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| RALLY NEWS No.3 - Castlewellan Forest Park Service - Saturday @ 14:39:58 |
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RALLY NEWS NO.3 Castlewellan Service/Saturday
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 3
1ST (7) Camillus Bradley/Crawford Henderson (Escort) 21.03.6
2nd (8) Damian Toner/Denver Rafferty (Escort) 21.10.0
3rd (10) David Armstrong/Paul Mulholland (Escort) 21.13.1
4th (3) Kenny McKinstry/Noel Orr (Impreza S14) 21.24.7
5th (2) Brendan Cumiskey/Ronan O’Kane (Fiesta R5) 21.34.3
6th (83) Alastair Cochrane/Gary McElhinney (Escort) 21.40.1
7th (18) Alan Smyth/Mac Kierans (Suzuki Swift) 21.46.4
8th (16) John Devlin/John McCarthy (Talbot Sunbeam) 21.46.6
9th (14) Clive Kilpatrick/Jay Colville (Lancer Evo9) 21.53.6
10th (1) Derek McGarrity/James O’Reilly (Fiesta WRC) 21.58.0
11th (36) William Herron/Geoff Patterson (Lancer) 21.55.8
The rain may have stopped for stage 3 but the drivers still reported slippy conditions and lots of puddles. The pace certainly stepped up and Derek McGarrity celebrated being able to see through his Fiesta WRC windscreen by setting quickest time. However he was only fastest by a whisker from Camillus Bradley and the race for the NI Rally Champion’s title looks like it will go down to the wire. Derek McGarrity said. ‘That was much better for me but the conditions are still bad with lots of standing water’. Camillus Bradley commented. ‘We did have a very good run. I was not thinking much about the championship before the rally but I am now!’
Damian Toner had a good run in his Mk2 Escort to hold on to 2nd place and he said he was finding a bit more grip. Similarly David Armstrong reported no problems at stage finish. It is remarkable that just a handful of seconds separate these 3 Mark 2 Escorts at the top of the leaderboard.
Kenny McKinstry is in difficulties with the gear change of his Subaru. He is having to cruise up to junctions, then almost stop the Impreza to get it into gear. Keith White was another to have a good run through stage 3 and when asked at the finish if there had been any dramas in the stage, he joked. ‘The dramas started when we let the clutch out’. Clive Kilpatrick slipped a couple of places on the leaderboard and said he was being too careful as he looked for standing water. John Devlin continues his commendable drive in his Sunbeam despite the windscreen misting up.
Alan Smyth continues to lead the R2s with his Suzuki Swift. Having smacked the rear corner of his Swift in stage he slightly rearranged a front corner in stage 3rd the car slid into a sheugh in stage 2. Kyle White was only .4 of a second slower through stage 3 which was not bad in his Citroen C2R2. William Heron in his Lancer has had a good run through the last 2 stages and he is nudging the leaderboard.
On Rally Catalunya Kris Meeke is now 5th, Craig Breen 14th, Jon Armstrong is 23rd and 3rd in R4. Mikkelsen has crashed out. Sordo still leads, just, from Ogier.
More news later: BRIAN & LIZ & MICHAEL & ZOE PATTERSON www.rallynews.net *Follow RallyNews on Twitter & Facebook @Pacenotes or @Real_RallyNews
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