| RALLY
NEWS NO.1
Ballymena - Saturday 09.00
Today's Toshiba Rally has an interest packed entry, with last year's winner
Trevor Moore heading a strong line-up. Moore drives a Subaru WRC for the
first time, and it is going to be a baptism of fire for the Greenisland man
when he tackles the opening stage, Slievenorra. The rally format is
different this year, and so is Slievenorra - its 8.2 mile length has been
opened out and smoothed over, certainly for the lead cars, and it should be
ultra quick. Changes to the route include the inclusion of Ballypatrick
forest and leaving out Ballyboley.
At No.2 in the line up is Tarmac Champion Derek Mcgarrity. He drives a '99
Impreza WRC. At 3 is the quickest rally engineer in the west, Robbie McGurk,
who is an a McKinstry '99 Impreza. Denis Biggerstaff breaks the run of
Subaru's with his Metro 6R4. Although looking forward to the rally, Denis
doesn't it count as one of his favourites, as, for reasons he can't explain
himself, he never seems able to set a good time on the Slieveanorra stage.
To add to the Kinallen man's woes, his Metro is still plagued by an
overheating problem, possibly down to a hairline crack in the block and
which Denis admits he won't be able to cure until the close season when he
can get the time to send the unit away. In the meantime he and co-driver
Derek Brannigan have a routine of shared tasks in bleeding the 6R4's cooling
system between stages. They now have it down to a fine art!
Eamonn Boland was to be at 5, but he is non-starting (George Robinson and
event sponsor Willie McKee of BSS are also missing from the line-up). At 6
is Kevin Lynch in his fabulous Impreza WRC S8. Scottish visitor Neale Dougan
is 7 in his Dominic McNeill prepared Escort WRC. Neale says the car is going
like a dream but he is just here for a day out, not to expect any heroics.
At 8 is former Southern forestry Champion Dermot Kelly in his Escort WRC.
9 is Kevin O'Kane in his GpA Impreza, while Maurice Gass rounds off the top
10. Maurice drives a McGarrity '98 Impreza supported by Texaco through WR
Kennedy and, although hasn't been in the forests for 3 years, should go
well. Just outside the top ten, at 11, is Richard Hogg, who is this year's
GpN Champion in the NI Championship.
Although this is the final round of the series, the overall title, as well
as GpN, has already been decided. Eugene Donnelly is the overall Champion,
but is giving this event a miss as he sorts out a new car for next year.
Hogg will have plenty of opposition in GpN, not least the car behind, the
Lancer driven by Raymond Johnston. Raymond Mason in his GpN Impreza at 15
won't be hanging around either.
Young Michael Curran has 37 on his GpN Lancer, but he will start just behind
Johnston. Davy Greer in his Corolla WRC runs at 16, Sean Devine at 17 is
going very quickly these days in his GpN Subaru, as do Kieran Shaw, John
Donnelly, and Gerard McFall at 18, 19 & 20. Keith White at 21 drives the
highest seeded 2 wheel drive car, keith currently the points leader in the
hotly contested Mid Antrim Club's Championship. Keith has put a fair bit of
work into a car for this one, and is hopeful of a good result. All in all
then a pretty impressive line up, with lots more good drivers and cars
outside the top twenty or so.
Further changes include - Willie Hunter non starting, his Sierra Cosworth
clutch just blew on the way to the start. John Brennan sitting with Dermot
Kelly. Martin Hanna with Kevin O'Kane. Tommy Speers is now with Emma
McKinstry.
More news later. BRIAN AND LIZ PATTERSON
www.rallynews.net
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