UNOFFICIAL NATIONAL L/BOARD AFTER STAGE 12
1st (18) Eugene Meegan/Sarah Whelan (BMW) 1.40.26.9
2nd (19) Jack Newman/Donal Lennon (Escort) 1.40.56.2
3rd (20) Ed Murphy/John McCarthy (Escort) 1.43.13.5
4th (29) Liam Howlett/Enda Kennedy (Escort) 1.44.02.9
5th (31) Jason Ryan/Peter Falvey (Starlet) 1.44.22.2
6th (24) Charlie Hickey/Johnny Hickey (Escort) 1.44.37.5
On the 2nd run over Molls Gap Donagh Kelly set a time of 8m41.4s which was slightly slower than his first time over the Gap this morning, but still considerably faster than the cars behind on this loop. Donagh said. ‘No problems, going well’. Alastair Fisher commented. ‘I found it very slippy, there seemed to be oil on the road that started at Fisher’s Bridge. We had no big moments but we drove with that oil in mind’. Alastair was 0.2 of a second faster than Sam Moffett. Stephen Wright had a good run just over a second slower than Moffett. For Alastair Fisher now the name of the game is keeping out of trouble, holding his position and netting maximum Clonakilty Blackpudding Tarmac Championship points.
David Guest continues to lead Group N with Gus Kearney 2nd but quite a way back, not putting Guest under any pressure. Similarly Callum Devine has a decent lead now in the R2 category over Marty Gallagher. Interestingly, young William Creighton has turned in some good times this morning and has closed the gap somewhat on Gallagher in the race for R2 honours. Keith Cronin is still battling away to try and get into the top 10 and he commented. ‘I am much happier with the handling of the car. But I have never had a rally car where you had to go down gears on the uphill sections of Molls Gap’. Keith went on to explain that they have tried everything electrical on the car to try and solve the problem but to no avail. On the first run over Molls Gap the on-board computer was showing full power for 200 seconds and then the power just fell away. Interestingly though, on that 2nd run at the Gap, Keith gave another clear demonstration of his driving talent by setting fastest R5 time, 5s faster than Fisher, and that was despite Keith’s car having no power. Alastair did set a faster time on the first run over the stage, but of course he was being cautious on the second run.
In the Historic Rally Frank Cunningham has a lead of over 3m on David Goose with Phillip McKibbin 3rd a further 5m back. All three are driving Escorts. Lincolnshire farmer Goose who farms potatoes and onions had a few dramatic moments yesterday when his Escort collided with a bank. The Escort sustained a broken steering rack and 2 punctures. As David struggled to service he was overtaken by a Gardai patrol car complete with blue flashing lights and sirens going. For a few panicky moments David thought he was for the clink! But no, the Guards were kind enough give him an official escort all the way into service. For which he is eternally grateful. Former Historic Champion Phillip Wylie was lying in the top 3 here on this event but his Escort has now cried enough with a broken gearbox.
In the Junior section of the rally, after their first 3 stages, Kieran O’Donoghue led from Shane McCarthy with Christy McCarthy 3rd – all in Civics. On the Pirelli Rally in Cumbria, Fredrik Ahlin led after stage 7 from Matthew Wilson with Elfyn Evans 3rd. Tom Cave was 4th, Marty McCormack was 5th and Jonny Greer 6th. Rob Duggan is still going strong in the Vauxhall Adam R2. David Bogie reportedly stuck in ditch.
Finally for now, we would like to thank Diarmuid Falvey for all his help (and for the chocolate!) and also thank Mossie and Daphne for their invaluable assistance.
More news in morning: BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON & MICHAEL & ZOE PATTERSON www.rallynews.net *Follow Rally News on Twitter and Facebook @Pacenotes or @Real_RallyNews
