UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 2 Gortahurk

1^st (4) Sean Devine/Damien Duffy (Impreza WRC) 13.33.2

2^nd (5) Raymond Johnston/Richard Bell (Impreza WRC) 13.38.9

3^rd (3) Glenn Allen/Damien Connolly (Corolla WRC) 13.41.4

4^th (2) Charlie Donnelly/Paddy Toner (Fabia WRC) 13.44.1

5^th (35) Wesley Patterson/Joe Friel (Escort) 14.09.9

6^th (10) Richard Hogg/Mark Hanna (Lancer N) 14.22.5

7^th (28) Charlie Beatty/Camillus Murray (Lancer N) 14.26.5

8^th (23) Rodney McKnight/Seamus Donnelly (Lancer N) 14.31.5

9^th (20) Alistair Cochrane/Pam Norris (Escort) 14.38.6

10^th (34) Stephen Kelly/Sam Hall (Escort) 14.39.9

Charlie Donnelly led after the first stage but on stage 2 his Skoda WRC suffered a front left puncture to allow Sean Devine in his Impreza through to lead.  Raymond Johnston was actually fastest on the 2^nd stage in his Impreza.  Donnelly reported that he didn’t consciously hit anything on the 2^nd stage but the tyre went down about 2 miles into the test.  Glenn Allen said that his Corolla seems very different from Charlie Donnelly’s that he is driving today and he is struggling to get used to it. 

Sean Devine felt that he didn’t do anything special on that 2^nd stage the car just worked well.  While Raymond Johnston reported that his tyres were not great on the opening test but worked really well on the 2^nd one.  We reported on the last RallyNews that George Robinson stopped on stage 1 – his service supreme Dominic McNeill told us that the cause was a broken prop shaft.  Stephen Moore was slow on the first stage, his Focus WRC having clouted a front wheel.  Stephen was better on stage 2, but still getting used to the Focus on tarmac, his total now 14.37.2. 

Johnny McKenna was expected to be amongst the front runners but his Lancer has suffered all sorts of gear problems. James Cullen was fastest group N and 4^th overall on the opening stage but hit a telegraph pole at a square left on stage 2 and has lost a mountain of time.  Former 2 times Donegal Rally winner James said. “I caught another car in the stage and there was also a light flashing on the dash. A couple of seconds distraction and suddenly I was right on top of a square left”. 

Richard Hogg had a massive overshoot in stage 2 at a double caution crest into hairpin right junction and with co driver Mark Hanna shouting “This comes up quick” Richard over cooked it and spun the Lancer to avoid an accident.  Martin Elliott was disappointed to lose time through stage 2 when his Lancer blew its turbo with quite a few miles to go, Martin’s total now 15.36.4.  West Cork man Liam McCarthy is just outside the leaderboard on a total of 14.40.7, Liam still settling in to the paddle gear shift on his Corolla. Connor McCloskey had a good run through the first stage but has put his Lancer off the road on the 2^nd. 

Local man Eoin McErlean did mot of the 2^nd stage with his Lancer’s turbo blown and he has dropped several minutes.  Alistair Cochrane reported a damaged gearbox mounting on his Escort and he backed off through stage 2.  At least Alistair is still going – Camillus Bradley’s Mk2 Escort is stopped in stage 2 while Seamus McCusker’s 2.4 litre example has stopped in stage 1.  Normal front runner in the 2wd category Rodney White found his Sunbeam lacking grip and he had a couple of big moments on the first stage, backed off on the 2^nd one. Wesley Patterson had a couple of overshoots as well on the first stage in his Escort, but still set some good times. Rodney McKnight, with Seamus Donnelly on the pace notes, is having his first real run on tarmac in his Lancer and set some very respectable times. Declan McNaughton was slowed when he cut his Escort too tight on a corner and knocked the steering out a bit. James Cassidy is in the Donnelly G3 Escort and struggling to get used to the car. Charlie Beatty is having his first real run on tarmac in a Lancer, had a good run but feels the front brake pads are not biting. Greg McCormick is in gearbox trouble, Greg borrowed a ZF box from Camillus Bradley but there is something just not right and he has lost time. More news later. BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net