CLARE STAGES RALLY 1999

The 1999 Clare Stages Rally moved base to Spanish Point on the west coast.  The H.Q. were in the Armada with Christy Carey setting out a challenging route with three stages run three times.  Leading away the field were Niall Maguire and Anthony Nestor, last years winners, in the Subaru Impreza.  Other entries included James Harrison, Denis Cronin, John McCluskey and Hal Lewis. 

The first stage was a tough bumpy stage which suited the Impreza, which Maguire took full advantage of.  He was fastest with James Harrison second and Denis Cronin third.  But the stage caught out a number of drivers including the local favourites Anthony O’Halloran and Kevin Synott.  They retired after hitting a telegraph pole midway through.  The other local favourites Paul O’Connell and Gerry Lawton in their hired McKinstry Impreza were settling in well. 

Going into the first service, Maguire had already a commanding lead with James Harrison second and John McCluskey, Denis Cronin and David Armstrong fighting for third.  Wesley Patterson was not far off in his Sierra Cosworth.  Paul O’Connell, settled in well now, was starting to push harder.  Joe and Dermot McHugh were having a great run in their Escort Cosworth and leading GpN.  Richard Casey was having mechanical trouble and dropped time.  Pat and Jim Casey were having a steady run and leading the class. 

On the next two loops of stages, Maguire consolidated a well-earned win but there were a lot of retirements behind him.  James Harrison had a bog off but both driver and navigator were ok.  Denis Cronin and Hal Lewis retired with broken gearboxes over the tough stages.  Mike Maloney retired after an accident which lost him a lot of time.  Pat and Jim Casey also had an accident over the bumps and missed out on a class win. 

Despite all the retirements, Wesley Patterson and Bob Kelly kept up a good pace and finished second ahead of David Armstrong in the Cosworth.  Joe and Dermot McHugh finished a brilliant fifth overall on stages that did not really suit the car.  Paul O’Connell finished the top local man and had a great run in the McKinstry Subaru, finishing sixth overall and winning the Noel McCullagh Award.  Maguire paid credit to Christy and his team on a tough event and was happy with the win.