UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 10 AYTON
1st
(2) Mark Higgins/Bryan Thomas (Focus WRC) 1.06.15.6
2nd
(6) Tim McNulty/Eugene O'Donnell (Impreza WRC) 1.06.32.2
3rd
(7) Eamonn Boland/Francis Regan (Impreza WRC) 1.07.46.2
4th
(3) Eugene Donnelly/Paul Kiely (Corolla WRC) 1.07.46.9
5th
(4) Derek McGarrity/Dermot O'Gorman (Impreza WRC) 1.07.55.9
6th
(5) Austin MacHale/Brian Murphy (Focus WRC) 1.09.09.3
7th
(26) Philip Morrow/Glenn Patterson (Lancer N) 1.11.29.9
8th
(15) Rory Galligan/Greg Shinnors (Lancer N) 1.11.37.6
9th
(24) Ryan Champion/Craig Thorley (Lancer N) 1.12.01.8
10th
(18) Garry Jennings/Rory Kennedy (Lancer N) 1.12.37.3
11th
(21) Craig & Roger Bennett (Focus WRC) 1.12.44.8
12th
(40) Stephen Petch/Michael Wilkinson (Impreza N) 1.12.50.1
On stage
9 Eyemouth Derek McGarrity was fastest overall with Mark Higgins
half a second faster than Tim McNulty. On stage 10 McNulty was 2s
up on Higgins. It is that close at the front, swapping seconds,
while the battle for 3rd between Donnelly and Boland is
no less intense. However, the top 2 have opened up a fair gap on
the rest. Mark Higgins commented on his way into service. “We had
a wee bit of a problem with the throttle going very stiff on stage
10, otherwise everything is OK”. When Tim McNulty emerged from
his Pierse Construction backed Subaru he was saying very little,
but clutching his stomach, and the pained look on his face said it
all. His co driver Eugene O’Donnell said about just what a
difficult time Tim is having with very severe stomach cramps.
Through it all he is driving like a hero and the car showing no
problems. Interestingly, Glenn Patterson, co driving for Phillip
Morrow, and who can hardly walk himself he is in so much pain,
came up to see how Tim was. Glenn is a pharmacist in Stranraer
and quickly wrote down the name of a medication that someone could
nip down to Greenlaw and get.
Eugene
Donnelly had been 3rd this morning but a trip into a
barley field at the end of a long straight in Ayton didn’t do his
stage time any good at all. Co driver Paul Kiely told us that he
scooped out armfuls of barley ears from in behind the grille and
around the radiator. These dramas allowed Eamonn Boland to get in
front, Eamonn reporting no big problems. Derek McGarrity stalled
his Impreza WRC at the start of stage 10, co driver Dermot
O’Gorman reckoning he lost at least 8s. Austin MacHale seemed to
be footering about at his gear change whenever he waited to go
into service, and engineer Tom Gahan was soon on hand to check a
few things. Austin’s co driver Brian Murphy was more interested
in getting on the mobile phone and trying to arrange tickets for
tomorrow’s big match in Dublin, the Ulster Final, Armagh vs
Tyrone. There is a Junior match as well at Croke Park with 80,000
expected to attend, and Brian, originally from Crossmaglen has a
nephew playing for the Down team.
In Group
N Rory Galligan was just over a second slower than Phillip Morrow
through stage 9, but nibbled away at Phillip’s gpN lead in stage
10 when Rory was 3s faster. The rear bumper on Phillip’s car
showed signs of contact with the Berwickshire scenery, Phillip
saying “It was a long fast right hander and the car just didn’t
come out of it”. Rory Galligan reports no problems. Ryan Champion
is 3rd group N and he reckons that although he has a
little bit of speed left, there is some more time to be had, he’s
going just about as hard as he wants to and may be foolish to push
it any harder and perhaps lose his strong position in the Evo
Challenge. Roy White had been 4th group N but his
Lancer unfortunately hasn’t appeared into service. Something
seems to have broken in the transmission.
Young
Stephen Petch has now moved up to 4th group N, Stephen
lost a few seconds when his Impreza careered into the same barley
field recently vacated by Eugene Donnelly’s Corolla. David
Higgins is making very little impression on the group N leaders.
David is driving with 2 broken bones in his right wrist. As a
consequence he is having trouble getting full lock on the car, and
also a long brake pedal is tempting him to dab the brakes which is
causing a bit of overheating. Alan Nesbitt is lying just outside
the top list, has recovered from his fuel problems of last night,
but lost a bit of time in stage 10 when his Impreza rear tyres
lost their bite, and the car was at one point heading for a very
stout pole very much of its own volition. Lorna Smith admitted to
some “rubbish driving” this morning – messed up the hairpin, cut a
don’t cut corner and got a puncture and then damaged a drive
shaft, losing about a minute. Colin Greer/Neil Ewing in the Rally
School Norway Impreza are losing lots of time through a misfire.
The Cope brothers John and Tony are just driving for a finish now,
something drastically wrong with their transmission. Young Cork
driver Brian O’Mahony is having a fraught time in his Puma,
struggling for grip under braking, and at least once has parked
the car on top of a wall. Happily still going and treating the
smooth roads with respect!fp
More news
later. BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON
www.rallynews.net
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