RALLY NEWS NO.4
Tralee Race Course/Service/Sunday 4pm
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 6
Lyndens Wood
1st (2) Jim Harrison/Harvey
Bell (Impreza WRC) 42.41
2nd (5) Kevin
Lynch/Gordon Noble (Impreza WRC) 43.01
3rd (7) Ray
Breen/Andrew Purcell (Focus WRC) 43.34
4th (8) Patrick
Elliott/David Moynihan (Impreza WRC) 44.01
5th (1) Niall
Maguire/Paul Nagle (Impreza WRC) 44.14
6th (9) Noel
Redmond/Diarmuid Falvey (Impreza WRC) 44.55
7th (12) Melvyn
Evans/Aled Davies (Impreza WRC) 45.21
8th (17) Willie
Fannin/Mick Courtney (Impreza N) 45.34
9th (19) Michael
Curran/Fabian McShane (Lancer N) 45.56
(22) Gabriel Martin/Mark
Kane (Impreza N) 45.56
11th (15) Kevin
Barrett/Barry Goodman (Impreza WRC) 45.59
12th (18) Andrew
Stewart/Damien Connolly (Lancer N) 46.03
With the weather improving from lunch
on here in Tralee Kevin Lynch made a bold move in his tyre choice,
decided on dry weather tyres, and was fastest in stage 5, Smearla
River, and also stage 6 Lyndens Wood. It was however by the
narrowest of margins over Jim Harrison, 2s and 1s. This narrows the
gap between Kevin and rally leader Jim Harrison to just 20s with
just 2 stages of this Circuit of Kerry Rally remaining.
Macclesfield man Harrison admitted that his “cut intermediate” tyre
wasn’t the best choice. There had been a battle for 3rd
place between Ray Breen and Daniel Doherty, but Doherty’s Impreza
WRC departed the fray at the end of stage 5 when the engine gave
trouble. This left Breen in a little pocket of his own, he can’t
really catch the cars in front and he, like Harrison, admitted he
was just a bit conservative in his tyre choice. Patrick Elliott is
having a good smooth run to move into 4th. Niall Maguire
is just 13s behind, but Niall said “We’re going well, but not good
enough. I feel as if I’m going flat out but the times just aren’t
coming”. Noel Redmond rounds off the top 6, his Subaru showing
the scars of his stage 4 accident and he is quite happy to hold
station now and go for points in the Top Part West Coast
Championship and retain his lead.
Welshman Melvyn Evans is at
last getting on to the pace and was a few seconds faster than
Redmond through stage 6, but really not enough to make any
significant difference to the leaderboard.
Current Dunlop Group N National
Champion Willie Fannin continues to lead the category here, his
Impreza still setting the best of the Group N times. Michael Curran
has his misfire sorted and he is level pegging with Gabriel Martin
for 2nd in GpN. Andrew Stewart is 4th GpN,
the Letterkenny man trying no heroics as he has this particular
Lancer 90 per cent sold. Peter Clifford dropped out of the gpN
reckoning ever so slightly following an overshoot in stage 5 which
cost him at least 15s. Peter is 15th overall. Alan Ring
14th, Ring delayed slightly when he caught up with Tommy
Graham’s Impreza WRC. Graham had a spin at the hairpin in Smearla
River and Ring almost clattered in on top of him. Ian Barrett has
slipped to 15th overall, his Lancer suffering a broken
drive shaft. Kevin Kelleher, following his sensational gpN victory
in West Cork, was in the doldrums as regards the stage times earlier
in this event, but he seems to have got the Lancer’s brake problems
sorted, and is starting to get close to Fannin’s winning times.
Adrian Quinn dropped a few seconds when his Lancer suffered a front
left puncture at the end of stage 6, Adrian 18th o/a.
In the race for 2 wheel drive
honours Maurice Moffett is setting the roads alight now they have
dried out, and has got ahead of Anthony O’Halloran. Joe McHugh
continues to lead class 15 in his Escort Cosworth, just ahead of the
similar machine of David McNulty. More news later. BRIAN & LIZ
PATTERSON www.rallynews.net
