| RALLY
NEWS NO.11 Drumshanbo/Sunday/4.30
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 13
YELLOW RIVERS
1st
(2) Derek McGarrity/Chris Patterson (Impreza WRC) 1.27.24.1
2nd
(7) Andrew Nesbitt/James O'Brien (Impreza WRC) 1.28.21.2
3rd
(3) Eamonn Boland/Damien Morrissey (Impreza WRC) 1.28.49.3
4th
(1) Austin MacHale/Brian Murphy (Impreza WRC) 1.29.14.5
5th
(9) Maurice Gass/Geoffrey Orr (Impreza WRC) 1.30.20.6
6th
(11) Roy White/Greg Shinnors (Lancer N) 1.33.02.7
7th
(17) Shaun Gallagher/Rory Kennedy (Lancer N) 1.33.44.4
8th
(12) Dickie Curran/Anthony Donnelly (Lancer N) 1.34.10.4
9th
(18) Raymond Johnston/Richard Bell (Lancer N) 1.35.39.0
10th
(16) Aaron MacHale/Damien Connolly (Lancer N) 1.36.05.3
Tim McNulty was lying 6th
going in to this most recent group of stages, Owenmore River and Yellow
Rivers, but as yet has not appeared at service. We hear unofficially the car
was stopped in stage 12, Owenmore River, with the bonnet up, and lots of
smoke/steam, that Tim got going again, but we have no recent sightings!
Fastest through stage 12 was Austin MacHale, with Andrew Nesbitt quickest
through stage 13, MacHale having spun his Impreza over a gravel patch.
Rally leader Derek McGarrity commented
"There’s lots of narrow places in there with big stones at the side of
the road and it would be very easy to get a puncture or damage a wheel".
Andrew Nesbitt commented "We went well, there was a lot of loose gravel
and I was nearly off the road at a hairpin up the mountain. It tightened and
tightened and I had a bit of steering to do. Then the brakes started to go off
after about 8 or 9 miles and I was pumping the pedal, never worked so
hard". Eamonn Boland reported no problems. Maurice Gass in the Millview
Fuels car reckons there was a drive broken at the back, the car was snaking
about.
There has been another change in gpN,
Seamus Leonard retiring his Subaru in the Yellow Rivers stage, a broken clutch
or gearbox suspected. Dickie Curran had some gearstick problems but it seems
to have fixed itself. Roy White was fastest through the Yellow Rivers stage,
6s up on Shaun Gallagher. Shaun was fastest through Owenmore River. Shan’s
co driver Rory Kennedy admitted that through that stage 13 himself and Shaun
didn’t quite gel on the notes. Raymond Johnston has changed the tyres on his
gpN Lancer and has immediately come into 9th.
Just outside the leaderboard now we have
Glyn Jones in 11th. Michael Curran 12th. Cathal Rogers
13th in the G3 Escort. One interested spectator on the rally today
is MG works driver Gwyndaf Evans, keeping an eye on his some times co driver
Chris Patterson, and of course Derek McGarrity. Gwyndaf has confirmed that he
will be competing on next weekend’s Pirelli Rally in the MG. While Dick
Cormack of Pirelli also tells us that Tapio Laukkanen has now entered
the Pirelli in a Subaru WRC.
Back here on the Circuit more stories
include…Jaye Jordan retired with a broken gearbox. Tony Kearns has crashed
his Lancer out. Andrew Bush was leading his class overnight but has been off
the road for 5 minutes. PJ McDermott/Ger Callaghan have crashed their Escort
out..the last of several accidents this weekend! Brian Corey has damaged the
rear corner of his Sierra Cosworth, hit a tree after a big jump yesterday. Pat
White was considering retirement after stage 11, his Impreza WRC once again
blowing the exhaust manifold, Pat worried about a fire starting.
The Historic Rally is back on the road
– they do the final loop of stages today. Martin Freestone leads the Post
Historics despite a bent cross member in his Escort. Frank Cunningham in the
Mini leads the Post Historics from Niall Creighton in the Cortina. More news
later. BRIAN AND LIZ PATTERSON
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