Very difficult conditions for most of Molls Gap made the going very tough for the drivers and there were reports of several cars parked in the scenery. All the top cars got through OK and significantly Donagh Kelly was 16s faster than Garry Jennings that puts a new slant on the leaderboard. As well as thick fog, the roads were saturated and tyre choice was critical for the crews. Interestingly, Garry Jennings and Donagh Kelly were on basically the same type of tyre, a dry weather slick with cuts to disperse moisture. Alastair Fisher picked a medium/wet tyre. Donagh Kelly’s time for the stage was 8m38.8s which was remarkable in the conditions. Alastair Fisher recorded 8m46.3s and Garry Jennings 8m.54.1s. Garry certainly did not mention any problem but it does not seem like a great time. Sam Moffett was 4s down on Alastair Fisher but faster than Garry.
In Group N David Guest continues to lead but was hampered by misted up windows and discovered that the second hand door he had fitted yesterday has a non-opening window. Paul Barrett had been 2nd in GpN starting Molls Gap but his Impreza is reportedly off the road at Fisher’s Bridge. Gus Kearney was 3rd in the category and now moves up to 2nd, but his Lancer seemed to be in turbo trouble at stage finish. Keith Cronin is running with the leading bunch this morning, and he recorded a 9.05.1 over Molls Gap and he said that his engineer Colm, has changed just about every electrical part on the car, it is still not running right and the feeling is growing that the problem les in the wiring loom. Callum Devine is extending his R2 classification lead on every stage and even at the end of the slightly scary, fog enshrouded Molls Gap, the young Claudy man commented. ‘Everything is fine, I just need more ponies!’
In the National Rally Jack Newman was fastest over the Gap but is still 25s behind Eugene Meegan. There seemed to be a few cars missing at the end of the stage including Jason Ryan who was 6th National overnight. Gavin Kelly had a good run and passed Scottish visitor Ross Marshall in the stage. David Armstrong also passed the struggling Marshall in the stage and Armstrong has gone from 11th overnight into the top 10. Kevin O’Riordan was reportedly stopped with a puncture on his new BMW.
In the Historic Rally Frank Cunningham continues to lead after Molls Gap from Phillip Wylie with David Goose 3rd – all in Escorts. Wylie had alls orts of mechanical problems yesterday including his engine going on to 3 cylinders. The Junior category drivers start this morning with Molls Gap and we wish them well for today. No.1 seed is Kieran O’Donoghue in his Civic who has Derek Butler co-driving. Kieran often co-drives for Gary McNamee but he is an accomplished driver in his own right.
There are 26 juniors starting today and there are also 17 drivers from the main rally rejoining under Rally 2 rules.
More news in morning: BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON & MICHAEL & ZOE PATTERSON www.rallynews.net *Follow Rally News on Twitter and Facebook @Pacenotes or @Real_RallyNews
