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| Circuit of Munster |
| RALLY NEWS No.6 - Finish - Sunday @ 17:38:27 |
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RALLY NEWS NO.6 Finish/Sunday 5.40
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 9 – FINAL STAGE
1st (2) Niall Maguire/Enda Sherry (Impreza WRC) 1.19.0
2nd (3) Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally (Impreza WRC) 1.20.10
3rd (7) Eamonn Daly/Anthony O'Connaill (Lancer N) 1.23.47
4th (147) Michael Curran/Alan Whyte (Escort) 1.25.10
5th (9) Garry Jennings/David Moynihan (Lancer N) 1.25.26
6th (33) Eddie Power/Jonathan McGrath (Corolla WRC) 1.25.50
7th (8) Thomas Fitzmaurice/Fionn Foley (Lancer N) 1.26.03
8th (28) Paul Elliott/Brian Doherty (Lancer N) 1.26.17
9th (14) Ed Synan/Denis O'Connell (Escort) 1.26.17
10th (29) Paul McEnroe/Andy Donoghue (Impreza N) 1.28.03
The big news from the final stage is that Patrick Elliott has put his Subaru off the road on top of a bank to allow former National Champion Niall Maguire through to win with Kevin Barrett 2nd and Eamonn Daly 3rd o/a and the group N winner. Elliott started the last stage 5s ahead of Maguire and obviously under a lot of pressure.
The Group N picture changed rapidly over the final loop of stages. Kevin Kelleher lost the category lead when his Lancer was marooned between stages 7 and 8 with no gears. This should have left Garry Jennings in front but his Mitsubishi also had gear selection troubles and he dropped 2 minutes. Eamonn Daly was always poised behind Kelleher and Jennings and Eamonn came through for a dream result on his home rally. Donegal brother Trevor & Kenny Bustard should also have been coming into the GpN picture at this point but their Lancer has also retired.
When the cars reached the Woodlands Hotel finish Niall commented. “It was very close with Patrick all day. When he stalled we stalled. In stage 5 we went into a bog and got going and dropped 8s and then we took it back. So we went into the last stage 5s apart and he put his car on top of a bank. After that I could hardly concentrate to get to the finish. The stages were brilliant today and the rally was very well run.” Niall now moves into the lead of the National Championship. Kevin Barrett set some fastest times today but also some of them were slightly off the pace and Kevin agreed with that summing up when his Triton Showers Subaru came into the finish and he said. “At times we were going nearly too quickly and then on the next stage the boys cleaned us. When I saw Patrick’s car 8 feet up a bank on the last stage I backed right off”. Third placed overall as well as Group N winner Eamonn Daly said. “It was nice to get a result on my home rally. I felt I kept my head and kept it consistent throughout the day”.
A big surprise package as the day progressed was Michael Curran in his Escort. Oldcastle man Michael was running further back the field and it was hard to keep track of his times, but there he is genuinely 4th o/a and best 2 wheel drive. Michael said at the finish. “We were pushing hard all day. A bit of a wing and a prayer at times. A couple of little moments. We didn’t know ourselves that we were doing so well and it was hard at times to pick the right tyres”. Another surprise was Eddie Power surging through the field to finish 6th o/a in the ex John McCarthy Corolla WRC. Some class winners include: Mark Kane who brought his Citroen C2R2 into 6th o/a/ Ed Synan was 2nd in cl.13 behind Michael Curran. Neil Pierce won cl.11 in his Civic. Mike Quinn battled back from his 8m time loss to finish 20th o/a and win cl.14. Eoin Duffin won cl.12 in his Escort G4. Paul Curley won cl.2 in his Civic.
Finally for now our thanks to all who helped and supported the RallyNews service this weekend. Our thanks also to Clerk of the Course Ger Healy and all his Limerick MC team for providing such a good day’s rallying. Thanks also to Dougie Hughes for distributing the RallyNews and Angus & Jane Sealy for results.
BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net
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