Hot and heavy will surely be the order of the day here on
this Sperrins Rally, certainly as far as the action on the staged
is concerned, if not the weather. The enthusiastic Magherafelt
Motor Club team, under the guiding hand of Clerk of the Course
Phillip Shaw, have pulled out all the stops to make sure the rally
has a superb entry, and that all the T’s are crossed and the I’s
are dotted. Being a round of the NI Championship means that the
rally is assured of a top entry. Allied to that, a change from
forest stages to some brilliant closed road tests, plus the
backing of Magherafelt District Council, has meant the event
creating a real stir amongst the rally fraternity.
Even before the start, there’s also been a stir amongst
the top entries. Kevin Lynch, winner here for the past two years,
was to be first on the road in his Subaru, but he’s not here, so
bang goes his chance of a hat-trick. So, Eugene Donnelly will be
first on the road then. No, there’s a snag to that. Eugene has
just had his back ‘re-set’ and he’s not up to it, so his brother
Charlie has stepped in to the breach. Oh, and he’s not in the
Corolla, it’s the Skoda WRC. Charlie, although first on the road,
will keep No2 on the Fabia. There’s yet another twist….Glenn
Allen’s Corolla WRC engine overheated on the way to scrutiny last
night and it would be a risk to run it on the rally, so Glenn has
done a deal to drive Charlie Donnelly’s Corolla.
Phew… at least the Sean Devine entry at 4 seems settled.
Sean has had his Subaru engine rebuilt, and when asked was he
going to win, the Strabane builder said, “Well, I’ll need to
change my ways!” Raymond Johnston at 5 admits he doesn’t have a
lot of experience over asphalt stages with his current Impreza WRC,
is looking forward to it, has had the car’s Proflex suspension all
checked out, and is hoping as well that his own back holds out
following all the dramas of Bishopscourt. Kieran Shaw was to start
at 6, but he has had such a hectic week in Milan he says his head
is ‘fried’, and instead of competing he is going to help with the
organisation. Stephen Moore at 7 is still on a steep learning
curve with his Focus WRC said. “Its wild hard to get used to, so
many buttons and switches. When its right it’s brilliant, but when
it’s wrong it’s a disaster!” Johnny McKenna at 8 in his Lancer is
first of the GpN cars on the list. Johnny always goes hard, but
here on his home patch he should be bionic! George Robinson at 9
is fresh from winning the Ballypatrick Rally, and should go well
here, especially as his Escort WRC’s rear suspension is now
corrected.
Richard Hogg rounds off the top ten, and just behind him
fellow GpN men James Cullen and Martin Elliott, all three in
Lancers, should provide great action. Liam McCarthy and his
co-driver Kieran Murphy have made the trip here to Maghera all the
way from West Cork and start at 14. Their Corolla WRC has just
been fitted with the latest paddle gear-shift, and if they have a
decent run they should be in the thick of the action. Connor
McCloskey at 16 has Crawford Henderson co-driving. Connor tells us
a planned test session in his Lancer on Thursday night was cut
short when the clutch blew…better there than on the first stage!
Eoin McErlean at 17 is one of the stage sponsors (PRH). He is on
local ground and could go well in his Lancer. Camillus Bradley at
18 is the highest seeded 2wd competitor. Camillus, winner of the
Circuit of Ireland National a few weeks ago, faces some very tough
opposition indeed on this event. Just behind him is Seamus
McCusker in his very rapid 2.4 Escort, then there’s Alistair
Cochrane, who has Pam Norris co-driving in his Escort and is
concentrating very much on tarmac rallying this year, as opposed
to gravel. Behind him is Rodney White, the Crumlin man on the
crest of a rally wave at the moment in his Sunbeam. There are so
many Escort men who could do the business here, not forgetting top
Scottish visitor Calum Duffy, who could well spring a surprise. A
late entry is Wesley Patterson in his Escort. Wesley, to be
co-driven this time by Joe Friel, comes in at 35 to replace Gary
Rodgers, who is non –starting. Brian Muldoon in his 2 litre
Corolla could challenge the Escort men. Brian’s co-driver Patsy
Corr celebrated his 40th birthday this week. A good
score today would be a very nice extra present! Just a few other
changes to entry include Terry McGonigle (15) non-starting. Seamus
Devine has withdrawn. While co-drivers slotting in include Kenny
Bustard at 32, Camillus Murray at 28, Adrian Johnston at 27. Car
changes include young Letterkenny girl Toni Kelly driving a Civic
type R. LATE NEWS: Stage 3 shortened by 2 miles at the
end, finishes just before Jnct 5 and now turns right. More news
later. BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net
