|
|
| |
| Sligo Stages Rally 2008 |
| RALLY NEWS No.3 - End SS3 Keelogyboy Mountain - Tuesday @ 16:13:11 |
| |
|
RALLY NEWS NO.3 Service/Sligo/Sunday 12.30
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 3 Keelogyboy Mountain
1st (1) Adrian McElvaney/Paul Kelly (Impreza WRC) 29.51
2nd (7) Gary McPhillips/Mark Tierney (Escort) 29.54
3rd (3) Sean Gallagher/Enda Sherry (Impreza WRC) 30.24
4th (18) Manus Kelly/Donal Barrett (Escort) 30.28
5th (22) Trevor Mulligan/Lisa Roe (Escort) 30.40
6th (19) Damien Gallagher/Mac Walsh (Escort) 30.42
7th (35) Daniel McKenna/Andrew Grennan (Escort) 30.52
8th (14) Danny McBride/Rory McBride (Lancer N) 31.01
9th (26) Steve Simpson/Andrew Roughead (Accent WRC) 31.02
10th (12) Joe & Dermot McHugh (Esc.Cos) 31.03
Gary McPhillips has been driving his heart out in his Mk2 Escort and led the rally for the first 2 stages but had to give best to the mighty Impreza WRC of Adrian McElvaney to hold 2nd here at service. McElvaney made a shaky enough start but has really got the finger out over the last couple of stages and said here at service. “It is very tricky out there, we’ve had the tail in the hedge on every stage. On that last one we were in 6th gear with the back end on the grass, if I had lifted off there would have been an aircraft accident”. Sean Gallagher’s co driver Enda Sherry had walked over to the McElvaney Impreza to compare times and rolled his eyes skywards and remarked. “You always have the luck of the black Manx cat!” For his part Sean Gallagher is still struggling with the gear change on his Subaru, the car is not taking 6th gear at all and to add to his misery he stalled the car at the hairpin in stage 3. Sean did say though “We’re doing better than usual in Sligo, most years I’m through the hedge long before the 3rd stage!”
Raymond Johnston is another having a few fluffs with his Impreza gear change but otherwise he has picked up the speed and isn’t too far away from the top 10 on a total of 31.10. Gary McPhillips reckoned he lost a few seconds in stage 2 when the back of the Escort “dropped into a drain but luckily pulled itself out”. Danny McBride has moved into the group N lead and he said. “We’re trying hard but there is still a wee shudder in the car, like a wee miss, possibly some sort of fuel surge”. Paul Kiely did lead GpN initially and he told us. “On the middle stage, on the chippings, we were off the road twice and it scared the life out of me”. Also going well now in group n is Fergal Costello, just 20s down on Kiely. John Gallagher is just a couple of seconds behind Costello.
Gary Cairns is running back at 43 in his group N lancer and he is well in the production category hunt as well.
Further stories include: David Mann lost time on the 2nd stage when his Impreza turbo pipe came adrift again but then he had a good time in stage 3. Fellow Asphalt C/ship runner Steve Simpson told us his Hyundai Accent WRC lost a bit of momentum towards the end of stage 3 when the fuel pressure light came on, possible running low on fuel. Young Daniel McKenna is having a brilliant run in his Mk2 Escort reckoned he made a poor tyre choice, that the back of his Escort was drifting out everywhere and he was having to drive the car like he was in a forest. Terence O’Shaughnessy in the 2.5l Corolla has been having intercom problems on every stage and also getting lots of “tail out” with the Corolla.
More news later: BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON
(with thanks to Barry Meeke of stagetimes.com)
|
| |
| |
| |
|
| |
|
