RALLY NEWS NO.2 Good Friday/Service/Newry 4.30

UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 2 Anglesey Mountain
1st (2) Mark Higgins/Rory Kennedy (Impreza WRC) 28.23.3
2nd (4) Eamonn Boland/Damien Morrissey (Impreza WRC) 28.46.0
3rd (6) Derek McGarrity/Diarmuid Falvey (Impreza WRC) 29.14.3
4th (1) Gareth MacHale/Craig Parry (Focus WRC) 29.24.9
5th (3) Tim McNulty/Eugene O'Donnell (Impreza WRC) 29.43.5
6th (5) Aaron MacHale/Killian Duffy (Focus WRC) 30.16.9
7th (14) Roy White/Stephen McAuley (MG S2000) 30.57.1
8th (10) Garry Jennings/Martin Brady (Lancer N) 31.10.0
9th (12) John McGlaughlin/Crawford Henderson (Lancer N) 31.17.5
10th (16) Brendan Comiskey/Conor Foley (Lancer N) 32.43.9

On the Anglesey Mountain stage over the top of Black Mountain and down to the shores of Carlingford Lough it was Mark Higgins who set the roads alight to set fastest time by just 5s from Gareth MacHale. The closest time to Gareth was set by Eamonn Boland and he was over 20s back. Mark had been complaining bitterly at the end of the first stage that his car wasn’t right, that the oil pressure had gone through the roof and he didn’t think he would be able to keep going. Yet here he was at service in Newry with a fastest time. The Tarmac Championship leader told us. “We had some tape over the front of the car for that first stage because it was so cold. The stage was very twisty, and the car mustn’t have been getting enough airflow through the vents and that has affected the temperature and the pressure. We moved the tape and it was fine through stage 2 although I thought we’d got a puncture against that rock on the right just before the impossible hairpin left. We got away with it though and it went well”.

Mark’s co driver Rory said. “The stage was shortened by about 4kms at the end and then we had a real squeeze with the road timing in here to service. Hopefully it will be alright”. Gareth MacHale said his tyres were completely shagged at the finish of the 2nd stage but otherwise it was OK. Derek McGarrity told us “We had not too bad a run although there was all sorts of flashing warning lights on the first stage and we switched the anti lag off. We tried something new this morning with the ECU, trying not to be too vicious on the anti lag, but on the first and 2nd settings it was as dead as s..t. Then on the 3rd setting it was far too vicious so hopefully we can sort that out here”. Adding to Derek’s difficulties is the fact that his co driver Diarmuid Falvey is suffering from the flu and really struggling. (Tell us about it Diarmuid!!!)

Eamonn Boland lost his first stage advantage when he stalled his Subaru at the very tight hairpin about a mile into the Anglesey Mountain stage, although in typical Eamonn candid fashion he freely admitted that although he lost maybe 15s he didn’t lose over 20s which was what Mark Higgins sliced off him.

Tim McNulty said. “We’re having a tough day, the car is just not the same as when I tested it. Maybe it is because of the new gearbox that was fitted afterwards, the car is just not the same. Its one of those things, we also dropped a back wheel into the ditch, tomorrow’s another day but this is not the way we’re used to it, should be competing for the lead”. Aaron MacHale reported at service. “I drove like an oul one on that first stage but I pushed harder on the 2nd one, it wasn’t as abrasive and the tyres worked a bit better”.

In Group N Roy White was fastest through the 2nd stage to move into the category lead with his MG S2000. Roy reported about that 2nd stage “I thought I punctured, damaged a wheel against a bank, was cautious for a mile or two and then trucked away after that and the wee car was great”. The other two GpN front runners were not just so happy. John McGlaughlin’s Lancer nearly ran out of fuel on the 2nd stage, he switched off the anti lag and coasted from the top of the mountain down to the end of the stage. Garry Jennings was in even worse straits, his Lancer blew it’s turbo and although Garry eventually managed to get the car into service he reckoned that the engine is knackered. What is even more frustrating for Garry is that it was a brand new turbo for the rally. When we were speaking to him in service his engineers were working furiously getting the sump off the car, but really it looked almost as if they were grasping at straws.

We mentioned on the last Rally News that both Kevin Kelleher and Denis Biggerstaff had stopped to change punctures – both dropped about 5m. Mike Bird is up to 11th in his world rally car. Young Toni Kelly got through the first stage OK and not a bad time either in her little Civic but Tommy Doyle does lead that class A7.


More news later: BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net

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