CLARE STAGES RALLY 2002

MAGUIRE'S LAP OF HONOUR

The Lynch Hotels 2002 Clare Stages Rally saw Niall Maguire once again crush the opposition with another dominant performance.  The newly-crowned 2002 National Champion set fastest time on each of the event's nine stages, and won by a margin of almost three minutes.  Having missed the previous round in Tipperary due to an injury, Maguire's usual navigator, Paul McLoughlin, returned to active duty in Clare, and the victory wrapped up the Co-drivers' Championship for him.

Fresh from his recent victories on the Stonethrowers and Galway Summer rallies, Michael Barrable was expected be Maguire's closest challenger, but his Impreza P2000 stopped on stage one with a turbo problem, which led to a small fire.  Tim McNulty held second place over the first loop of three stages, but had to retire at the first service with clutch maladies, leaving Patrick Elliot into the runner-up spot, which he retained to the finish.  Elliot thus secured second place in the 2002 National Championship.

Sean Gallagher and Hugh Dunne battled for third place over the second loop, but both were eventually overhauled by Denis Cronin.  The West Cork man was having his first outing since the Rally of the Lakes last May, and he did not take long to blow away the cobwebs.  Cronin had had a margin of sixteen seconds over Dunne at the finish.  Gallagher dropped down the order with a front differential problem, but still moves ahead of David Armstrong in the championship leader board - Armstrong failed to finish in Clare.

Ollie O'Donovan made his debut in the Hyundai Accent WRC, and took some time to acclimatise to his new machine, but later set top three times on each stage of the final loop, to finish fifth overall.

The final round of the 2002 Dunlop National Rally Championship is the Fastnet Rally (organised by the Skibbereen & District Car Club), which will take place on the 27th of October.

Results

1: Niall Maguire/Paul McLoughlin, Subaru WRC99, 1hr 15mins 55secs

2: Patrick Elliot/Sean Moriarty, Subaru Impreza 555, 1:18:51

3: Denis Cronin/Helen O'Sullivan, BMW M3, 1:19:07

4: Hugh Dunne/Derek Brannigan, Subaru Impreza WRC, 1:19:23

5: Ollie O'Donovan/David Moynihan, Hyundai Accent WRC, 1:20:14

6: James McCann/Paul McCann, Ford Escort RS Cosworth, 1:21:00

7: Sean Gallagher/Liam Costelloe, Ford Escort RS Cosworth, 1:21:05

8: David McNulty/Sean Walsh, Ford Escort RS Cosworth, 1:22:18

9: Tom Randles/Diarmuid Lynch, Ford Escort RS, 1:22:23

10: Sean Lyons/John Devine, Ford Escort, 1:22:24

Stage by Stage Analysis

SS1 (Maurice's Mills): 1: Niall Maguire, 8:14 ; 2: Tim McNulty, 8:22 ; 3: Patrick Elliot, 8.30.

SS2 (Ruan): 1: Niall Maguire, 7:33 ; 2: Tim NcNulty, 7:38 ; 3: Patrick Elliot & Sean Gallagher, 7:42 .

SS3 (O'Brien's Castle): 1: Niall Maguire, 9:41 ; 2: Tim McNulty, 9:55 ; 3: Patrick Elliot, 10:07 .

SS4 (Maurice's Mills): 1: Niall Maguire, 8:08 ; 2: Hugh Dunne, 8:21 ; 3: Patrick Elliot, 8:23 .

SS5 (Ruan): 1: Niall Maguire, 7:22 ; 2: Denis Cronin, 7:34 ; 3: Sean Gallagher, 7:35 .

SS6 (O'Brien's Castle): 1: Niall Maguire, 9:41 ; 2: Patrick Elliot, 10:06 ; 3: David Armstrong & Ed Synan, 10:07 .

SS7 (Maurice's Mills): 1: Niall Maguire, 8:10 ; 2: Denis Cronin, 8:22 ; Ollie O'Donovan, 8:23 .

SS8 (Ruan): 1: Niall Maguire, 7:25 ; 2: Ollie O'Donovan, 7:30 ; 3: Denis Cronin, 7:34 .

SS9 (O'Brien's Castle): 1: Niall Maguire, 9:41 ; 2: Hugh Dunne, 10:03 ; 3: Ollie O'Donovan, 10:08 .  

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