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| Ulster Rally |
| RALLY NEWS No.1 - Ebrington Service - Friday @ 15:25:29 |
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RALLY NEWS NO.1 Ebrington Service/Friday
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 1 Holly Hill
1st (2) Alastair Fisher/Gordon Noble (Fiesta R5) 11.09.5
2nd (1) Elfyn Evans/Craig Parry (Fiesta R5) 11.12.4
3rd (12) Jonny Greer/Kirsty Riddick (Citroen DS3R5) 11.13.0
4th (3) Keith Cronin/Mikie Galvin (Citroen DS3R5) 11.18.8
5th (11) Tom Cave/James Morgan (Fiesta R5) 11.18.9
6th (6) Josh Moffett/John Rowan (Fiesta R5) 11.23.4
7th (5) David Bogie/James O’Reilly (Fabia R5) 11.29.1
8th (4) Fredrik Ahlin/Morten Erik Abrahamsson (Fiesta R5) 11.30.2
9th (10) Sam Moffett/Karl Atkinson (Fiesta R5) 11.30.3
10th (7) Desi Henry/Liam Moynihan (Fabia R5) 11.47.4
More times: McGonigle 11.51.2: McCormack 11.49.4: Jennings 11.52.5:
Provisional time for Alan Carmichael (Mini WRC) 11.43.4.
Following heavy rain all morning a blink of sunshine appeared just as the cars were starting this John Mulholland Motors Ulster Rally. Ironically the Clerk of the Course, Gary Milligan, had pronounced that the rally could run under ‘wet’ rules that allowed the drivers to fit wet weather tyres. When the cars arrived at the opening stage, the 11.58 mile Holly Hill test they found the roads were drying fast in places. This meant various levels of grip and at the end of the stage some of the drivers described their tyres as being like ‘jelly’.
Elfyn Evans was the first competitor through and he was not happy at stage finish. He said that conditions were difficult and that his car felt nervous, leading to a few ‘moments’. Alastair Fisher said he had a few hairy incidents in the stage and could see places where Elfyn Evans had had excursions along the verges. Keith Cronin said that he found the stage treacherous and in places it was like a switch from dry patches to wet. Swedish driver Fredrik Ahlin, although 8th o/a was certainly not down hearted as it was his first time in this type of difficult conditions on an asphalt road. Scottish Rally Champion David Bogie found that the way his car was moving about on the tyres was very disconcerting. Josh Moffett just shrugged and said. ‘It is the same for everyone’. Desi Henry put his Skoda off the road at a square right over a bridge one mile from the end of the stage. He lost approximately 1m. Jamie Anderson punctured a tyre on his Fiesta R5 at a hairpin left. It transpired there was a kerb put in on this hairpin during the week between his recce and the rally.
Garry Jennings commented that the Mirage R5 is a completely different car to drive from his Subaru and it is going to take a few stages to get into the way of it. Stephen Wright seems to have a problem with his Fiesta. He finished the stage and rushed off to try and sort something out. Ashley Field in the Darrian had a very good time but fastest 2 wheel drive so far would appear to be Chris Armstrong on 12.07.6. Michael Dunlop in his Escort had a big moment at a left over crest with a bale inside, but said that he is getting back into the way of rallying. Niall Devine would appear to be the fastest in GpN so far on 12.08.1. William Creighton has damaged the front of his Peugeot 208R2. Lisburn’s Jonny Morrow lost the brakes on his Lancer and was off the road for a minute.
Rally Germany – Mikkelsen led after SS3 from Neuville, Ogier 3rd, Sordo 4th, Tanak 5th, Lefebvre 6th.
More news later: BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON & MICHAEL & ZOE PATTERSON www.rallynews.net *Follow RallyNews on Twitter & Facebook @Pacenotes or @Real_RallyNews
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