RALLY NEWS NO.7 Finish/Ballymena/Saturday 6pm
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 11 Glenariff
1st (75) Sean Devine/Damien Duffin (Impreza WRC) 44.33
2nd (2) Glenn Allen/Damien Connolly (Corolla WRC) 45.27
3rd (7) John & Mandy McKeown (Escort WRC) 46.26
4th (12) Richard Cathcart/Aidan Friel (Impreza N) 46.49
5th (9) John McGlaughlin/David McIlroy (Lancer N) 46.55
6th (5) James Murphy/John Brennan (Escort WRC) 47.17
7th (36) Enda McNulty/Ronan O’Kane (Lancer N) 48.01
8th (26) John Walker/David Meeke (Lancer N) 48.49
9th (22) Mark Barnett/Vincent Fergus (Escort) 49.08
10th (39) Martin & Greg McCormick (Escort) 49.08
11th (35) Jonny Morrow/Jane Nicholl (Lancer N) 49.19
12th (24) Adrian Hetherington/Terry Walkinshaw (Escort) 49.37

Late Late News - John McGlaughlin lost GpN because he got a 10 sec penalty, Errol Clarke lost 7th overall and 3rd in GpN because of a 10 min penalty for changing the brake disc at Ballypatrick. Mark Barnetts times were recalculated and he gained 3 seconds to move ahead of Martin McCormick for best 2WD honours. Each win their respective classes however.

This is 2 years in a row that Sean Devine has uncorked the champagne on the victory ramp of this Glens of Antrim Rally while once again Glenn Allen’s bad luck struck when his Corolla punctured on the penultimate stage, dropped a minute and any chance of a win. Husband and wife team John & Mandy McKeown had a brilliant result in their Escort WRC to take 3rd overall. It is a red letter day for John McGlaughlin and co driver David McIlroy by winning group N and finishing 4th o/a, just ahead of Richard Cathcart/Aidan Friel in their GpN Impreza. Cathcart with hit with a 20s road penalty earlier today and also suffered a time loss through no fault of his own on the stage where Stanley Ballantine crashed. Martin McCormack has taken the 2 wheel drive category following a great run. Andy Magee had led it for a while but his Escort was sidelined following the 2nd run through Ballypatrick when a wheel bearing collapsed.

At the finish ramp here outside Ballymena’s County Hall Sean Devine commented. “We struggled a lot of the time but I kept the pressure on and I was going at a serious pace at the end. There was once the Subaru took off on a Slieveanorra jump like a jet plane. I kept the pressure on Glenn Allen and it felt good to win. It was nice to get the car to the finish and it was a really good rally”. Glenn Allen said. “We’ll just have to come back next year for another go. It was a good wee rally. I don’t understand the puncture, we were only half a mile in when it went flat. On other stages we had plenty of time at the starts to get out of the car and check the tyres, this time we weren’t straight in, maybe it was a slow puncture”. John McKeown said. “The gearbox rattled all day, I’ve never seen one last that long. If I had been fighting for the championship it would have blown on the 2nd stage!”

Group N winner John McGlaughlin said. “I enjoyed it, the car was nearly on its headlights on a Slieveanorra jump when I knocked the sump guard off. I’m glad to be here at the finish and the car is in one piece for Galway next year. I know that Richard (Cathcart) was unfortunate with this stage time, either way I don’t really care about group N, I just enjoyed the rally”. Richard Cathcart is showing as 2nd gpN at the moment, although of course the results are still provisional. Errol Clarke survived all the dramas of getting his brakes changed to come into 3rd in the category just ahead of Enda McNulty. McNulty hit a bale on the last stage and the car also dug in on a left hand corner on that last stage so he was glad to get his Lancer to the finish.

PJ Gillespie dropped out of the top 10 when he went off the road at a chicane in Slieveanorra. John Walker was also off the road at a chicane in that big stage, but he stayed in the top 10 and it was a good result for him considering it was his first time on the rally. Cork man James Murphy was more than pleased to make the finish. His last stage dramas included a broken shock absorber on his Escort WRC and a small fire under the gear stick. James joked at the finish “At one point in Slieveanorra I remembered there was a 7th gear in the car. Its some feeling when she goes out over those jumps absolutely flat out, nothing like it!” The story wasn’t all about the drivers at the top – spare a thought for those further down the field like Glenn Campbell – he put his little left hand drive Micra in a river in Parkmore, kept going and last we heard he was battling towards the finish with no windscreen in the car and wearing a pair of Biggles type flying goggles! All he had to do was get the car to the finish to win his class in the Mid Antrim MC c/ship – and he was having some battle. It was a tough but good rally. Well done to new CoC Raymond Linton and all his team. Many thanks to all who helped and supported the RallyNews service. BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net