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| The Kerry Mini Stages |
| RALLY NEWS No.3 - End SS2 - Tuesday @ 12:58:09 |
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UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 2 – The Cashen
1st (1) Keith Cronin/David Power (Lancer N) 17.32
2nd (4) Thomas Fitzmaurice/Fionn Foley (Lancer N) 17.34
3rd (3) Stuart Darcy/Diarmuid Falvey (Subaru) 17.48
(5) Anthony O'Halloran/Charlie McEnery (Lancer N) 17.48
5th (2) Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy (Lancer N) 17.53
6th (8) Sean Flanagan/Brian Duggan (Impreza N) 18.25
7th (7) Mike Quinn/Sean Enright (Escort) 18.26
8th (10) Tim Enright/Stephen Buckley (Lancer) 18.32
9th (6) Brian O'Mahony/John Higgins (Impreza N) 18.47
10th (9) Ed Synan/Denis O'Connell (Escort) 18.54
The above times are from the early cars only and some of the later crews may well come on to the leaderboard. Following stage 1 it was Thomas Fitzmaurice who led but on stage 2 Keith Cronin was fastest by 3s from Fitzmaurice with Anthony O’Halloran a further 4s back. Cronin covered the 15.35km of that Cashen stage in just 8m37s, which was great going considering he has a guest co-driver David Power in the passenger’s seat. Keith said that he felt a little vibration through the steering which was probably a legacy of running wide on one corner and getting mud stuck in the rim. As regards the rain and the very wet roads he also said. “There are a few places where there is standing water but I’m not a full pelt so it wasn’t a big problem”. When Thomas Fitzmaurice brought the TLI Lancer in he said. “I knew it wasn’t a great time. I am having real trouble getting the car to slow down, I don’t know whether it’s the brakes or the conditions”.
Alan Ring has adopted very much a “steady as she goes” approach as he keeps his Lancer firmly between the hedges knowing that he only has to get to the finish really to clinch the Top Part West Coast Championship for the 3rd time. Stuart Darcy over cooked it a bit on a downhill square right and spun his Subaru which cost a few seconds in that 2nd stage. Anthony O’Halloran reported a good run and set a really good time. Brian O’Mahony said. “I’m driving like a granny, there’s a lot more to learn about this group N car than I imagined there would be”. Mike Quinn had throttle cable trouble in that stage 2. Sean Flanagan/Brian Duggan in the GpN Impreza had an overshoot at the first junction in stage 2 which cost them a few seconds.
Killarney man Kevin O’Donoghue had the lucky escape with the bolt coming loose in his Escort gear change in stage 1 and then at the start of stage 2 he reckoned his front tyres were too soft and he asked the man in the recovery truck if he could blow them up. The man duly obliged but all he had was a wee compressor out of Lidl and all it did was let the air out instead of putting it in! John Hickey/Carol O’Keefe again lost time when their Subaru windscreen misted up. Frank Sweeney in the Escort at No.14 said he is really struggling in these bad conditions.
Mick McQuaid is in a lovely new Escort running at No.17 and he lost a little time on the opening stage when he cracked a wheel against a kerb. Gary Reidy/Jim Casey lost a few seconds in stage 1 when their Escort windscreen fogged up. They had a good time through stage 2. Christy Carey/Richard Talbot also lost time in stage 1 when their Lancer screen fogged up and then they had a decent time through stage 2. Ian & Paul Roche lost time when their Citroen C2 broke an engine mounting which affected the engine management system. Sean Moriarty is co driving for Pete Greene in the red Mk2 and as well as losing a few seconds when catching cars Moriarty described the conditions on the stages as “brutal”. Paul McEnroe/Sorcha Kelly have slipped back to 14th, their Impreza N14 off the road briefly in stage 2.
More news later: BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net (with thanks to Angus Sealy) |
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