Over the last few stages Banbridge & Gregorlough it has been almost too close to call between the top drivers. Craig Breen was fastest through stage 11 from Josh Moffett with Kajetan Kajetanowicz 3rd and Robert Barrable 4th. Less than 3s covered those 4. In stage 12 it was Barrable who was fastest by 3s from Breen. This brought Robert Barrable back into the lead. Breen commented that his Peugeot was struggling for grip on the slower corners and junctions. Barrable was really surprised at how well his Fiesta and his tyres worked through that stage 12, the last one in a long 4-stage loop. Longford`s Tommy Doyle was re-seeded to start behind all the ERC competitors but is still doing a splendid job and is 10th o/a in his Skoda S2000. Swedish driver Emil Bergkvist continues to lead the ERC Juniors in his Opel Adam and is 14th o/a. Marijan Griebel, also in an Opel Adam, has come into 2nd in RC4 and Chris Ingram is 3rd in his Peugeot. 25s back from Bergkvist.
The big news in from stage 10 McGaffins Corner, is that Declan Boyle and his co driver Brian Boyle, are stranded mid-stage with a mechanical problem on their Subaru. This leaves Derek McGarrity the very clear leader from Kenny McKinstry. Wesley Patterson in 3rd is best of the Escorts but making no impression on the 2 cars in front. Further stories include – Rory Byrne has withdrawn his Modern Tyres Lancer because of a misfire. Geoff McMahon continues to lead Group N in his Lancer. Stanley Orr is losing time on nearly every stage as his historic car does not have the horsepower to match the fastest Escorts. Alistair Cochrane spun his Escort in stage 10.
Derek Crossen & Jody Patterson have retired their Escort with a broken engine belt. Drexel Gillespie`s Historic Escort has stopped on McGaffins Corner with a faulty water pump. Alan Carmichael seems to have resolved the overheating problem with his Subaru and is still going strong. Fraser Mulholland is getting brake fade on his Escort.
Surprise visitors here to service at Titanic Quarter is a fully costumed Star Wars cast. A brilliant innovative charity effort. Some great pictures on Twitter! Liz P has got a fabulous new friend!!
More news later: BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON & Michael & Zoe Patterson www.rallynews.net * & Michael & Zoe Patterson *Follow RallyNews on Twitter and Facebook @Pacenotes or @Real_RallyNews
