UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 5 Coolea
1st (1) Daragh O`Riordan/Tony McDaid (Fiesta WRC) 57.06.4
2nd (3) Keith Cronin/Marshall Clarke (Citroen DS3R5) 57.55.6
3rd (2) Sam Moffett/James O`Reilly (Fiesta WRC) 58.12.4
4th (5) Josh Moffett/John Rowan (Lancer N) 1.00.30.3
5th (8) Declan Gallagher/Ryan Moore (Starlet rwd) 1.01.34.3
6th (27) Stephen Carey/Ella Ryan (Civic) 1.02.03.9
7th (22) Stephen Wright/Mike Galvin (Peugeot 208R2) 1.02.11.8
8th (34) Callum Devine/Paddy McCrudden (Fiesta R2) 1.02.43.9
9th (25) Cal McCarthy/Eamonn Dullea (Civic) 1.02.46.1
10th (33) Martin Donnelly/Brian Doherty (Corolla WRC) 1.03.02.9
Having led the rally at first service after stage 3 Keith Cronin has lost a lot of time through stages 4 and 5. Daragh O`Riordan has been flying through those 2 stages, Musherabeg and Coolea, setting fastest times with Sam Moffett 2nd fastest through both stages. Three times winner of this Cork 20 O1Riordan has really settled to the task in hand, and Sam Moffett has regained some of his confidence following his power steering worries. We await with interest to see the times from stage 6, the 2nd run over Mullaghanish, to see if Keith Cronin can get back on track. The onset of heavy rain will surely make life even more difficult for the drivers.
Josh Moffett continues to lead group N in his Lancer. Josh did have a puncture for several miles of stage 5. However, compared to his first run over he lost no time which is an indication of how carefully he was driving on the opening loop. His nearest challenger in the category was Rob Duggan but he cut a stage 5 corner too close and damaged the front left wheel of his Lancer. Rob has certainly lost a lot of time and may consider going into Rally 2. Millstreet man Daniel Lucey spun his Escort in stage 4, Paul Fitzgerald arrived on the scene, could not get his Escort stopped and ran into Lucey`s machine. Lucey has steering damage and Fitzgerald has suspension damaged.
Enda McCormack/Colin Fitzgerald were going well in the Hyundai Accent WRC but the car ground to a halt in stage 4 when a cam belt broke. Clonakilty Blackpudding man Ed Twomey retired his Fiesta on stage 3 when he ran wide on a left-hand bend, clipped a hedge and the car felt over. Damage is mostly superficial and Ed`s brother is bringing up some lights and bumpers from Clonakilty to get the car patched up, and hopefully compete in Rally 2 tomorrow. Jason Ryan retired his Starlet in stage 3 when the engine let go, unfortunately then someone crashed into the back of it. Eugene Meegan had a half spin in a stage 3 farmyard and damaged a steering arm on his Lancer and he appears to have also retired.
Late this afternoon on Rally France Latvala was still leading and increased the gap to his VW team-mate Mikkelsen to 25s. Kris Meeke is 3rd but 51s off the lead. Sordo is 4th, Kubica 5th & Osberg 6th. A couple of stages back Alastair Fisher was going strong in 23rd position and 1st in RC3. Martin McCormack seems to have retired early in the rally. Here on the Cork 20 Andy Johnson was leading the Historic category in his Chevette after their first 2 stages from Denis Moynihan by just 2s with Aidan O1Connor in a Mk1 Escort in 3rd.
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