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| Lakeland Stages |
| RALLY NEWS No.5 - After SS8 - Saturday @ 17:09:56 |
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RALLY NEWS NO.5 Finish/Irvinestown/Saturday
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 8 – FINAL STAGE
1st (86) Sean Devine/Tony McDaid (Impreza WRC) 43.23
2nd (7) Alastair Fisher/Barry McNulty (Lancer N) 44.06
3rd (8) Jonny Greer/Kirsty Riddick (Lancer N) 44.17
4th (10) Enda McNulty/Paul Sheridan (Lancer) 44.47
5th (1) Derek McGarrity/James McKee (Corolla WRC) 45.11
6th (15) Frank Kelly/Liam Brennan (Escort) 45.25
Sean Devine and his co driver Tony McDaid drove a beautifully controlled rally today here on the sunny Lakeland Stages, their Impreza never missed a beat to record a start to finish win. Alastair Fisher and his co driver Barry McNulty had a few dramatic moments on their way to 2nd overall and best GpN in their Lancer. Jonny Greer/Kirsty Riddick stuck right in Alastair’s wheel tracks all day to finish 3rd, just 11s back.
There was drama and hard luck stories right to the end of this 8 stage forest event. Despite the sunshine and good conditions many drivers fell by the wayside. Stevie Whitford was heading for a solid 4th place but his Lancer stopped on the penultimate stage. Brian McGillin was heading for a top 10 place but he withdrew his Corolla WRC because of overheating problems. Adrian Hetherington was having a big race with Trevor Moore for 2nd in the 2 wheel drive division but Adrian put his Escort into the bushes for a long time and then was credited with fastest time and a 7th o/a finish which seems a bit strange. Ryan Barrett was setting great times in his Historic Escort and he also non-finished.
Sean Devine commented at the finish. “We had a good clean run and the car went perfectly. Really enjoyed the day”. Sean went on to say that he has a wedding on the day of the Bushwhacker but he may contest the Townparks, final round of the NI C/ship. Alastair Fisher said. “We used our heads towards the end and tried not to abuse the car. We are very pleased with the result, the organisation and stages were very good and of course the weather made it even better”. Third placed Jonny Greer said. “We had a good day, no real problems for a change”. Derek McGarrity went hard over the final stages to pull himself up to 5th and maintain his lead in the NI series ahead of Kenny McKinstry. It was a disappointing day for Kenny but he did go hard through the afternoon stages and scored some fastest times. His daughter Emma retired earlier with throttle body troubles on her Subaru. Raymond Johnston also pulled back well from his stage 3 turbo pipe problem and he keeps his hopes in the GpN part of the series very much on the boil. Frank Kelly as usual drove a brilliant rally to win the 2 wheel drive section and that was despite running out of brakes towards the end. Frank said it was the first time he has boiled the brake fluid on a forest rally which is some indication as to how hard he was going. John McKeown blew a turbo in stage 7 but still finished well despite stopping to make sure Paul Britton was OK in his stage 6 accident.
Finally for now well done to George Ogle and his hard working Enniskillen MC team for laying on such an enjoyable and brilliant event. Our thanks also to Ivan Fisher and all who supported and helped with the RallyNews service. Our thanks also to Christel Deberdt.
BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net
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