UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 3 Fogo

1^st (2) Mark Higgins/Bryan Thomas (Focus WRC) 20.23.7

2^nd (6) Tim McNulty/Eugene O'Donnell (Impreza WRC) 20.24.3

3^rd (7) Eamonn Boland/Francis Regan (Impreza WRC) 20.38.4

4^th (3) Eugene Donnelly/Paul Kiely (Corolla WRC) 20.49.4

5^th (5) Austin MacHale/Brian Murphy (Focus WRC) 21.03.3

6^th (11) Barry Johnson/Stewart Merry (Impreza WRC) 21.27.6

7^th (4) Derek McGarrity/Dermot O'Gorman (Impreza WRC) 21.35.3

8^th (26) Philip Morrow/Glenn Patterson (Lancer N) 21.55.0

9^th (24) Ryan Champion/Craig Thorley (Lancer N) 22.00.8

10^th (18) Garry Jennings/Rory Kennedy (Lancer N) 22.09.1

It is certainly very tight at the front of this Jim Clark Rally with Mark Higgins fastest on the opening stage and then Derek McGarrity quickest on stages 2 and 3 following his first stage puncture.  Tim McNulty has been just a fraction outside the fastest times, Tim saying that it is all happening so fast inside the car he can hardly drive as fast as the notes!  Mark Higgins told us that he is being really careful, braking early into junctions, finding the grip level very inconsistent.  Derek McGarrity said that his first stage puncture was caused by rocks pulled out on the road by some of the cars in front.  The square left where he got the puncture, his co driver Dermot O’Gorman was shouting “Don’t cut don’t cut”…and Derek was adamant that he didn’t!  Eamonn Boland in 3^rd reports no real problems. While Eugene Donnelly in 4^th feels that he was definitely hampered through stage 3, the bright sun was low in the sky and reflecting badly off the Perspex screen. 

When the thorny subject of tyres was mentioned to Eugene, he didn’t quite clam up, but said “What we have is one step down from what we’d like and in all fairness they worked quite well, but we are getting the correct tyres flown in from Cork tonight”.  Eugene is also hoping to get a windscreen flown down from Glasgow.  Derek McGarrity has a car dealer friend called Buffer who has managed to get a screen out of Auto Windscreens in Glasgow, but because of the traffic jams caused by the G8 Summit Derek has arranged for his helicopter to meet Buffer at Shotts Car Auction outside Glasgow to bring the screen down tonight!

Although Austin MacHale was held up on the first stage behind McGarrity he had a decent enough run through stages 2 and 3, but Austin was quite down in the dumps to discover that his son Gareth had stopped in stage 3.  Gareth’s Corolla WRC suffering an electrical problem. 

Further retirements would appear to include Stuart Jones who we mentioned had had gasket troubles at the end of stage 1.  While Nik Elsmore was coming into the back of the top 10 after the first stage but his lancer has not appeared here into service.

David Higgins is outside the top 10 on a total of 22.42.8, David’s newly built Lancer suffering brake trouble on the first stage which then seemed to affect the centre differential, the car was snapping sideways through stages 2 and 3.  Barry Johnson has a sensor gone in his Impreza WRC clutch mechanism, struggling on. Garry Jennings said that his Lancer is all over the road despite him using the hardest compound tyres you can find. He said he is just concentrating on driving as tidy as he can.  Dougie Hall is well down the order following his first stage puncture and accident.  His total now 24.10.2.  John & Tony Cope are struggling with the handling of their Impreza WRC since their first stage accident and they are also well down the list on 23.39.7.   Ulster driver Craig Bennett is doing well in his Focus despite the fly by wire throttle mechanism having broken and Craig having to revert to a cable, he is on a total of 22.28.6. 

Roy White has picked up the pace following his 1^st stage puncture, but felt the FESP car wasn’t handling too well.  Discovered here at service that the tyre flailing about when it was punctured had cut through a wire to the centre differential. Philip Morrow is in a new Lancer 8.5 for this weekend, one of David Greer’s cars, he is still getting used to it, plus getting used to a new co driver in the shape of Glenn Patterson.  Both have been in the wars as well following a reconnaissance accident. Colm Murphy is just outside the leaderboard in his GpN Impreza on a total of 22.32.6. Richard Gower in the Accent is still going, we said earlier that we missed him at the end of the first stage, Richard is running very late, reason as yet unknown. Barry Clark has lost a lot of time, his Group N Impreza suffering a puncture on the 1^st stage and then was stuck in gear for most of 2 stages. Lorna Smith is going well in her GpN Impreza despite having inflicted a fair bit of damage at the water splash in Langton.

More news later. BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON

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