UNOFFICIAL NATIONAL/HISTORIC SECTION AFTER STAGE 15 (last stage)

1^st (105) Camillus Bradley/Danny O’Neill (Escort) 1.21.23.3

2^nd (103) Damien Gallagher/Mac Walsh (Escort) 1.23.14.6

3^rd (115) Seamus McCusker/Vincent Fergus (Escort) 1.24.18.9

4^th (117) Manus Kelly/Kevin McCafferty (Corolla) 1.24.44.9

5^th (106) Ronan Curley/John McKinley (Escort) 1.25.28.6

6^th (113) Wm. Carey/Jimmy Graham (Escort) 1.27.02.7

7^th (146) Aidan Toner/Damien Toner (Escort) 1.27.49.8

8^th (2) Jonathan McDaid/Sarah Forde (Peugeot 106) 1.28.02.7

9^th (131) Simon McElhinney/Kelvin McElhinney (Civic) 1.28.25.2

10^th (116) John Watters/Declan Gallagher (Escort) 1.28.26.4

The National part of the rally joined in on Sunday morning at stage 8 and it was Camillus Bradley who led almost from the word go his little red Mark 2 Escort never missing a beat and setting the roads alight through the tough Sperrin Mountains stages. 

There was early disappointment for the spectators when former Production World Rally Champion Niall McShea was delayed, his Ford Orion suffering broken links to the back axle. McShea, with his new wife Noreen co driving, was able to get going eventually but was well down the list. The No.2 seed Paul Gallagher retired his Corolla following damage sustained in a slippy farmyard in stage 10.  That mucky farmyard caught out many of the International competitors as well.

There were no such problems for Magherafelt man Camillus Bradley.  He said at the finish. “We had a good run, the car went really well, perfectly really.  Although I picked the wrong tyres today, I went for wets when the roads were bone dry, I lost no time really.  The organisation of the event was good although we are very much at the tail end of things”. 

Second placed Damien Gallagher from Letterkenny said. “We made a slow start, we were sleeping but I couldn’t have caught Camillus today and we were able to cruise today to hold on to our 2^nd place”.  Maghera man Seamus McCusker brought his silver Escort Maxi into 3^rd despite not being able to do a reconnaissance of today’s Donegal stages.  However he had a good run although he did scrape the car against a fence post in stage 13, and also made a wrong tyre choice, but otherwise went well.

Manus Kelly in 4^th said he had a good run, his little Corolla twin cam went 100 per cent and he won class 5.  Ronan Curley in 5^th lost time early on when he picked the wrong compound tyres and said he was chasing his own tail, but after that it was good.  William Carey completed the top 6 in his Escort.  Jonathan McDaid won his class and was 8^th overall although he had a last minute scare when his little Peugeot 106 landed very heavily on a Malin Head jump just 1 mile from the finish and the engine temperature light cam eon. Happily the Peugeot made it through here to the finish.  Dens Ferry got his Manta to the finish in 12^th place despite having no 3^rd and 5^th gears.

Sean Treacy brought his BMW 2002 into the finish having won the Post Historic section by over a minute from the Porsche 911 of Manx man Adrian Kermode, with Maurice Beckett on the notes. Treacy, with Billy Regan on the notes, had a slight problem with an oil leak but otherwise the car went very well.  Kermode’s Porsche also went well but he lost time earlier in the event when he picked too hard a compound rear tyre, and indeed so much time was lost that he had no chance of pulling it back.   BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net