Rallynews No.1 Gorteen House Hotel Saturday 9.30am

Over 100 crews will take the start of this morning’s 8^th Dogleap Stages Rally. Current Northern Ireland Championship leader Denis Biggerstaff will be first over the ramp at the Gorteen House Hotel. The 6R4 driver has a new co-driver on board today in the shape of Derek Brannigan and it should be a battle royale as the Dromara driver tries to re-enforce his championship lead with a win today.

Eugene Donnelly though will be on the attack as well. Although only 4 points behind in the championship race, Eugene has the upper hand as he has a dropped score following his Sperrins retirement, the Maghera man is driving his Celica better than ever. The wins have been coming at all levels this year, Donnelly will want another trophy for the cabinet today before he makes the long trip to Tipperary this evening, for his continued assault on the National Championship.

This Dogleap Rally will be a no two horse race, with plenty of other drivers quite capable of posting a win today. Top of the list has to be Glenn Allen in his Escort WRC. Allen has been a revelation this season, reliability seems to be thing of the past, and it looks like it is only a matter of time before he gets his first big win. Local businessman Kevin Lynch has shown an impressive turn of speed in his Impreza, and if he can overcome his slow starts, the KPL man could well be a contender today.

Former Southern Forestry Champion Dermot Kelly has once again made the trip from Limerick, and proved last year that despite mechanical problems, he has the speed to mix it with the leaders. James Murphy has also travelled up from Limerick, and could be a dark horse today. Other notable entries likely to pose a threat include George Robinson, who is currently 3^rd in the NI Championship, Kevin O’Kane in his Impreza and Kieran Shaw in his Escort WRC.

Richard Hogg has scored five out of five GpN wins so far this year. Today is unlikely to be any different, Hogg is on his home patch and should be challenging for a top 5 place, but the other GpN pace setters will be fighting hard. A late entry from Davy Greer in one of his Lancers should be interesting, especially as he has last year’s GpN winner Stephen Whitford as a debuting co-driver. Raymond Mason, Sean Devine and Raymond Johnstone will all be trying hard to challenge.

Mark Barnett heads the 2wd contingent away this morning and this could be one of the battles of the day. Jonny McKenna returns to the Dogleap in his Mk2 at 20, while Keith White should be the pacesetter, running at 24. Paul Barrett starts slightly further down at 33, the spectacular Omagh driver always in the thick of things. Pete Donnelly was fighting for 2wd lead on the Sperrins, and looks like he has inherited the family penchant for rallying, no doubt trying to emulate brother Eugene with a good result today.

With the weather forecast being good, the forests will no doubt be very dry, and more importantly, very dusty. For the crews this could cause a few problems, but more importantly, if you are spectating today, take extra care when in the forests.

More news from the end of Stage 2……………….Michael Patterson & Zoe Todd