UNOFFICIAL NATIONAL L/BOARD AFTER STAGE 2
1st (18) Eugene Meegan/Sarah Whelan (BMW) 21.45.5
2nd (25) Ross Marshall/Dave Robson (Escort) 22.14.4
3rd (24) Charlie Hickey/Johnny Hickey (Escort) 22.38.6
4th (26) Tadgh O’Sullivan/Eoin O’Leary (Escort) 22.40.2
5th (31) Jason Ryan/Peter Falvey (Starlet) 22.45.8
Rally leader Garry Jennings surveyed his busy service point at the Liebherr factory here in Killarney and he said. ‘It is good to get a good start.’ His mechanics were busy taking the sump guard off his Subaru to change a burst drive shaft gaiter and also paying attention to the faulty gear change display unit on the dashboard as well as the intercom which had all given trouble through stage 2. In addition co-driver Rory Kennedy was having a Go-Pro type camera fitted to his helmet so that as he read the notes he could see the road ahead, on a screen, without lifting his head. It is wonderful the works of a wheelbarrow…..
Second placed Alastair Fisher said. ‘We had a good clean run although I was surprised to have such a good time in stage 2’ He went on to tell us that his plan to change front and rear wheels did not happen as there was not enough time. Sam Moffett also reported a good run while his brother Josh lost a couple of seconds on stage 1 when he had to avoid a dog on the road and he was also distracted on stage 2 when an overheating warning light flashed up on the dash board. Donagh Kelly reported no real problems with his Focus WRC. Stephen Wright felt he had set his Fiesta R5 suspension just a little too stiff for the opening stage and he is also using a short ratio gearbox this weekend, that mean he lost a few seconds on the 1000 yard straight in stage 2.
John Mulholland, who has agreed to sponsor the Ulster Rally for the next 3 years, brought his ex Ogier Skoda into service and he said. ‘In our own wee way we are going well!’ The Skoda/Hyundai/Ford dealer went on to say. ‘On that 1000 yard straight Ian (the co driver) had time for a ‘Hamlet’ moment (a wee smoke!)’
Some further stories: Brian O’Keefe has had turbo problems with his Impreza but still leads Group N. Paul Barrett is into 2nd GpN and David Guest 3rd. Fergus O’Meara was 3rd National after SS1 but has slipped to 58th following brake problems. Joe McGonigle lost a lot of time on SS1 with a puncture on his Skoda then on SS2 came around a tight right corner to find Kevin O’Donoghue’s new BMW jammed across the road. This cost Joe a few more seconds. The BMW eventually reached service with a few bumps on the front.
Our sincere thanks to Mike O’Leary and Stephen plus Diarmuid Falvey for their assistance this morning sourcing a new lead for our computer.
More news later: BRIAN & LIZ & MICHAEL & ZOE PATTERSON www.rallynews.net *Follow Rally News on Twitter and Facebook @Pacenotes or @Real_RallyNews
