RALLY NEWS NO.4         Service/Near Cappoquin/Sunday 12.15

UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 3 Scart Mountain

1^st (1) Kevin Lynch/Francis Regan (Impreza WRC) 16.20

2^nd (3) Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Corolla WRC)  16.31

3^rd (4) John McCarthy/M Morrissey (Corolla WRC) 16.48

4^th (21) Brian Lawlor/Peter Kavanagh (Escort) 17.27

5^th (27) Peter McCullagh/Alan Dolan (Lancer N) 17.29

6^th (5) Kevin O'Kane/Martin Hanna (Impreza WRC) 17.32

    (26) John McGlaughlin/David Moynihan (Lancer N) 17.32

8^th (10) Trevor Harding/Charlie Boland (Impreza) 17.34

9^th (23) Brian McGillen/David Doherty (Impreza N) 17.51

10^th (25) Andrew Mackaral/Richard Cassidy (Lancer) 17.58

11^th (31) James Coleman/Eoin O’Neill (Escort) 17.59

12^th (6) Pat Norris/Declan Tumilty (Impreza WRC) 18.02

Despite setting fastest times on all three stages so far Kevin Lynch was in a bit of a lather when he came off stage 3, Scart Mountain, having come across a 00 car in problems about a mile from the end of the stage which slowed him very slightly. Otherwise Lynch is going well and reports no problems with his Impreza WRC.  Gareth MacHale in 2^nd had a close encounter with two deer in The Vee stage, also lost a few seconds when his Corolla engine cut out at the chicane.  Apart from that Gareth seems happy enough despite a slight touch of the flu.  He also told us that he has steadied his driving a wee bit, a lot less sideways stuff.  John McCarthy is losing a couple of seconds on every stage to young Gareth, John saying “My Corolla is flying, it’s the driver that’s not so hot!”. 

Behind McCarthy one of the sensations of the rally, Brian Lawlor, now up to 4^th in his Mk2 Escort, and that was despite a small spin in stage 3.  Fifth placed Peter McCullagh leads gpN in his Lancer and said “so far so good”.  John McGlaughlin, equal 6^th overall and 2^nd gpN, reports no big problems.  Kevin O’Kane, equal 6^th in his Impreza WRC told us that it took him a minute or two to adjust to the high speeds on this Moonraker Rally, otherwise OK. Trevor Harding in 8^th is still getting used to his newly acquired Impreza and he is getting faster by the stage.  Brian McGillen in 9^th is battling against turbo problems on every stage.  Doing really well to keep a place in the top 10 and 3^rd gpN.  Andy Mackaral, 10^th in his now rather elderly Lancer, had an overheating problem in stage 3 when the engine fans failed to switch on.  That seems to have sorted itself out and as ever Andy looking complete unperturbed.  James Coleman in 11^th is pretty happy with his pace, but found his Escort sliding about a lot on the 2^nd stage, felt it was a bit marbly and loose surface and he’s going to try different tyres this time. 

Frank Kelly had been just a couple of seconds behind Brian Lawlor after stage 2 but his 5^th place went out the window when his Escort clipped a bank in stage 3 and he suffered a puncture with 6 miles of the stage remaining. Kelly’s total is now 18.26, there’s a fair mileage still to go and he hasn’t given up. Frank has Liam Brennan co driving, not Brown as listed earlier.  Richie Curran is on a total now of 18.02, just off the leaderboard, Richie said he started much too cautiously, taking square corners in 2^nd gear in his Gpn Impreza. Now taking them in 4^th!  Stephen Moore has retired his GpN Impreza on stage 3 with broken transmission. Patrick Elliott slid into a ditch on a downhill hairpin on stage 2, nearly rolled his Lancer, said he just braked too late for the corner.

Brendan Kelly is another just off the leaderboard on 18.10, Brendan saying “Steady as she goes, finding the left hand drive a bit tricky on the narrow bits”. John McKeown is going nicely, happy to be clocking up miles in his new car. James Murphy says his Escort Cosworth feels a bit “drifty”, reckons perhaps there is a driveshaft or something broken, he has also stalled the car a couple of times. By his own high standards Dermot Kelly is pretty well off the pace, Dermot saying that his Escort WRC has a bad misfire and over 3.5 thousand revs the car is spluttering and going nowhere. Pat Norris set a very respectable time in stage 3 and says now he is thinking about retiring from the rally, it sounds like there is a fire engine in the back of his WRC, the noises coming from the differential are horrendous!  John Reid reports no major problems and his Escort is just outside the leaderboard on 18.13.