UNOFFICIAL L/BOARD AFTER STAGE 5B SKEHANAGH
1st (4) Declan & Brian Boyle (Impreza WRC) 21.51.8
2nd (1) Garry Jennings/Rory Kennedy (Impreza WRC) 21.55.4
3rd (2) Eugene Donnelly/Paul Kiely (Mini WRC) 22.03.7
4th (5) Donagh Kelly/Kevin Flanagan (Focus WRC) 22.14.2
5th (6) Sam Moffett/James O`Reilly (Fiesta WRC) 22.14.9
6th (9) Steve Simpson/Patrick Walsh (Impreza WRC) 22.53.4
7th (12) Colm Murphy/Don Montgomery (Impreza N) 23.24.9
8th (14) Josh Moffett/John Rowan (Lancer N) 23.29.2
9th (26) Stephen McCann/Lisa O`Dowd (|Lancer N) 23.39.0
10th (21) Eugene Meegan/Sarah Whelan (Lancer N) 23.44.2
UNOFFICIAL NATIONAL L/BOARD AFTER STAGE 5B
1st (16) Declan Gallagher/Ryan Moore (Starlet rwd) 22.46.0
2nd (17) Wesley Patterson/Johnny Baird (Escort) 23.15.8
3rd (25) Pat Kelly/Jonathan Kelly (Impreza) 23.37.3
4th (57) Ed Murphy/John McCarthy (Escort) 23.50.8
5th (31) Neil Pierce/Aileen Kelly (Civic) 23.58.8
6th (19) Tom Flaherty/Patrick Curley (Escort) 24.04.4
7th David Quigley 8th Kevin Eves 9th Liam Howlett 10th R. Whelan
Just over 10s separate the top 3 cars on this Colm Quinn BMW backed Galway International Rally at the end of Day 1. Clerk of the Course Kieran Donoghue and his Galway MC team did a heroic job in keeping the rally going through the flooded countryside around Gort. Yes, the stages were severely curtailed but it was still a decent day`s rallying. Sam Moffett led the rally initially and then Declan Boyle led from stage 2 onwards. Boyle is having some problems with his Subaru as regards the coolant system over-pressurising. He said here at service. `The engine has been building pressure all day and it switched on to safe mode several times towards the end of the day. Hopefully the lads can sort it for tomorrow. It seems that every time I do a two day rally something happens!` Garry Jennings in 2nd place is still troubled with his back problems but he did look a little bit better this evening, remarkably! He said. `It is the car, not me, that is doing the work. The car is brilliant` Something that did not come out until later today was that Garry tackled the opening stages with around 60 pounds pressure in his Subaru tyres rather than 30 psi. That did not help his cause much!
Eugene Donnelly in 3rd place had been as far back as 6th at one point but his performance has gradually stepped up during the day and he said. `It is different terrain tomorrow. We will download the data and have a chat about set up. This is all a learning curve. This car has a different geometry set up from before and also the extra power makes the gear shift feel different as well. The level of grip is phenomenal so if I do not feel too nervous in the morning we will give it a good go. Mind you these other boys are going hard`. Donagh Kelly turned in a good time for the final Saturday stage to just edge ahead of Sam Moffett in his new Fiesta. In overall terms Donagh is slightly disappointed with his times today and his co driver Kevin Flanagan said. `We just cannot put a finger on it. We have had a good clean run but the times are not really coming`. Sam Moffett said. `This is some yoke, a great car. I know I stalled on the start line of a stage and also banged a rear wheel on a corner but really we have had a good run today`. English visitor Steve Simpson rounds off the top 6 and although he is a minute off the lead he is still very much in contention.
Josh Moffett was faster than Colm Murphy by just a whisker through the final stage today so there is a big battle in store between these two for GpN honours on the Sunday. Brendan Cumiskey was trying to change the differential on his Lancer at last service today. He did not seem to have any mechanics and was doing it himself! Declan Gallagher reported a couple of 5th gear sideways slides on running water on the last stage today. The Starlet survived to lead the Nat. category by 29s from Wesley Patterson in his Escort.
More news in the morning. BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON (with thanks to Michael & Zoe) www.rallynews.net *Follow RallyNews on Twitter @Pacenotes or @REal_RallyNews
