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| Circuit of Kerry |
| RALLY NEWS No.3 - After SS3 - Sunday @ 13:02:18 |
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RALLY NEWS NO.3 Service/Fels Point Tralee/Sunday 1pm
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 3 Mt Eagle 2
1st (2) Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry (Impreza WRC) 23.32
2nd (1) Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Impreza WRC) 23.38
3rd (4) Darren Gass/Diarmuid Falvey (Impreza WRC) 23.55
4th (6) Garry Jennings/David Moynihan (Lancer N) 24.57
5th (7) Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy (Lancer N) 25.04
6th (5) Donie O'Sullivan/Paul Nagle (Proton S2000) 25.09
Provisionally Mike Quinn, Kevin Kelleher, Anthony O’Halloran, and Thomas Fitzmaurice will make up the top 10.
From hero to zero in three stages is the story of Kevin Barrett’s Circuit of Kerry Rally today. Kevin led after the first stage but in stage 3 Kevin and co driver Sean Mullally were left high and dry when a wheel sheared off their Subaru. Preparation supremo Kenny McKinstry told us that at service one of the studs sheared and they didn’t really have time to replace it. They thought it would be safe enough running on the 4 remaining studs. It was not to be. There are a couple of sharp edges at junctions in that stage 3 and with the thump that a world rally car would be hitting them, it was obviously too much stress.
Fastest through stage 3 was Darren Gass and his local co-driver Diarmuid Falvey. Darren had shown great speed through the opening 2 stages but had blotted his copy book slightly with stalls and spins. It has all come good in stage 3 but he is 22s down on leader Maguire so he has a fair bit to do as regards winning the rally. Niall had a good run and was 6s quicker than Patrick Elliott. Unconfirmed reports suggest that Patrick once again stalled his Impreza at the very tight acute left junction.
Kevin Kelleher was fastest group N driver so far through the stage, 1s up on Garry Jennings. Donie O’Sullivan seems to have got his Proton running without the misfire, his time was just 4s down on Kelleher and equal with Alan Ring. Anthony O’Halloran is now 5th in group N and Thomas Fitzmaurice 6th GpN. There are no more GpN times just yet as Sean Flanagan/Brian Duggan have crashed and blocked stage 3. The car is wedged across the road some way but Sean and Brian are reported to be uninjured. Brian O’Mahony came through that stage 3 with the hazard lights flashing on his Clio S1600. It transpires that Brian had been having earlier brake problems and the pads were changed and then the crew found a crack in a disc so that was changed but the brakes have gone again. He is trying to struggle through stages 4 and 5 to service. O’Mahony was leading class 6 and 14th o/a after stage 2 with Kieran Daly/Keith Moriarty 2nd in the class in their Puma S1600.
Some other class positions include: Jack & Paul Maguire lead cl.16 in their Escort Cosworth: Jim McKenna/Thomas Treanor led cl.11 in their rwd Starlet: William & Dorothy Cavanagh led cl.12 in their Escort. Pat Ryan/Jack Dalton led cl.9 in their Escort. Damien Murtagh/Jason Ollerenshaw led cl.2 in their Civic from Stephen Carey/Mark Lee in a similar Civic. Eddie Kenneally/TP McNamara led cl.10 in their Escort: Kevin O’Sullivan/Marcus Treacy led cl.3 (Honda): Kenneth McHale/Derek McCarthy led cl.1 in their Yaris: Eamonn McCafferty/Catherine Levis (Puma) led cl.5: Richard Casey blew the head gasket on his Escort on the way from scrutiny to parc ferme last night. Mike O’Leary/Mike Moriarty are down the order having dropped time with an electrical fault in their hired Evo. Ian Roche has retired the Excel Citroen C2 because of oil pressure worries. Eamonn Hanley/Padraig Doody are having their first run in the Excel hired S1600 Peugeot and Eamonn described the car as “tricky to drive you don’t realise how fast you are going”.
More news later: BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net (with thanks to Angus & Jane Sealy: Dougie Hughes)
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