2) Eugene Donnelly/Paul Kiely (Corolla WRC) 1.07.37.9

4^TH (5) Eamonn Boland/Francis Regan (Impreza WRC) 1.07.53.5

5^th (7) Tim McNulty/Eugene O'Donnell (Impreza WRC) 1.08.50.5

6^th (8) Kevin Lynch/Gordon Noble (Impreza WRC) 1.09.08.2

7^th (3) Austin MacHale/Brian Murphy (Focus WRC) 1.09.15.1

8^th (16) Sean Devine/James McKee (Impreza WRC) 1.10.54.9

9^th (57) Garry Jennings/Rory Kennedy (Lancer N) 1.11.52.2

10^th (17) Willie Fannin/Mick Courtney (Impreza N) 1.14.27.3

Andrew Nesbitt may have lost the lead in stage 8 when he had a coming together with a chicane, but he certainly made for lost time through stages 9 and 10 where he was fastest.   Eugene Donnelly was half a second faster than Nesbitt through stage 11, but Nesbitt was almost 3s quicker than McGarrity.  Andrew commented here at service. “We had a good run, but I was hampered a wee bit when the bonnet pin came loose on 2 stages and the bonnet flapped about. Surprisingly, it is quite slippy in places”.  Derek McGarrity reported no real problems, although there was a certain amount of confusion about his stage 10 time, all now resolved.  Eugene Donnelly said. “We’ve overcome some small problems with the diff and the set up. We thought there was a chance of rain earlier so we got a bit confused about the settings. We have tweaked it all up now. Its difficult to get it right all the time, and anyway I think if you go absolute ten tenths on these stages you run into problems. We need to try and finish”. 

Behind Eugene Eamonn Boland reports no problems, is setting a nice pace, but he’s still just that fraction off the boys in front.  Tim McNulty admits to being far too cautious through stage 9, it all got away from him a bit.  Went pretty well through stages 10 and 11.  Kevin Lynch in 6^th said. “Our last stage wasn’t too good, we stalled at a junction, overall fairly sharp pace.” 

Austin MacHale holds 7^th place but the Dubliner is in all sorts of problems with his Focus.  The fly by wire system seems to have gone wonky, there is a problem with the exhaust manifold and the anti lag system, and there was even a small fire under the bonnet on the way into this service. Austin is not what you would call a terribly happy man, and there is even a chance that they may have to retire the car.  Having said that, it won’t be the first engineering miracle that his man on the spanners, Tom Gahan, will have performed if he gets the car back in full fettle.  What has cheered Austin up a bit is that his son Gareth is still leading the Tipperary Mitchelstown Forestry after 3 stages – more on that below.

Back here on the Circuit, Sean Devine is basically holding station in 8^th, can’t really catch the cars in front, doesn’t want the Group N car of Garry Jennings behind to catch him up.  Garry’s Lancer is sporting a bashed door, evidence of the brake pedal again going to the floor, and the Kesh man flinging the car sideway to slow it down, his progress retarded by a Co. Cavan grass bank. 

Seamus Leonard was 2^nd to Garry in Group N, but Leonard’s Lancer has stopped on the road section into stage 10.  So much for a helicopter flying to Anahilt for a new diff.  Willie Fannin is therefore now into 2^nd gpN in his Impreza, but Willie is also worried about a differential.  Alan Nesbitt has scythed up the top 20 through this morning’s stages, and he is now 3^rd gpN, 12^th overall.  Aaron MacHale is 14^th overall and 4^th gpN with still no power. Conor McCloskey is 5^th gpN and 16^th o/a.  Young Conor is supposedly using this rally for tarmac experience before going to the next round of the Evo Challenge on the Manx National.  Even with that he’s had his dramas – a spin in Stage 11 resulting in spectators having to push the car, open a gate into a field to let him turn around and get going.  Remarkably he only lost about half a minute.

Other stories include – Paddy White dropping a place with a slow time through stage 9, Paddy just not settling into the stage at all. 

Further on the Tipperary Forestry – Gareth MacHale leads by 6s after stage 3 from John MCCarthy.  The latter had a phenomenal time through that 3^rd stage, but that’s where he tests the car.  Pat Norris is 3^rd, Dermot Kelly 4^th.  Dermot has Greg Shinnors co-driving – Greg was co-driving for Roy White on the Circuit yesterday until they retired.  Glenn Allen has switched from the Corolla WRC with which he won the Easter Stages yesterday, to his Escort Cosworth and reportedly had a slow time through stage 3. Adrian McElvaney was 2^nd after stage 1 but has slowed with head gasket problems. Kevin O’Kane reported a misfire and hasn’t appeared into service after stage 3.   

More news later.  BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON  www.rallynews.net