Mark Higgins has at last put his name on the fastest time list his Mitsubishi stopping the clocks o.3 of a second faster than Kevin Lynch. Kenny McKinstry made a very small mistake in that stage 4 and dropped from 3rd to 5th. So narrow are the gaps between the top drivers that it takes very little to lose a place. Kevin Lynch had a half spin at the hairpin around the bales and that is what cost him a fastest time. Mark Higgins said he is trying to re-set the diffs and also he thought there was a very slight misfire cam into his Mitsubishi at the very fast section past the golf club. Kenny McKinstry reckons he made a mess of 2 different corners and said the stage was extremely slippy. Darren Gass is being real cool, said he was keeping it steady, but there he is in 3rd o/a. Charlie Donnelly tried a harder compound tyre and it didn’t exactly pay off, but it didn’t cost him any time either and he was 4th fastest. Denis Biggerstaff is maintaining his place. Glenn Allen had a good run to hold on to 6th and Peadar Hurson is trying hard but by his high standards making no great impression, and has to be content with 7th place.
John McGlaughlin was just a smidgeon faster than Garry Jennings through that 4th stage but there is virtually nothing in it and Garry maintains his 2s lead overall in group N. Sean Haveron had 2 overshoots in the stage so that John McKeown was fastest of the Escort Cosworth contingent. Brian Dowey still leads that class 3 with Sean 2nd and McKeown 3rd. Rodney White has now moved into the lead of class 2 ahead of the Mk2 Escort of Phil Collins with Wesley Patterson now back in 3rd having lost time when hit a branch of a tree. Kris Meeke is 4th, Camillus Bradley 5th and Mervyn Wedlock 6th. Phillip Hunter leads class 5 in his Escort despite clattering into some bales in front of the Turkington corporate guest stand! Stuart Clark in his Escort RS1800 is 2nd in class 5 with Alan Jardine 3rd and John Keatley 4th in his Porsche.
More news later: BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net
