RALLY NEWS NO.5 Service/Newry/Saturday 10.30
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 6 Cornoonagh Hill
1st (4) Eamonn Boland/Damien Morrissey (Impreza WRC) 1.12.58.3
2nd (6) Derek McGarrity/Diarmuid Falvey (Impreza WRC) 1.13.52.8
3rd (1) Gareth MacHale/Craig Parry (Focus WRC) 1.13.59.0
4th (3) Tim McNulty/Eugene O'Donnell (Impreza WRC) 1.14.01.0
5th (5) Aaron MacHale/Killian Duffy (Focus WRC) 1.15.56.7
6th (12) John McGlaughlin/Crawford Henderson (Lancer N) 1.18.42.9
7th (16) Brendan Cumiskey/Conor Foley (Lancer N) 1.21.41.4
8th (17) Mike Bird/Kevin Keane (Impreza WRC) 1.21.53.0
9th (40) David & Suzanne Wright (Lancer N) 1.25.14.9
10th (11) Kevin & Martin Kelleher (Lancer N) 1.25.35.0

Over the 9.19 miles Cornoonagh Hill stage it was Gareth MacHale in his Focus WRC who was fastest with Eamonn Boland 2nd fastest and Derek McGarrity 3rd. The Group N picture turned on its head with the news that Roy White’s MG has stopped and Kevin Kelleher’s road penalty has been removed so he has come into the top 10.

When Eamonn Boland arrived in here to service at Newry he said. “We are having a good run but the boys behind are at it hammer and tongs”. Second placed Derek McGarrity commented. “I’m finding it hard to trust my making of the notes. I’ve been away from it for a bit too long and I’m not taking some of it flat out where I should be. The car’s suspension is a wee bit soft and we went for a cut tyre which was slightly wrong on the dry roads but overall not too bad”. Just as an aside, Derek’s co driver Diarmuid Falvey, who was suffering from flu anyway, hurt his back over some of the big jumps at the back of Cooley Mountain. Tralee man Diarmuid half joked. “I’m a crock!”

Gareth MacHale in 3rd said. “I was just a bit too cautious in places. There is a 600 yard straight over crests at the end of stage 6 and I backed off just a bit too much”. His brother Aaron told us that he found that stage 6 very slilppy, his Focus was going into big drifts, just whatever type of road it was. Tim McNulty has slipped from an overnight 3rd to 4th, although there are only seconds in it. When Tim’s Pierse backed Subaru came into service he said. “The car is still a bit too hard in the suspension, but it is a very bumpy stage”.

We mentioned earlier that Roy White seems to have departed the fray. Roy was leading group N but he reckoned his MG S2000 was overheating and we have unofficial news that he has pulled into a junction, parked up, about a third of the way through stage 6. This leaves John McGlaughlin leading the category. John was quickly out of his Lancer when he got to service to examine the front bumper and joked. “The tyres overheated and a hedge jumped out at me – one of those moving Easter hedges! I’m also trying ny best to wreck the sump guard”. Brendan Cumiskey has a good steady run this morning to come into 7th o/a and 2nd GpN just ahead of Mike Bird in the Impreza WRC. Galway man Mike had a very limited recce and he puts that down to part of the reason for damaging a wheel this morning.

David Wright in 9th with his daughter Suzanne co driving, joked. “It takes an old man like me a while to wake up and I didn’t know how hard to go over the jumps”. We mentioned earlier that Clonakilty brothers Kevin & Martin Kelleher had a road penalty. That has now been removed which leapfrogs the pair into the top 10 although Martin admits that they are taking it really handy, just driving for a finish. Tommy Doyle is just outside the leaderboard now. Young Tommy is getting used to his Clio and the left hand drive and is really turning in a terrific drive. He was out testing with Kris Meeke during the week, finds the car quite nose heavy on the jumps but is gradually getting his confidence up. Denis Biggerstaff is starting to come into the picture now following all his delays yesterday, and although he had one stall this morning at the hairpin on to the main road on stage 5, he’s just very pleased to be still going and with a full complement of gears in his Subaru. Young Toni Kelly is still buzzing along in her Honda Civic R and she was laughing when she reached service and said she was nearly wetting herself over all the bumps and jumps of stage 6!

News of further retirements ….Tom Curley and Alan Cathcart in stage 6. This will be like the story of the 10 Green Bottles soon…..
More later: BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net
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