RALLY NEWS NO.2                 Omagh Service/Saturday 11.00
 
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 1 Ballix Hill
1st (4) Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Impreza WRC) 11.26.6
2nd (2) Mark Higgins/Rory Kennedy (Impreza WRC) 11.33.3
3rd (9) Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Floene (Focus WRC) 11.33.4
4th (1) Eugene Donnelly/Paul Kiely (Impreza WRC) 11.33.6
5th (5) Tim McNulty/Anthony Nestor (Impreza WRC) 11.36.5
6th (6) Kevin Lynch/David Moynihan (Focus WRC) 11.46.1
7th (3) Eamonn Boland/Francis Regan (Focus WRC) 11.47.0
8th (10) Stephen Murphy/MJ Morrissey (Impreza WRC) 11.55.3
9th (15) Martin Doherty/Eugene O'Donnell (Impreza WRC) 12.05.5
10th (7) Peadar Hurson/Michael Orr (Impreza WRC) 12.06.1
 
All the top cars got through the first stage safely and as can be seen above Kris Meeke was fastest.  Weather conditions were cold but dry.  Kris Meeke said at stage finish. “We kept it neat and tidy. The speed you are carrying compared to 1600 is fantastic but it is all under control.  When you get up in the morning in the4 1600s, you are going to war. This is so much more comfortable”.  Co-driver Paul Nagle, in for the first time with young Meeke, was grinning from ear to ear and just said one word. “Brilliant”.  No.1 seed Eugene Donnelly reported “Maybe on the fast stuff I didn’t commit as hard as I could. I tried hard at the beginning of the stage and then settled back, it’s probably typical of me on the first stage. I’m trying a new set of brakes as well, something we tried on the Corolla and getting it just right is difficult.  Overall though the car feels good”. 
 
Mark Higgins reported some under steer with his Pirelli backed Subaru. Mark saying “The car is an awful lot better than it was in Galway, I’m quite pleased”.  Andreas Mikkelsen in 3rd place said. “We found a good  rhythm.  we were not taking chances, I am pleased with our pace, it is 5 months since a tarmac rally for us”.  Tim McNulty in 5th place said. “That is a different stage in the rally car at high speed compared to the recce. Very bumpy. Massive number of jumps”.,  Tim also told us that he was suffering from flu and had quite a high temperature.  Kevin Lynch in 6th felt that his Focus still needed some adjustments to the suspension, that trying to keep the car down on the road was difficult.  Eamonn Boland in 7th had no troubles. Stephen Murphy in 8th had a little bit of intercom trouble and also felt the suspension was too soft for the bumpy roads. Martin Doherty in 9th was OK but a bit rusty, as was Peadar Hurson in 10th.
 
Further stories include – Gareth Jones on a total of 12.12.1, had some oil pressure worries during the stage in the Reid Transport Focus WRC.  Sean Devine stalled his Subaru and lost a fair bit of time.  Terry McGonigle stalled his world rally car at a junction when he tried to hand brake and felt the car was also a bit soft over the jumps. Hugh Martin Doherty reported a big moment at the start of the stage which took the wind out of his sails somewhat. Denis Biggerstaff joked “I think I’m at the age now for the slowly sideways stuff!”  Denis’ time was 12.43.6.  Emma McKinstry is running No.28 in one of her father’s Impreza WRCs and her time was 12.56.6. 
 
In Group N it was Seamus Leonard setting the pace, 18s up on Colm Murphy with Roy White a further couple of seconds back.  Seamus was on home ground of course and was really going for it.  Colm Murphy overcooked the brakes very slightly and had to back off.  Roy White had done some work before the start with Proflex but then thought the car was a bit soft in the stage. However, virtually everyone was finding the same thing, it was just down to the bumpy roads and the high speeds.  Kevin Kelleher lost some time in the stage when his Lancer broke a front drive shaft. Damien Tourish had a good run and was just 5s down on White.
 
Stephen Potts, Chairman of the UAC, reports that the earlier marshalling worries are now resolved and they have had a great response from marshals following a radio appeal by Sonya Mac.
More news later: BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net  (with thanks to Michael Patterson & Zoe Todd)    
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