Eugene Donnelly was fastest through stage 15 and then fastest again through stage 16 but in stage 17, Atlantic Drive, was 16s down on Gareth MacHale and 10s down on Eamonn Boland. Tim McNulty meanwhile vacated 4th place when he made the decision not to continue following a second puncture today, this one on Port Lake, which cost 3 minutes. Ironically Tim was still 4th overall even after dropping 3 minutes. Eugene Donnelly was thoroughly depressed when he came in here to service at the big field outside Carrigart and he said. “The gearbox has gone again. It is really disappointing. It has been a disastrous rally for me and I know the pace is there. Fair play to Gareth he has kept his nose clean”. Gareth MacHale said. “We’re just about eight tenths, lots of big slides on these slick tyres. We were cautious in Glen and Port Lake was a hard stage. Atlantic Drive was pretty dry”. Eamonn Boland just said. “Everything is perfect”.
Sean Devine in 4th said. “We’re playing it cool, in no-man’s land, can’t catch the guys in front”. Daniel Doherty got ahead of PJ McDermott this morning and Daniel said. “The tyres were good through the first 2 stages this morning but were not good on Atlantic Drive”. PJ McDermott told us that he put on tyres that he had used on Friday but that they had “gone as hard as egg shells”.
There was a major change in the group N situation when Shaun Gallagher pulled out of the rally when lying 2nd in the category. His Lancer’s oil pump packed the fiddle in Port Lake. Seamus Leonard had a substantial GpN lead anyway and is even more solid now with 2nd placed Damien Tourish being over 3m back. Seamus said he found Atlantic Drive very slippy. Glen Allen has woken up today and has zipped 2 places up the leaderboard to 7th o/a and going strong. Danny McBride reckons he lost a few seconds when he encountered an oil slick from Shaun Gallagher’s Lancer. Donagh Kelly is lying just outside the leaderboard, unofficially 11th, just ahead of Gavin Harris in the Impreza. Conor Harvey was up as high as 12th o/a in his Civic Type R but dropped 2m on the Port Lake stage with a puncture which moved him back to about 15th but still leading his class. In the Nationals Wesley Patterson has set the pace this morning and said the slippy type roads suit him better. Daniel McKenna has set some very good times today to move up to 5th National o/a. His co driver Andrew Grennan told us that, apart from needing the back axle of their Escort welded here at service, he’s going to get Daniel to cool his driving a little bit as on Atlantic Drive they had a very major sideways moment on a fast medium left. Damien Gallagher had an overshoot in Port Lake. Derek & Roisin Boyd led the Historic section this morning. David & Susan Wright 19s behind the Boyd Porsche.
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