RALLY NEWS NO.4
End of stage 6 – Friday 9.00 pm
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 6
City Special
1st (1) Mark Higgins/Bryan
Thomas (Focus WRC) 25.49.5
2nd (2) Andrew Nesbitt/James
O'Brien (Impreza WRC) 25.54.8
3rd (3) Eugene Donnelly/Paul
Kiely (Corolla WRC) 26.04.7
4th (4) Derek McGarrity/Dermot
O'Gorman (Impreza WRC) 26.06.0
5th (9) Eamonn Boland/Francis
Regan (Focus WRC) 26.06.5
6th (8) Matthew Wilson/Scott
Martin (Focus WRC) 26.13.8
Following service the drivers tackled
the City Special stage 2 more times as stages 5 and 6. The top drivers Mark
Higgins and Andrew Nesbitt more or less level pegged through it. Eugene
Donnelly was just a second down. Young Matthew Wilson was a few seconds
slower on his first run through as stage 5, but 3rd fastest on
stage 6.
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 7 BABYLON
HILL
1st (1) Mark Higgins/Bryan
Thomas (Focus WRC) 33.55.5
2nd (2) Andrew Nesbitt/James
O'Brien (Impreza WRC) 34.04.1
3rd (3) Eugene Donnelly/Paul
Kiely (Corolla WRC) 34.17.6
4th (4) Derek McGarrity/Dermot
O'Gorman (Impreza WRC) 34.29.4
5th (8) Matthew Wilson/Scott
Martin (Focus WRC) 34.30.1
6th (9) Eamonn Boland/Francis
Regan (Focus WRC) 34.40.6
7th (5) Tim McNulty/Eugene
O'Donnell (Impreza WRC) 34.46.7
8th (6) Austin MacHale/Brian
Murphy (Focus WRC) 35.01.2
9th (7) Peadar Hurson/Damien
Connolly (Impreza WRC) 35.24.7
10th (10) David
Higgins/Daniel Barritt (Lancer N) 36.01.9
Mark Higgins was fastest through stage Babylon
Hill stage and commented that his car was more balanced but still a wee bit
soft in the suspension and when it hit a bump wrong went like a blancmange.
Andrew Nesbitt commented that the stage was very slippy towards the end over
the damp patches. Earlier in the spectator stage Andrew had forgotten to
switch on the turbo anti lag at one point but it seemed to cost only a
fraction of a second. Eugene Donnelly finished one of the stages laughing his
head off and said “Bring on the rain, I love the wet. I may not be leading
this rally, but I’m having a ball, no pressure. I was a bit disappointed that
I wasn’t a wee bit quicker through that stage 7, I had a good clean run”.
Derek McGarrity commented after his 2nd run through the spectator
stage. “I messed up the chicane first time through and then on the 2nd
time through I caught Lorna Smith who had spun at the chicane. I had to follow
her down the stage through the narrow bit, just one of those things, she has a
nice ass!” Then after Babylon Hill Derek said. “I was too bloody slow, under
the trees it was pitch black and I didn’t get the lights on, it just knocked
me out.” Derek dropped 11s to Eugene on that one. Tim McNulty in the Pierse
Impreza had a good steady run while Peadar Hurson had an overshoot at one of
the spectator stages, and then was almost off the road at a fast junction in
Babylon Hill, and the car fish tailed down the road.
Matthew Wilson had a great run through
all 3 stages following service, but his Focus WRC is blowing a lot of smoke
and oil out the breather. When the car is going slowly into the control the
oil seems to be going on to the back left tyre, but supposedly at high speed
it is probably vapourising past the tyre.
David Higgins continues to lead group N but had
a bit of a moment on that stage 7 when his Lancer slid wide for a long way
down the grass verge, there was a tree rapidly approaching and David managed
to spin the car and avoid contact. Seamus Leonard seems to have got the brakes
on his Lancer fixed and he is looking very solid in 2nd group N.
Colm Murphy was going well but he is either running very late or has pulled
out following a lot of turbo trouble with his Impreza. Garry Jennings got his
brakes fixed, the mechanics changed the discs, but he still had a massive
overshoot in stage 5, caught out on a slippy patch, but went well through
stages 6 and 7. Aaron MacHale finished stage 6 with a flat right rear tyre.
Alan Nesbitt slowed slightly through the damp conditions in stages 6 and 7, as
did Glenn Wilson. Killarney man Dave Randles has retired his Almera with
clutch trouble. Dave thought that the ex works Nissan clutch, a 6 paddle type,
was bomb proof and didn’t change it for the rally, but it wasn’t! More news
later. BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON
www.rallynews.net (with thanks to Michael Patterson – plus Bev Moore for
the tea!)
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