UNOFFICIAL NAT/ L/BOARD AFTER STAGE 10
1st (20) Kevin Eves/William Lynch (Corolla) 1.16.14.8
2nd (12) Gary Kiernan/Ryan Moore (Escort) 1.16.24.8
3rd (11) Brian Brogan/Damien McGettigan (Escort RS) 1.16.33.9
4th (47) Kevin Gallagher/Brendan McElhinney (Darrian) 1.19.29.2
5th (25) Patrick McHugh/Pauric O’Donnell (Escort) 1.19.38.2
6th (18) Eugene Meegan/Sarah Whelan (BMW M1) 1.19.52.2
Sam Moffett was in brilliant form this morning and on the opening Sunday stage, the 19.6km Clogagh test, he was fastest overall on a time a fraction over 10min. That was despite the streaming wet roads. Rally leader Donagh Kelly said he was slow at the start of the stage and had to pull his finger out towards the end. Donagh was just 3s down on Sam at stage finish. The next fastest R5 car was Alastair Fisher but he was almost 7s down on Sam. Alastair said he had a good run. Tyres of course play an important part in this morning’s wet conditions.
Robert Barrable was a few seconds off the fastest time and he admitted to being on a learning curve with the Hyundai i20 R5. Robert’s mechanics are a mixture of Italians and Irish. They changed the suspension struts for today’s leg. Josh Moffett reckons he was lucky to escape a very big moment involving a Sunday excursion up a bank. Joe McGonigle was distracted in the stage by a flashing oil pressure light that he thinks is a faulty sensor rather than anything more serious. Still, Joe had a decent time in the stage, 5s up on Welshman Tomas Davis behind. Brendan Cumiskey admitted to messing up one of the chicanes this morning. Rob Duggan was up to a splendid 13th overnight but his Fiesta R2 has obviously had a problem in S10 and he has lost close to 4m.
In the National Rally overnight leader Kevin Eves commented at stage finish that his Corolla GT was getting no traction over the wet roads. To add to the Pettigo man’s woes he was up all night with a stomach bug. Gary Kiernan was the fastest National through the stage, 8s up on Brian Brogan and 11 faster than Kevin Eves which could make for a grandstand finish. Kevin Gallagher in the Darrian reported no problems this morning, although he lost perhaps a few seconds behind Adrian Hetherington’s slowing Escort. Adrian was 4th National overnight but had not appeared at stage finish. Eugene Meegan reported a misfire with his BMW in 4th gear which is an important cog on these stages. News coming in from stage 11 is that Gary Kiernan has moved into the lead of the National, with Brian Brogan now 2nd and Eves dropped to 3rd.
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