Just 28.5s separate 1st and 2nd with just 3 stages remaining, Cod’s Head, Ardgroom and Kilmacilloge. There is a lot of driving on those 3 stages and the leaders certainly have no intention of slackening off, it’s going to be a real race to the Gleneagle Hotel finish. Despite now leading the rally following the retirement and Gareth MacHale and Eugene Donnelly, allied to the fact that Eamonn Boland lost a minute with a puncture on Cod’s Head, McNulty was in fair high dudgeon and said. “We really needed new tyres for that last stage. These are the most abrasive roads in the country and we are not allowed to change the tyres because of the regulations.” As regards the battle for victory Tim said. “There’s still a bit of rallying to do, we’re not backing off”. Eamonn Boland told us that he didn’t see any reason for his puncture on Cod’s Head, just one of those things that happen and he said about the race for the lead. “We will definitely give it a go over the next 2 stages”. Aaron MacHale was also in a bit upset when he arrived in here to service and told us that a spectator just after location 1 on Tim Healy Pass seems to have the suicidal stupid idea of jumping out in front the rally cars, playing some sort of “chicken” game. This is just crazy. He tried the same stunt with Denis Cronin. If anyone out there has any influence over this mad man could they please stop him trying to destroy rallying? More news on Eugene Donnelly’s accident, he has just phoned us and reported. “We’d passed Gareth MacHale’s accident and Brian Murphy was just climbing out of the Focus. He waved that they were OK. But I wasn’t 100 per cent confident and lost my concentration. On a 5 left tightens I didn’t really taken in the “tightens” and the car slid wide and fell over into a bog. We eventually got the car to drive out and the damage isn’t too bad. I was first car on the road at the time and amazingly the last car on the rally, a Civic, went off on the same bend. I had it well marked in the notes. It was just one of those things, worse things happen at sea!”
Alan Ring told us he went really hard over those last 3 stages, Cod’s Head, Ardgroom and Tim Healy, and he seems to have put the Group N category beyond anyone else’s reach, his lead over Colm Murphy now well over 2 minutes. Murphy was slowed with power steering problems and said. “The car is impossible to drive, under braking it would take the steering wheel out of your hands”. Alastair Fisher struggled on the road section into Castletownbere, his Lancer low on fuel perhaps. Several other competitors came to his aid. Sean Flanagan and his co driver Brian Duggan were lying just outside the top 10 in their GpN Lancer but the gearbox has broken in the Ardgroom stage and they were last seen enjoying an ice cream at the Post Office supermarket at the end of the stage! Eoin Doyle was into 11th o/a at the end of the Ardgroom stage but no sign of his Subaru here after Healy Pass. Craig Breen retired his Fiesta on Cod’s Head, possibly with a broken drive shaft so that Mark Donnelly/Paddy Robinson now lead class 3 in their Fiesta with Kyle Orr/Sean Duggan just 20s behind and 2nd in the class. Dermot Hanafin/Claire Mole are now into 15th o/a in Dermot’s GpN Impreza. Andrew Fanning has moved into 2nd in class 6 behind Daragh O’Riordan.
In the National Rally Wesley Patterson continues to stretch his lead over Fergus O’Meara. Gary Reidy is now up to 3rd. Leonard Downey retired his Escort on Cod’s Head with a suspected broken half shaft. Robert Barrable had some fuel starvation problems on Tim Healy and has now dropped to 2nd in class behind the similar Fiesta of Paul Quinn. Lloyd Hutchinson is now 7th o/a in the nationals and leads cl.9 in his Cooper S.
More news later: BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net
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