RALLY NEWS NO.5                      Cushendall - Saturday  3pm
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 6 Slieveanorra
1st (1) Trevor Moore/Philip McCrea (Impreza WRC) 29.11
2nd (3) Robbie McGurk/David Moynihan (Impreza) 29.14
3rd (2) Derek McGarrity/Dermot O'Gorman (Impreza WRC) 29.18
4th (16) David Greer/Brian Crawford (Corolla WRC) 30.25
5th (10) Maurice Gass/James McKee (Impreza WRC) 30.34
6th (12) Raymond Johnston/Richard Bell (Evo 6 N) 30.49
7th (8) Dermot Kelly/John Brennan (Escort WRC) 30.58
8th (11) Richard Hogg/Mark Hanna (Evo 6 N) 31.13
9th (15) Raymond Mason/Peter Martin (Impreza N) 31.21
     (19) John Donnelly/Joe McAleese (Escort WRC) 31.21
11th (9) Kevin O'Kane/Martin Hanna (Impreza WRC) 31.23
12th (17) Sean Devine/Damien Duffin (Impreza N) 31.25

It is still nip and tuck between the top 3 drivers, with Trevor Moore fastest through stage 6, Flieveanorra, with a time of 8.10. Robbie McGurk recorded 8.11 and Derek McGarrity 8.12.  The drivers were due to do stage 7, Beaghs, before this Cushendall service, but the stage has been abandoned because there are 2 cars lying in a river in a dangerous position. 

Denis Biggerstaff was lying 6th starting that Slieveanorra test, but his Metro 6R4 ground to a halt just before the transmitter, suspected cause an errant crankshaft sensor. 

Trevor Moore told us when he reached this tranquil setting of Cushendall looking over the calm Irish Sea to Scotland….."We're getting a bit more aggressive with the car and it makes it a bit easier to drive. We had a good stage but the road surface is cutting up badly".  All the following drivers then remarked on how rough the stage had become.  Derek McGarrity reported "I took a gamble on tyres, thought the stage would be drier and faster, but in fact with the stage being so rough, the tyre choice was a mistake".  Derek went on to say that he hit a jump in the stage very hard and there was quite a bit of mud and stones jammed up round the front bumper of the Impreza.  Maurice Gass' Impreza also had a damaged front bumper. Davy Greer thought he had damaged his car on Slieveanorra but it turned out to be a stone jammed in a caliper. 

Robbie McGurk arrived in to service in a whole panic, his Impreza in clutch trouble. The McKinstry mechanics worked frantically but there was very little they could do. The clutch is still creating drive for the car but Robbie can't de-clutch which makes it very awkward to drive.  When asked would the car be OK, Kenny McKinstry observed…"Maybe, maybe not.  There is a big bit of the carbon ring in there somewhere and we can't find it".