RALLY
NEWS NO.5 Service/Oranmore/Saturday 3.30
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 6 Ballybuck
1st
(1) Austin MacHale/Brian Murphy (Focus WRC ) 46.02.1
2nd
(2) Eugene Donnelly/Paul Kiely (Corolla WRC) 46.06.2
3rd
(8) Peadar Hurson/Glenn Patterson (Impreza WRC) 46.42.1
4th
(3) Derek McGarrity/Dermot O'Gorman (Fabia WRC) 46.43.8
5th
(4) Eamonn Boland/Francis Regan (Impreza WRC) 47.04.0
6th
(5) Tim McNulty/Eugene O'Donnell (Impreza WRC) 47.38.8
7th
(15) Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Corolla WRC) 47.42.7
8th
(11) Denis Cronin/Helen O'sullivan (Impreza WRC) 47.51.2
9th
(25) Colm Murphy/Ger Loughrey (Impreza N) 48.09.0
10th
(6) Kevin Lynch/Gordon Noble (Impreza WRC) 49.02.3
Austin
MacHale has taken over the lead of this First Choice Flooring Galway
International Rally on this 6th stage, Ballybuck,
following difficulties for Eugene Donnelly and Kevin Lynch. Lynch
had been 2nd after stage 4 and making a real charge, but
then his Impreza broke a fan belt and he lost, not just power from
the alternator but also the power steering. Lynch did well to stay
in the top 10. We mentioned on the last Rally News that Eugene
Donnelly’s Corolla had brake troubles through stage 4. This
transpired to be a front brake disc, which meant that Eugene had to
traverse stages 5 and 6 with rear brakes only. He commented
“Whenever it first happened, over the top of the mountain in stage
4, I got a terrible scare, it’s every driver’s nightmare. I was
shaking after the stage. I managed OK through stages 5 and 6 where
it was dry but anywhere it was wet the back end of the car was
trying to pass the front.”
Austin
MacHale commented. “We’ve been keeping it quick and steady, the
tyres are working really well”. Peadar Hurson dropped a few seconds
through stage 6 when his Impreza developed a gear change problem,
but otherwise Peadar has been flying. Eamonn Boland had a slight
excursion in stage 5, on a right hander. Tim McNulty is now starting
to get into the groove, only a few seconds off the fastest time
through stage 6, and that is how he got ahead of Gareth MacHale.
Gareth has had no real problems. Jonny Milner is still running, but
very late, following his brake problems and is well down the
classification.
In Group N
Colm Murphy has a very good lead, although interestingly Seamus
Leonard was a second faster through stages 5 and 6, but Leonard
still ruing getting held up behind Willie Fannin’s struggling Subaru
in stage 4. We did report that Willie’s Impreza had a turbo
problem, this was incorrect, it turned out he had a puncture and
damaged the rear suspension set up. Paul Dempsey lost 2 minutes
with his first stage puncture but then dropped another 4 when he
went to John Spain’s assistance after he crashed his Manta.
Otherwise Paul is setting good times. Also well on the pace is Roy
White in his new Lancer, swapping seconds with Leonard, but of
course Roy is well down the field following his stage 3 dramas.
Garry Jennings made a slow enough start but he has woken up now and
was only a second slower than Leonard through stage 6. Alan Nesbitt
is further back, still coming to grips with his new Impreza N11.
In the
Modified section of the rally Donegal man Paul Gallagher with Karl
Reid on the pace notes has got his Corolla in front with Wesley
Patterson next up in his Escort and then Anthony O’Halloran in his
Manta. There has been an accident in stage 4 when a 19 year old
youth received a lower leg injury. The young man has been taken to
hospital.
More news
later. BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net
