Monaghan’s Niall Maguire has racked up 132 points in the Dunlop National Championship, with just the 24^th October Fastnet round remaining. Maguire finished 2^nd on last weekend’s Donegal Harvest Rally, but took maximum points as winner and former Champion Paul Harris was not registered.

Maguire’s closest rival Patrick Elliott has 115 points, so could still take the title, but 3^rd placed Jim Harrison, with 111 points, can not. Interestingly, Harrison’s co-driver, Harvey Bell, could deprive Paul McLaughlin or David Moynihan of the co-driver’s title.

Niall McShea was an interested spectator on the Donegal Harvest as his betrothed, Noreen McDaid, was co-driving for former Billy Coleman Award winner Stuart Darcy. Killybegs man Stuart returned the lady safe and sound after taking his Civic to a class win.

Cahal Arthur’s co-driver on the Donegal Harvest Jakes Kelly insisted that he had been granted a 24 second allowance for stopping to render assistance at a stage 5 accident and was therefore 2^nd and not 3^rd as shown in the provisional results. Their Accent went over the ramp as runner up to Paul Harris and ahead of Niall Maguire. It transpired that no allowance had been granted. Following a lengthy query that delayed the final results considerably the pair stayed in 3^rd place. Their stage delay was attributed to "force majeure" and not assistance.

Charlie Donnelly was unable to make the start of the Donegal Harvest in his hired Skoda WRC. Engineers worked frantically the night before the rally to correct a fault in the car’s electronic brain, with only partial success. The differentials weren’t responding fully when the car was started up on the morning of the rally and it was deemed safer not to start.

Norwegian crew Nils Waerstad/Anders Granheim, being looked after by John Haugland, managed to get their Sierra Cosworth to the finish of the Donegal Harvest, albeit in 104^th place. It transpired that the real point of the exercise was to produce a human interest piece for a Norwegian TV show, Waerstad being a well known comedian in his own country.

The Lough Erne Hotel in Kesh is the headquarters for this weekend’s Enniskillen Clubman’s Forest Stage Rally. Ninety crews have entered, with Eamonn Mimnagh, Brendan Campbell and Frank Kelly, all in Mk2 Escorts, the top three seeds. Gareth McHale and Gerry McGarrity in Peugeots are next up. Well known co-driver Damien Connolly from Monaghan has entered in an Escort, which will be his first rally as a driver.

This Sunday’s Gardai MC Single Stage Rally at Baltinglass in the Wicklow Hills is also a round of the new Rory Galligan backed Irish Peugeot 205 Challenge. Niall O’Connell was the winner of the opening Oldcastle round and fourteen crews are expected to compete this time.

Regards, Brian Patterson.