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| Ulster International rally |
| RALLY NEWS No.2 - After SS1 - Friday @ 16:01:43 |
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RALLY NEWS NO.2 End of stage 1/Friday
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 1 TARDREE
1st (4) Derek McGarrity/James McKee (Impreza WRC) 5.10.5
2nd (1) Eugene Donnelly/Paddy Toner (Fabia WRC) 5.12.1
3rd (2) Gareth MacHale/Brian Murphy (Focus WRC) 5.13.1
4th (9) Darren Gass/Sean Mullally (Impreza WRC) 5.17.7
5th (8) Glenn Allen/Damien Connolly (Corolla WRC) 5.21.3
6th (6) Keith Cronin/Greg Shinnors (Lancer N) 5.25.5
7th (10) Alastair Fisher/Rory Kennedy (Lancer N) 5.30.9
8th (5) Mark Higgins/Bryan Thomas (Impreza N) 5.31.9
9th (7) Gwyndaf Evans/Chris Patterson (Lancer N) 5.33.7
10th (12) Adam Gould/Seb Marshall (Impreza N) 5.40.9
(32) Dave Weston/Gordon Noble (Impreza N) 5.40.9
The opening Tardree stage was mostly dry but with treacherous wet muddy patches to catch the unwary and nearly all the drivers said at stage finish that they were just being a little careful. Eugene Donnelly commented. “We took it steady. It was very guttery in places and some of the braking areas were slippy but it was a nice stage. I reckon there’s a good bit left in it”. Gareth MacHale told us. “We only went so so. A couple of places there was a lot of mud and I backed off totally”. Derek McGarrity was fastest although he reckoned that his intermediate tyre choice wasn’t quite right. But it couldn’t have been too far away! Derek has 2 slicks in the boot of his Subaru ready to change on to if Glendun and Torr Head appear to be dry.
Mark Higgins said he was very steady and the stage was a bit tricky. Keith Cronin reported a small overshoot and he ran slick tyres on the front and a cut slick on the rear of his Lancer. Gwyndaf Evans is driving the new Evo 10 and he had a bit of a moment in the stage when he hit a jump a bit too fast and the when the car clattered down again the interior mirror fell off and landed at his feet. The Welshman said in his usual quiet manner. “It was a bit off-putting. I was a little bit too fast in places a little bit conservative in others”. Alastair Fisher had a great run to record 2nd best GpN time. Darren Gass, 4th o/a in the Subaru WRC had a big panic just on the way up to the stage when he couldn’t get the intercom to work but it all came good. Jonny Greer set a time of 5.51.8 and he said he’s building his confidence up after his Manx accident. Adam Gould found the stage tricky with a lot of places to make a mistake and a soft brake pedal in his Pirelli backed Impreza did nothing to boost his confidence. David Bogie recorded a 5.46.4 and he is getting used to some set up changes to his Lancer. Danny Barry was nicely on the pace with a 5.41.6. Nik Elsmore did 5.42.6. Euan Thorburn did 5.50. Marty McCormack was 8s up on his Citroen rival Jason Pritchard. Marty recorded 5.53. Finnish driver Matti Rantanen commented. “One bump it surprises me!” Matti’s time was 5.50.1. John McGlaughlin put his Lancer into a ditch on the last square right corner of the stage and dropped over 2m. Dutch driver Kevin Abbring crashed his Clio over the high speed jumps before the forest. Kris Princen ;had a brilliant time in his Clio, 5.42.0 and said. “No mistakes”.
More news later: BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net
For SMS results text RALLY ITC to 53030 (Irl) or 60066 (UK): Text STOP to switch off. Cost 30c/25p. Provided by stagetimes.com
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