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RALLY NEWS NO.1 Friday/2.30/Armagh
This weekend’s Philip White Tyres backed Ulster Rally certainly promises massive action, with all sorts of battles in store between the best drivers in Britain and Ireland and beyond. It’s actually a Manxman, Mark Higgins, who is the key to several of those battles. Mark is of course contesting both the Global Group Tarmac Championship as well as the Tesco 99 British series. He did lead both, but his Manx accident relegated him to 2nd on the Tarmac and 3rd on the British. Mark must drive a GpN Impreza here to score British points, while his main Tarmac opponent Eugene Donnelly will be in his mighty Reid Motorsport Subaru WRC and is bidding, not just the little matter of his third Ulster Rally win, but also maximum Tarmac points. Pirelli have drafted in Kris Meeke to drive Mark’s Subaru WRC in an effort to deny Donnelly maximum points, while Mark will have his hands full anyway trying to beat fellow British series front runners Guy Wilks and Gwyndaf Evans. Of course anything can happen on the Ulster, and quite often does.
As well as Donnelly and Meeke in front running WRC machinery, former winner Andrew Nesbitt, Eamonn Boland and Tim McNulty are all in Subaru WRC’s. McNulty is fresh from winning the Galway Summer Stages in his Pierse backed Subaru WRC. These three should keep Donnelly and Miike on their toes. In addition there is a range of Irish drivers in WRC machinery seeded outside the top ten, such as Denis Biggerstaff, Hugh Martin Doherty and Sean McArdle, who shouldn’t be a mile away. Donegal man Hugh Martin is driving a new Impreza WRC S12 for the first time and is slightly apprehensive.
Further top GpN runners include Wyn Humphries, who actually leads the British series in the TEG stable mate car to Mark Higgins’, Philip Morrow who is bidding to maximise his Evo Challenge advantage over Seb Ling, Seamus Leonard, Colm Murphy, James Cullen, Connor McCloskey and a whole lot more. Lots more in fact as there really is a great line-up of Group N machinery and drivers. Even the 1977 Ulster Rally winner Derek Boyd is driving a group N Lancer this time with his daughter Roisin co-driving!
Also there is a terrific amount of class action promised. African Rally Champion Conrad Rautenbach for example will be resuming his battle with Darren Gass, both in Citroen C2 Super 1600’s The works Suzuki pairing of James Wozencroft and Lorna Smith are out in their N2 Suzuki Swift Sports and they always add a bit of class. Vesa Mikkola in his Civic and Matt Beebe in his MG should face N3 opposition from Alastair Fisher in his Fiesta as well as Ian Hynes and Tom Gormally in their respective Civics. The A6 class should also be hotly contested with current Tarmac Champion Andrew Bushe in ex McShea Saxo facing opposition from the likes of young Jonny Greer in his Citroen C2R2. 1980 Ulster Rally winner Dessie McCartney has come out of rally retirement for this event, and although he won the 1980 Ulster in a Chevette HSR, he likens the Citroen to being similar to a Mini Cooper to drive!
This Ulster also has a national category running in parallel, and that part of the rally is also a counter in the MSA Asphalt Rally Championship. This encourages a mix of the Irish and British drivers just like the main rally. John Price in his venerable Metro 6R4 heads the National list and runs with No.100 on the car with Camillus Bradley next up in his Escort and David Kynaston 3rd on the road in his interesting Audi A3 Quattro. Sadly last year’s winner, the late Tony Davies, was killed in a road accident recently.
Changes to the previously published International entry list include Andreas Mikkelsen, Kevin Lynch, Howard Clarke, Errol Clarke, Noel McCarrick and Emma McKinstry non-starting. Co-driver changes include Eugene O’Donnell sitting with Tim McNulty, Reba Graham with James Cullen, Liam Moynihan with Andrew Bushe. Shaun Lafferty with Vesa Mikkola. Andrew Holmes with Dessie McCartney.
More news after stage 1: BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net |
