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RALLY NEWS
NO.10
Clonakilty Service/Sunday 3.30
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 14 Sam’s Cross
1st (7) Michael Barrable/Dermot O'Gorman (Focus WRC) 1.39.18.6
2nd (2) Tim McNulty/Anthony Nestor (Impreza WRC) 1.39.52.4
3rd (5) Liam McCarthy/Kieran Murphy (Impreza WRC) 1.42.06.7
4th (6) Denis Cronin/Helen O'Sullivan (Impreza WRC) 1.42.20.6
5th (8) Jon Ingram/Ian Allsop (Impreza WRC) 1.46.52.06
6th (10) John Dalton/Gwynfor Jones (Darrian) 1.46.59.7
7th (12) Kevin & Martin Kelleher (Lancer N) 1.47.26.9
8th (25) Kevin O'Donoghue/Joe O'Leary (Escort) 1.48.40.0
9th (36) James Stafford/Frank Dwyer (Darrian) 1.49.11.6
10th (22) Wesley Patterson/Ruth Guest (Escort) 1.49.28.4
11th (19) James O'Sullivan/Brian Duggan (Lancer N) 1.50.11.4
12th (51) Washington James/Aled Jones (Darrian) 1.50.22.6
There were all sorts of dramas through stages 13 and 14 where it
was wet and slippy most of the way but at the same time there were
intermittent blasts of bright sunshine, making tyre choice for the
drivers a nightmare. Tim McNulty’s lead disappeared
like the air in one of his tyres when his Subaru suffered a puncture
in stage 13 to allow Michael Barrable in the Focus WRC to surge
through to the front. Barrable’s lead after that 13th
stage was 29s. In stage 14 McNulty put on a real charge but
spun and Barrable was 4s faster. When Barrable was asked could
he hold on to his lead through the final 2 stages, he said. “We’re
certainly going to try”. When McNulty was quizzed about
his puncture he couldn’t recall hitting anything or doing
anything wrong, it was just one of those things that happen at those
speeds. Liam McCarthy felt he had a decent run through stage
13, the classic Ardfield test, but through stage 14 the rain descended
and there was so little grip that he switched off the anti lag system.
Denis Cronin would normally go really well in wet and slippy conditions,
but he dropped a fair bit of time through both stages to McCarthy,
to move from 3rd back to 4th. Jon Ingram had another spin with his
Subaru but still moved up from 7th to 5th through the 2 stages.
John Dalton is finding his Darrian a real handful in the conditions
and he has slowed down in an attempt to hold on to his modified
category lead. Kevin & Martin Kelleher continue to lead
group N, Kevin saying that those stages through Ardfield and Sam’s
Cross are not really “group N” stages. James O’Sullivan
is 2nd in group N and Sean Flanagan 3rd in his Impreza. Kevin O’Donoghue
in 8th continues to have a good run and is best of the Mk2 Escorts.
James Stafford is 9th in his little Darrian and Wesley Patterson
has moved into 10th. Wesley was held up slightly through stage 14
by Washington James, the latter’s Darrian having all sorts
of gearbox problems and also an overshoot at a junction.
Adrian Hetherington was 15th after stage 12 but he dropped 2 minutes
on stage 13 when his Escort had a blocked fuel filter problem.
In the Historic section of the rally it would appear that Don Moynihan
has got ahead in his Mk1 Escort from Martin Sheehan and Todd Falvey
in the Porsche has dropped to 3rd. This is subject to confirmation
as there could be a suspect stage time in there somewhere. Todd
felt he was going very well over the last 2 stages.
More news later. BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net
(with thanks to Kevin O’Donoghue) |
