| |
| Pirelli International Rally |
| RALLY NEWS No.3 - After SS2 - Friday @ 21:51:48 |
| |
|
RALLY NEWS NO.3 Carlisle Racecourse/Service/Friday
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 2 The Valley
1st (1) Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh (Proton S2000) 17.52.2
2nd (3) Mark Higgins/Bryan Thomas (Impreza N) 18.10.9
3rd (9) Phillip Morrow/Simon Morrow (Lancer N) 18.21.9
4th (2) Keith Cronin/Greg Shinnors (Lancer N) 18.27.8
5th (5) Adam Gould/Seb Marshall (Impreza N) 18.32.8
6th (7) David Bogie/Kevin Rae (Lancer N) 18.33.2
7th (8) Dave Weston/Dave Robson (Impreza N) 18.49.7
8th (15) Jonny Greer/Anthony O'Conaill (Lancer N) 18.49.8
9th (14) Alastair Fisher/Rory Kennedy (Lancer N) 18.50.4
10th (12) Danny Sigurdarson/Andy Bull (Lancer N) 19.04.0
Guy Wilks and his co driver Phil Pugh are almost 19s up after the first 2 stages this evening on this Pirelli International Rally and that is a very significant margin after a total of 19 miles on those 2 tests. To make that gap even more special is the fact that Guy struggled for all of the 2nd stage and half of the first one with clouds of dust swirling around inside the Proton. Current British Champion Guy told us. “There was a high speed compression jump on the 2nd stage and the crack of it went right through the car, through the rear damper, up through the diff guard and the rear window shattered. From then on there was dust everywhere and I just had to concentrate and keep driving. It was very distracting. The car has good speed and we really got into it on the first stage. It was a good start and with fine tuning there’s more to come. The 2nd stage really suited the car and we kept the momentum going”. Mark Higgins said when he looked at Guy Wilks’ times. . “I’ll just concentrate on the group N rally now”. Mark continued. “We felt we had a good run although I did slow down at one point when I heard a strange noise but it was just the mud flaps had come adrift. I tried to avoid punctures and keep it on the road”.
Phillip Morrow told us. “I shook the rust off in there, it was some craic. We had a good run although I caught Euan Thorburn on the 2nd stage and was behind him for about three quarters of a mile on the narrow twisty stuff. His Subaru had a puncture and there wasn’t much he could do. We lost a few seconds”. Keith Cronin reported that his Lancer was nearly off the road on just the 2nd corner of the first stage, then he had a slight spin and was quite conservative through the 2nd stage. So he is pleased enough to be 4th overnight. Adam Gould said. “We thought we had a puncture in stage 2 and backed off for a bit and then realised it was OK. I think we’re in a good position for tomorrow”. David Bogie rounds off the top 6 and the young Dumfries man said. “The car is a lot better. We caught Thorburn and lost a bit of time but I’m pleased with the car. It bottomed out a couple of times but its good”. Dave Weston in 7th lost a couple of seconds when he selected 3rd gear coming out of a hairpin but otherwise went well.
Alastair Fisher was a bit slow on the first stage and said he wasn’t quite prepared for the amount of grip which was a lot better than the mud of the Bulldog Rally. Alastair said then he had a good run on the 2nd stage. Icelandic driver Danny Sigurdarson reported a puncture on the right rear of his Evo 10 on the first stage which cost a few seconds. He is also struggling to learn the car as it is his first time on gravel with it, but he said it is very good to drive, “like a Mk2 Escort!” The young Finnish driver Matti Rantanen said. “Nice run, not very good, some mistakes and some moments. I would like to be closer to the 4 wheel drive in front. We will try that tomorrow!” Matti is 11th o/a and leading Cl.R3. Craig Breen is 2nd in class R3 and the top placed Fiesta at the moment with Mark Donnelly 16th o/a, 2nd Fiesta.
Marty McCormack is leading class R2 and is the highest placed Citroen C2R2 Max with Mark Gamble 2nd. Jason Pritchard led by a few seconds after the first stage but he slid his C2R2 Max into a ditch on the 2nd stage and lost well over 20m. Further stories include: Rob Swann struggling with throttle and handling problems on his Impreza. The Swedish driver Anders Sjolander retired his Lancer on the way to the first stage with fuel pump problems. Luke Pinder leads Cl.R1 in his Swift and is just 7s ahead of Donegal driver Joe McGonigle in his Civic.
More news in the morning: BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net
|
| |
| |
| |
|
| |
|
