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| Lakeland Stages |
| RALLY NEWS No.5 - Enniskillen - Saturday @ 18:04:54 |
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RALLY NEWS NO.5 Finish/Enniskillen/Saturday
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 6 – FINAL STAGE
1st (4) Jonny Greer/Gordon Noble (Lancer) 40.52
2nd (10) Mark Donnelly/Sean Ferris (Lancer N) 41.16
3rd (8) Martin Cairns/Kevin Flanagan (Impreza WRC) 41.17
4th (6) Derek McGeehan/Damien Connolly (Mini WRC) 42.39
5th (1) Derek McGarrity/James McKee (Impreza WRC) 42.42
6th (3) Ian Cochrane/Ray Fitzpatrick (Lancer N) 42.45
There was a very dramatic final stage on this Lakeland Stages Rally where Garry Jennings/Barry McNulty lost the lead when their Subaru slipped into a ditch. Also out on that 14.4 mile Carrigans test was top Escort exponent Drew Stewart as well as Vincent McAree in his Lancer. Enda McNulty’s Subaru got stuck in a sheugh in stage 5 and he also retired. There were no such problems for 24 year old Jonny Greer. The Carryduff man kept his cool and although he beat the bogey time on the final stage by 11s it was still a very controlled run. Jonny, who was co-driven today by the vastly experienced Gordon Noble, commented at the finish. “It was a very enjoyable day. We struggled initially to get used to the 4 wheel drive and the extra power of the 34mm restrictor on the turbo.” Second placed Mark Donnelly/Sean Ferris had a struggle towards the end when their Lancer lost turbo power, but they held the position by just 1s from the hard-charging Martin Cairns/Kevin Flanagan.
Derek McGarrity finished the day with a flourish and was 8s faster than Derek McGeehan in the Mini WRC on the final stage, but McGeehan managed to finish ahead of the flying Subaru. McGarrity still leads the Carryduff Forklift NI Championship, but his advantage is down now to 10 points from McGeehan. This means that McGarrity really has to go to the Bushwhacker Rally if he wants to win the series. Despite not finishing today Drew Stewart retains 3rd o/a in the c/ship. Trevor Ferguson/David McElroy had a good run today in their Group N Subaru and have the GpN category in the NI C/ship sewn up.
Further stories include – Ian Cochrane’s Lancer sustained a puncture on the final stage and dropped nearly a minute. Derrick Jobb’s similar Mitsubishi misfired through the last stage due to low fuel level.
Finally for now many thanks to all the people who helped and supported the RallyNews service. Well done to Clerk of the Course Gerry Cavanagh and all the hard working team from Enniskillen MC for laying on such a very good rally today.
BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net (with thanks to Michael & Zoe Patterson) Follow RallyNews on Twitter @Pacenotes or @Real_RallyNews
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