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Tour of the Sperrins |
RALLY NEWS No.2 - Service - Saturday @ 11:44:43 |
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RALLY NEWS NO.2 Service/Saturday
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 1 Knockoneill
1st (1) Derek McGarrity/Diarmuid Falvey (Impreza WRC) 5.36.0
2nd (6) Derek McGeehan/Arthur Kierans (Mini WRC) 5.40.5
3rd (2) Desi Henry/Liam Moynihan (Impreza WRC) 5.42.0
4th (5) Marty McCormack/James O/Reilly (Fabia S2000) 5.44.5
5th (3) Paddy McVeigh/Gary McElhinney (Impreza WRC) 5.45.1
6th (9) Frank Kelly/David Vance (Escort) 5.47.3
Provisionally – 7th David Bogie: 8th Camillus Bradley: 9th Adrian Hetherington: 10th Davy Armstrong: 11th Vivian Hamill: 12th Jon Atrmstrong
For a change conditions were warm, bright and sunny as the drivers tackled the opening 6.9 mile stage. Derek McGarrity was first one through and when his Subaru stopped at the control he gave a big smile and said. `That was a very good run`. Next up was Desi Henry and he also was happy with his performance, but a slight trace of oil underneath the engine was a bit worrying. Paddy McVeigh was 3rd on the road and well pleased with his Subaru that has had quite a bit of work carried out. Marty McCormack was running out of revs in 5th gear with his Fabia S2000 and he commented. `That was really good craic`.
David Bogie in his Fiesta R5+ was another to run out of top speed, but the Scottish Champion said. `It should suit better on the next stage`. Drama does not even begin to describe PJ McDermott`s big moment on that first stage. His Subaru got out of line at over 100mpoh and went into a spin, touching the bank but with no real damage. He did loose a bit of time though, both with the spin and also with the end of the exhaust getting closed when it scraped the bank.
In the battle for top Escort honours Frank Kelly had the edge through that opening stage, 8s faster than Camillus Bradley. Kelly commented. `I did not change a note, that was a great run`. There was no sign of Alistair Cochrane at stage finish, perhaps he is running late. In the tussle for R2 points Jon Armstrong was 2s up on Rob Duggan. Duggan reckoned he had picked too soft a tyre that had cost a few seconds. Jon Armstrong said the roads were drier that he thought they would be and he could have been more adventurous with his tyre choice.
More news coming in: Niall Henry/John Rowan have crashed their Lancer off the road on a square right corner. Although the OK board was quickly displayed somebody else waved a yellow flag that cost a few other drivers time, and they are not happy!
More news later: BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON & MICHAEL & ZOE PATTERSON *Follow RallyNews on Twitter @Pacenotes or @Real_RallyNews
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