UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 8 Mount Hilary
1st (3) Kevin Lynch/Francis Regan (Impreza WRC) 54.43.5
2nd (1) Glenn Allen/Damien Connolly (Corolla WRC) 55.47.0
(2) John McCarthy/M Morrissey (Corolla WRC) 55.47.0
4th (4) Stephen Moore/Tony McHugh (Focus WRC) 58.06.0
5th (20) Keith Cronin/Antony O'Conail (Lancer N) 58.21,39
6th (15) Pete McCullagh Jnr/Alan Dolan (Lancer N) 58.39.4
7th (9) Dominic McNeill/Francis Kenny (Escort WRC) 58.49.4
8TH (114) Sean Lynch/Martin McNicholl (Impreza WRC) 58.49.5
9th (12) Garry Jennings/David Moynihan (Lancer N) 58.50.6
10th (5) Kevin O'Kane/Martin Brady (Impreza WRC) 58.51.6
11th (14) Pete Willoughby/Greg McCarthy (Lancer N) 59.14.0
12TH (18) Seamus O'Connell/Paul Hone (Escort) 1.00.09.2

Kevin Lynch is looking more and more secure at the front of this Cork Forestry Rally with another fastest time through the Mt Hilary stage, the Dungiven man saying here at service. “Its going alright, no problems”. Glenn Allen and John McCarthy are having a great race for 2nd place with Allen the quicker of the two on the first stage this morning and McCarthy pulling a bit back on the 2nd. Allen felt that he should have fitted new tyres for this morning’s run. McCarthy commented “I don’t want to let him go, to let him get away, but I’m going to have to make a decision whether to go for points. ?The car is still very borderline on temperature and there is still a small leak in the radiator”. Stephen Moore maintains his 4th place with a respectable time through stage 8 and said that the replacement fly by wire motor has transformed the Focus. Kevin O’Kane had been in 5th place overnight but his Subaru gave trouble in stage 8 when the engine coughed and spluttered and refused to run right. Kevin rushed into service to get the mechanics to look at it, co driver Martin Brady thinking that perhaps the problem lay with a faulty crank shaft sensor. But who knows?

Pete McCullagh Jnr gave best to Keith Cronin through both of this morning’s stages, Pete having both an intercom problem and also had his Lancer diff settings turned to tarmac instead of gravel. Keith Cronin is driving beautifully to maintain his group N lead. Garry Jennings made a slowish start but got the hammer down on the 2nd stage today and managed to take just over a second off Cronin, but at that rate he’s not going to close the 28s gap.

Dominic McNeill had a nice run to just edge ahead of Sean Lynch. The latter is doing a great job on his first real forest rally. Sean is just home from university in the UK and is having a ball in his father Kevin’s old P2000 and is really going very well.

In the race for 2 wheel drive Seamus O’Connell, driving Bertie Fisher’s old BDA Escort CIL 999, turned in two good times this morning to maintain his position although Frank Kelly was just a hair’s breadth faster through stage 8. Kelly did however have a major moment in stage 7 when he put his Escort up a hedge when flat in 4th gear and couldn’t believe he had got away with it when the car landed back on the stage, on its wheels! John Hickey broke a drive shaft on his clubman spec Subaru Impreza when he was too harsh on the clutch leaving the start line of stage 7. He didn’t lose too much time through 7 and 8 but commented that it was all sideways motoring with 3 wheel drive. Pete Willoughby forgot to switch his differentials on again this morning, also didn’t check his Lancer front tyre pressures and was running at 50 pounds per square inch, also having a spin in Mt Hilary, so all in all an exciting morning for Pete. At least he got to do the stages – poor James Murphy who never has luck on his home rally, was lying just outside the top 10 overnight and when he went to drive his Escort WRC out of parc ferme this morning the clutch broke. End of rally story for the Kilmallock electrical contractor. Also retired this morning was Brian Lawlor. He reported some 1st gear troubles with his Lancer yesterday and then the gearbox broke completely on Mt Hilary. More news later. BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON HYPERLINK "http://www.rallynews.net" www.rallynews.net (with thanks to Greg Shinnors)