RALLY NEWS NO.2 End of stage 1/Sunday 10.20

UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 1 BALLYNEALE
1st (2) Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Impreza WRC) 5.48.3
2nd (4) Ray Breen/Martin Brady (Focus WRC) 5.54.4
3rd (1) Niall Maguire/Paul McLaughlin (Impreza WRC) 5.58.8
4th (9) PJ McGrath/Billy Collins (Impreza WRC) 6.06.8
5th (5) Liam McCarthy/Kieran Murphy (Corolla WRC) 6.07.0
6th (11) Andrew Purcell/Mark Wiley (Lancer N) 6.09.02
7th (7) Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally (Impreza WRC) 6.10.5
8th (10) Eoin Doyle/Paul Walsh (Impreza WRC) 6.14.0
9th (26) Eamonn Daly/Kevin Synott (Lancer N) 6.14.4
10th (12) Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy (Lancer N) 6.15.8

Almost without exception the lead drivers commented how slippery the roads were on the opening stage of this Ravens Rock Rally. When Dunlop Championship leader Niall Maguire brought his Subaru down to the end of the Ballyneale stage he told us that he had gone for a fairly hard compound tyre and the car was slip sliding all over the place.

Although he was fastest Patrick Elliott also reckoned that he was on too hard a compound tyre, but then he looked pleasantly surprised when he saw Niall Maguire’s time and realised he was a full 10s faster.

John Dalton should have been fifth on the road but the Darrian was well down on time at stage finish, co driver Gwynfor Jones explaining that the engine had died at the start of the stage and just wouldn’t re-start. To have lost over 3 minutes on the opening stage like that more or less precludes the Welshmen from any sort of a decent result today.

James M Stafford’s Darrian seemed to be going OK but James reckoned he lost quite a few seconds with a slight spin at a junction.

In Group N, as can be seen above, Andrew Purcell set the opening pace. He told us that he picked a slick dry weather tyre which made life very exciting in the stage. 023 Tiles Championship leader Alan Ring was 3rd in the group N times, just over a second down on Eamonn Daly. Visiting Welshman Seb Ling was on 6.20.

In the battle for 2 wheel drive the first two cars through were Shay Power and James Coleman. Power did a time of 6.26 as against Coleman’s 6.32, but there are a lot more quick men in Escorts still to come through.

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

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