Kerry Single Stage Rally
Killarney driver Johnny O Sullivan scored his fourth outright victory on last Sundays Kingdom Fast Fit/Yokohama Tyres single stage rally. Driving his Ford Escort World Rally Car he was fastest on the days three stages to finish seventeen seconds in front of Shanagoldens Ed Synan in a Manta. Another Killarney driver Donie Sullivan who was twelve seconds in arrears to Synan secured third overall.
The first stage Sunday was damp in places and all of the top crews reported that the road surface was very slippery. O Sullivan and Syan were the two fastest cars over stage 1 setting 7mins o7 seconds and 7.20 for the eight mile stage . Third man on the road was Donie o Sullivan (7.23) and Anthony O Halloran in a Manta closely followed him. Other Kerry driver in the top ten after stage 1 included Thomas Randles, John Kearney both driving escorts Peter Clifford (Subaru) and Pat Barry (Ford Sierra).
O Sullivan in his World Rally Car was fastest again on stage 1 albeit by only one second to Synan .The Killarney man was put his time loss down to a poor tyre selection. Anthony O Halloran was next on 7.24, four seconds off the leader. Thomas Randles (Kilgarvin) was next on the road but he never got to finish the stage because a mechanical failure forced him sideways across the road and impeded the passage of the following cars. The stage interruption rule was applied and the following competitors where given O Hallorans time. The overall positions at the head of the field were not affected and the only change to the top ten was the demise of Tale man John Kearney due to loss of oil pressure.
The final stage was due to be run in total darkness but due to the effiency of the organizing team the stage ran some 15mins earlier which meant must of the top cars went through at dusk. O Sullivan's was again fastest to secure his fourth outright win on this event. Ed Synan finished second for the second year running and Donie Sullivan marked a return to rear wheel drive rallying to finish a deserved third. Anthony O Halloran and Dessie Keenan battled it out for fourth with oHalloran getting the upper hand of the Monaghan man.
Peter Clifford had a fine drive to sixth overall which also netted him Top Kerry Motor Club driver and first place in the Group N class .The top ten was completed by Stephen Caraway (Limerick) in AN escort Cosworth Aiden Walsh (Askeaton) Escort and Lisseltons Pat Barry in a ford Sierra. Barry also won class 14
.
With this year event concluded Clerk of the Course Donal Lynch praised the local residents and Kerry County Council for the assistance he received from them. He was also praised the marshals who did an exceptional job stewarding the large crowd that turned out on the day to watch the event. He said, "the large crowd behaved so well all day, by standing in safe places and respecting private property that it made my job on the day very easy and that's why we got we last stage up and running early. The crowd behavior to day was a credit to motorsport followers from all over the country and the no complaints received by the club "
Top Finishers:
1 Johnny O'Sullivan/Pat Cashman (Ford Escort WRC)......22:05
2 Ed Synan/David Doherty (Opel Manta 400)...............22:26
3 Donie O'Sullivan/Paul Nagle (Escort 2.5).............22:45
4 Anthony O'Halloran/Shane Brennan (Manta 2.0).........23:02
5 Dessie Keenan/Enda Sherry (Escort 2.5)...............23:12
6 Peter Clifford/John Young (Subaru Impreza WRX)..GpN..23:14
Oasis Hotel / NEMC Single Stage
Philip Shaw took an 11 second win over Norman Armstrong on todays single stage.The event which was restricted to 2WD 2050 cc cars was run out of the Oasis Hotel in Carrichmacross.
Weather conditions were absolutely terrible with heavy rain as the cars competed over a 10 mile stage just outside of Ardee.
Top Ten:
1 Philip Shaw/Derek Brannigan (Escort) 29m 37s,
2 NormanArmstrong/Sean Walsh (Escort) 29m 46s,
3 Martin Teggart/David McIllroy (Escort) 30m 07s,
4 Brian Armstrong/Herbie Blackburn(Escort) 30m 19s,
5 Gerard McGivney/Brian Ruth (Escort) 30m 24s,
6 Gerry Smyth/Kieran McGorman (Escort) 30m 39s,
7 Noel Lappin/Derek Coleman (Escort) 30m 40s,
8 Alan Sheridan/Brian Sharkey (Escort) 30m 57s,
9 Mick Curran/Brian Sheridan (Escort) 30m 59s,
10 John Fitzsimons/Nicky Brunton (Escort) 31m 09s.
Fastnet Stages Rally
Kenny McKinstry showed he has lkost none of his flair when he won the Fastnet Rally .The event which saw Cavanman Patrick Elliott consolidate his 2nd place in the Dunlop National Championship was also a counting round of the Get Connected Tarmac Championship which Melvyn Evans won.
Top Finishers:
1 Kenny McKinstry / Sean Mullally Subaru WRC
2 Melvyn Evans / Alun Davies Ford Escort WRC
3 Patrick Elliott / Sean Moriarty Subaru Impreza 555
4 Liam McCarthy / Kieran Murphy Toyota Corolla WRC
5 Bob Fowden / Jerry Hynes Mitsubishi Evo
6 Ollie O' Donovan / David Moynihan Subaru Impreza
7 Denis Cronin / Helen O'Sullivan BMW M3
8 Phil Collins / Howard Davies Ford Escort
9 John Price / Caroline Price Metro 6R4
10 Cathal Arthurs / Bob Kelly Toyota Celica ST205
Maguire holds off for Donegal win
Doherty's lead then disaster strikes!
Maguire – clean sweep.
Local boys the Daniel and Michael Doherty were well ahead of the opposition, Niall Maguire, and in a commanding lead of over 10 after the first stage, during the first half of the Harvest Stages Rally, when disaster struck on the stage 3, forcing the Carndonagh crew out after a major off on the Mamore Gap stage.
The event was then lead by Maguire after this until the end of the event, adding to his dominant position this year.
After a cold but dry start to the Donegal event, the weather turned what drivers call 'wet and guttery'. Added to the cold conditions of the day, many of the drivers had a poor day. Letterkenny's Andrew Stewart kept up the pressure on Maguire, closely followed by the Castlederg charger, James Gillen. Both men were unable to do the business, and left Maguire to make it another win.
Ivan Steward had a few big moments, and was a slightly delayed only making it into service before penalties were incurred.
Drive of the day again, was the Letterkenny crew of Paul Gallagher and Karl Reid in the ancient Corolla, held off by the Donegal pairing of Stephen Harris and Damian Crawford, in a hired 'Hogg' car, after a dramatic sale earlier in the week.
TOP TEN for the event:-
No. Driver CoDriver Car Time
1. Niall Maguire Paul Mc Laughlin Impreza WRC 51.38
2. Andrew Stewart Fabian MC Shane Mitsubshi Evo N 52.28
3. James Gillan Victor Carrothers Escort Cosworth 52.44
4. Stuart Darcy Barry Goodman Mitsubishi N 54.09
5. Ivan Stewart Terry Duggan Escort Cosworth 54.14
6. Stephan Harris Damian Crawford Mitsubshi Evo N 54.19
7. Seamus Donnelly Paul Garry Escort 54.19
8. Paul Gallagher Karl Reid Corolla 54.33
9. Angus Hunter Joe Friel Mitsubshi EVO6 54.40
10. Damian Gallagher Mac Walsh Escort 55.11
Clerk of the Course, Leonard Wilson, would like to thank the all who assisted in the event, including the army of marshals who braved the cold temperatures during the day, to make the event a memorable one for all who watched some of the great drives and moments during the day.
Thanks go to all the landowners along the route, the local businesses in Buncrana, and Inishowen district, who supported the event, to the spectators who helped the task of the marshals and other officials on the route a more pleasant experience.
There was a special word of gratitude for the Donegal County Council and in for their assistance in closing the roads, and in particular, the Co. Donegal Chief Fire Officer, Mr. Frank Kerrane, his Assistant Chief Fire Officers, Attracta Mc Cay and Bobby McMenamin, and the Buncrana Fire Brigade under the supervision of Station Officer Daniel Lynch, for their valuable assistance in the provision of Scrutiny for the event on the Saturday night before the event
Declan McCay
"Maguire wins Clare stages."
Niall Maguire and Paul McLoughlin took a convincing win on the Clare Stages today to ensure their place as 2002 National Champion.
Maguire coasted home to victory over nearest placed challenger Patrick Elliott when the earlier opposition from Michael Barrable dissapeared when the Subaru crew retired with turbo problems.
This handed the job of chasing Maguir to Tim Mc Nulty who also suffered when the clutch on his Subaru expired.
Ollie O Donovan gave the Hyundai Accent its Irish debut in preparation for the Cork 20 and found the whole event a learning experience as he got used to his new mount
Top Ten Results:
1 Niall Maguire/Paul McLaughlin (Impreza WRC) 75m 55s,
2 Patrick Elliott/Sean Moriarty (Impreza) 78m 51s,
3 Denis Cronin/Helen O'Sullivan (BMW M3) 79m 07s,
4 Hugh Dunne/Derek Brannigan (Impreza WRC) 79m 23s,
5 Ollie O'Donovan/David Moynihan (Hyundai WRC) 80m 14s,
6 James McCann/Paul McCann (Escort Cosworth) 81m 00s,
7 Sean Gallagher/Liam Costello (Escort Cosworth) 81m 05s,
8 David McNulty/Sean Walsh (Escort Cosworth) 82m 18s,
9 Tom Randles/Diarmuid Lynch (Escort) 82m 23s,
10 Sean Lyons/John Devine (Escort) 82m 24s.
Boland Wins Home event
It's difficult to work out new ways of saying things when the same and
expected result arrives.
Eamonn Boland's fifth Wexford Rally was as comprehensive a triumph as his
most recent one previously in 2000, and sees him joining Ger Buckley and
Stephen Murphy as a five-time winner.
The Wexfordian steered his Subaru quicker than everyone else on virtually
every stage, only being pipped early on in the weekend by Bob Fowden, and
at the death, in the final showpiece stage on Forth Mountain, when Tim Ball
came through to score with a remarkable run of five minutes and three seconds.
In truth though, Boland's victory was as comprehensive as it was
impressive, with the opening stage provided an adequate taster of what was
to come.
He powered through the first traversal of Ballycullane 23 seconds faster
than anyone else, leaving the likes of Steve Hendy, Bob Fowden, Tom Holton
and Jimmy Lambert in his wake.
From then on, everybody else would be playing catch-up.
Boland's advantage had stretched to a minute by the time the first loop had
been completed - and by that stage, the event was over for many.
Royston Carey's hopes of continuing his assault on the UK Tarmacadam
Championship were put on hold after the Kent driver rolled his Clio on
Special Stage 4 from Arnestown to Knockmullin.
Carey was third in the overall championship standings, and going into this
race, was leading the clubman's category.
There were no injuries as a result of this crash, but all those running
after Carey were all given the same time for the stage in case of delays.
Francis Corrigan went in a minor crash, while Willie Carroll broke down to
be left twiddling his thumbs for the weekend.
Stage Five around Ballycullane had to be cancelled following an accident on
the first traversal, and when the sun set on Rosslare Saturday night, the
leader's advantage had been copperfastened.
One minute 29 seconds at halfway was always going to be a huge deficit for
all and sundry to pull back - and that was just Hendy's task, as the rest
of the field were even further under the Wexfordman's thumb.
However, there was quite a race developing below Boland, as a mere 24
seconds divided fifth from eleventh, with Shay Power, Aaron McHale, Martin
O'Connell, Kieran Molloy and Derek Smith certain to turn up the heat on
each other in the second half of this year's rally.
That's precisely what happened, though at the top, there was no stopping
the man driving car number one.
Come 5:30 Sunday evening, Eamonn Boland and his literal right-hand-man
Damien Morrissey - Boland's Subaru WRC S7 is a left-sided drive - had come
through to claim Wexford Rally win number five - the first under the banner
of the Dick Bailey Stages Rally - by a margin of 3'04" from the Dorset
combination of Steve Hendy and Aled Davies.
Welshman Bob Fowden came in third, 42 seconds down on Hendy.
Tim Ball did tremendously to drag himself up to fourth, but both he and
navigator Rob Watson felt their final stage time of 5'03" may have been
miscalculated - even a 39-second drop would still have given them the edge
over Hereford veteran John Price.
However, their time was correct, and they had the honour of ending the
weekend on a high.
Fethard Rally champion David James claimed a more-than-creditable sixth
spot meanwhile.
The Gorey speedster's new partner in the Escort BDX, Jim Crowe, aided James
to a time seven seconds swifter than Aaron McHale's, as calculated by the
Dubliner's navigator Elva Roe. Elva was sitting in for McHale's regular
number two Damien Connolly.
There were plenty of class acts across the field.
Fourth-placed Ball in his cute canary Darrian won Class 13, with David
James a spectacular second in that category.
Fair to say that both men performed well beyond the call of duty, with
their two-wheel drives doing battle with the best of the four-wheelers.
Fifth-placed John Price claimed Class 15, with Derek Smith's Escort taking
the Class 14 honours and the O'Rourke combination of Tomás and John did
more than enough to secure Class 3.
Class 2 champions Margo Doyle of Wexford town and Maria Dunne of Bunclody
also claimed the women's team prize.
Quite a weekend for double acts too - John and Geraldine Somers won through
in Class 9 in their Nova to claim the Mick Sutton Memorial Trophy, with
Shay and Bea White doing likewise in their Starlet in Class 10 to earn the
Brian Byrne Memorial Cup... not bad for reserves!
Here's the full list of class winners
- Class 1 Ray Martin Martin Brady
Suzuki Swift GTi
Class 2 Margo Doyle Maria Dunne Honda Civic
Class 3 Tomás O'Rourke John O'Rourke Astra GSI
Class 4 Aaron McHale Elva Roe Mitsubishi Lancer
Class 5 Nigel Pugh Ian Pryce Nissan Micra
Class 6 Ivan Allen Noel Byrne Peugeot 106
Class 7 Mick Kehoe Tim Boyle Peugeot 205
Class 8 Tim Wilson Laurie Walker Subaru Impreza WRC
Class 9 John Somers Geraldine Somers Nova
Class 10 Shay White Bea White Toyota Starlet
Class 11 Enda O'Brien John Butler Ford Escort
Class 12 David Harris Brian Featherstone Ford Escort
Class 13 Tim Ball Rob Watson Darrian T90
Class 14 Derek Smith Paddy Flanagan Ford Escort
Class 15 John Price Caroline Price Metro 6R4
Class 17 Wayne Evans Alan Davies Ford Escort
There were other well-deserved winners honoured in the Sunday presentation
ceremony.
Pat Culleton claimed the Joe Stafford Memorial Cup for his hard work and
endeavour for Wexford Motor Club during the year.
It was an apt honour, as Pat and Joe used to sit in together for past rallies.
There were honourable mentions here for Eugene French, Margaret Fielding,
Sean Gaul and Mark Cooper.
The top Wexford novice crew were John Mernagh and Frank Dwyer - both
claiming the Tommy Curtis Cup.
They're no doubting though that the weekend's main man is already plotting
his latest assault on the record books - Eamonn for six?
Top Ten Finishers:
1 Eamonn Boland Damien Morrisey Subaru WRC S7 8 1:31:57
2 Steve Hendy Aled Davies Ford Escort Coswor 8 1:35:01
3 Bob Fowden Jerry Hynes Mitsubishi Lancer 4 1:35:43
4 Tim Ball Rob Watson Darrian T90 13 1:37:55
5 John Price Caroline Price Metro 6R4 15 1:38:39
6 David James Jim Crowe Ford Escort BDX 13 1:39:04
7 Aaron MacHale Damien Connolly Mitsubishi Lancer 4 1:39:11
8 Derek Smith Paddy Flanigan Ford Escort 14 1:39:50
9 Kieran Molloy Brian Boland Mitsubishi Lancer 4 1:40:21
10 Noel Redmond David Doyle Mitsubishi Lancer 4 1:42:17 0:
Thanks to Will Dowling and John Dier
Castle Hellfire Rally
Just one second was the winning margin between Tim Mc Nulty in the ex Bertie Fisher Subaru Impreza and Monaghans Adrian McElvaney (fresh from his 15th overall on the Ulster International) in his Group N Mitsubishi , at yesterdays Castle Hellfire Single Stage
The event which was based in the Lakeside Manor Hotel in Virginia and service in Oldcastle Green saw the 130 crews tackle a very muddy and slippy stage between Oldcastle and Castlepollard.
Fastest time over the first stage saw Adrian Mc Elvaney take fastest time by 4 secs over Tim McNulty and Paul Mc Cann.Tim admitting to taking things a bit too cautiously while Paul Mc Cann was suprised with his time considering a massive spin at the first junction with onlookers estimating a time loss of approx 10secs.
Stage 2 saw Tim blast through 26secs quicker than his first run while Adrian despite setting a time of 9mins 5secs saw the win slip following the cancellation of the 3rd stage due to Road closing time expiring.
Navanman James Foley who lay 4th overall after stage 1 lost the Group N win on the 2nd stage following a few overshoots to allow Martin Brady to just sneak ahead
Final Results:
1 Tim McNulty/Andrew Cullen (Impreza) 18m 26s,
2 Adrian McElvaney/Brian Duggan (Lancer Gp N) 18m 27s,
3 Paul McCann/Shay McCann (Escort Cosworth) 18m 47s,
4 Martin Brady/Martin Cahill (Escort Cosworth Gp N) 18m 58s,
5 Ivan Stewart/Timothy Duggan (Escort Cosworth) 19m 00s,
6 James Foley/Dominic Markey (Lancer Gp N) 19m 01s.
Barrable wins 2nd Rally
"2 wins in a row , amazing " was how Co-driver Dermot O Gorman described his outing in the Galway Summer Stages.The event which ran again from the shannon Oaks Hotel in Portumna saw 3 stages being run over the fast bumpy roads around Kilimor and Eyrecourt.
Michael Barrables nearest rivals slipped by the wayside during the day , Paul Harris in the Subaru Impreza went off the road on stage 1 but his place was quickly filled by Patrick Elliott ,with Martin Cahill back in the co-drivers seat , in his Subaru who held 2nd place up to the last stage when he too crashed out.
This allowed JJ Fleming in the ex - Boland Subaru WRC to take 2nd place ahead of Ivan Stewart in his Escort Cosworth.
Group N and 4th overall went to James Foley who suffered a sliping clutch earlier on and also found the Mitsubishi 's front understeering in the heat , a problem remedied by a new set of Dunlops on the last loop.
Provisional Top Ten:
1 Michael Barrable/Dermot O'Gorman (Impreza WRC) 70m 43s,
2 John Joe Fleming/Robbie Ward (Impreza WRC) 72m 10s,
3 Ivan Stewart/Gerard Callaghan (Escort Cosworth) 73m 52s,
4 James Foley/Andrew Cullen (Lancer Gp N) 74m 19s,
5 George Cullen/Sean Mullally (Celica) 76m 00s,
6 John Spain/Peter Egan (Manta) 76m 21s,
7 Sean Lyons/John Devine (Escort) 76m 52s,
8 Dominic Loughran/Lisa Roe (Lancer Gp N) 76m 59s,
9 Wesley Patterson/Bob Kelly (Escort) 77m 26s
10 Garry Cairns/Garry Monteith (Lancer Gp N) 77m 30s
Barrable wins in Tipp
Michael Barrable partnered by Dermot O Gorman took a well deserved win on the Tipperary Stonethrowers rally.Second place for Niall Maguire gives him the 2002 Dunlop National Championship title for a second time.
The event which was based around Clonmel consisted of 3 stages ran 3 times and the competitors found the roads very greasy and slippy.
In Grp N Roy White took the victory in his new Mitsubishi Evo7 but Aron McHale secures the Grp N category in the Dunlop National Championship following his 2nd place.
In the Focus Challenge Oliver Stanley took 1st place with Colm Murphy 2nd and Brendan Kelly 3rd
Top Ten Results:
1st (5) Michael Barrable/Dermot O'Gorman (Subaru WRC) 1.09.03
2nd (2) Niall Maguire/Paul Nagle (Subaru WRC) 1.09.40
3rd (4) David Armstrong/Herbie Blackburn (Esc.Cos) 1.11.56
4th (15) Mac McKenna/John Loughran (Peugeot rwd) 1.12.41
5th (11) Sean Gallagaher/Liam Costello (Esc.Cos) 1.12.58
6th (7) Hugh Dunne/Derek Brannigan (Subaru WRC) 1.13.12
7th (16) Roy White/Des Cooney (Lancer N) 1.14.00
8th (17) Aaron McHale/Damien Connolly (Lancer N) 1.14.12
9th (20) Eddie Kinirons/Greg Shinnors (Celica) 1.14.15
10th (28) George Tracey/Elva Rowe (Impreza N) 1.14.
Trevor Moore wins Dogleap Stages
Trevor Moore and Philip McCrea secured victory ,to beat nearest rival Derek Mc Garrity in his Subaru WRC ,on the sixth round of the Northern Ireland Rally Championship, the Dogleap Stages Rally which took place on Saturday.
Early runner Eugene Donnelly slipped off the road on SS1and was followed on SS2 by Richard Hogg in an event which was full of drama as the majority of frontrunners fell by the wayside or loose valuable time due to mechanical problems.
Top Ten Results:
1. T. Moore / P. McCrea Ford Escort Cosworth 34mins 36secs
2. D. McGarrity / J. McKee Subaru Impreza WRC 34mins 44secs
3. S. Whitford / M. Crowe Mitsubishi Lancer 35mins 09secs
4. J. Gillen / V. Carrothers Ford Escort Cosworth 35mins 35secs
5. G. White / B. Taggart Ford Escort Cosworth 35mins 53secs
6. A. Stewart / F. McShane Mitsubishi Lancer 36mins 02secs
7. D. Kelly / J. Brennan Ford Escort Cosworth 36mins 08secs
8. R. Mason / P. Martin Subaru Impreza 36mins 31secs
9. M. Barnett / M. Clarke Ford Escort 36mins 35secs
10. B. McCloskey / F. Regan Ford Escort WRC 36mins 48secs
McRae dominates PunchestownC
Colin McRae blitzed the opposition in the Punchestown World Rally Masters when he carried a variety of celebrity co-drivers around the 4KM course.Colin who was driving the Acropolis winning Focus WRC was also using the event to try out some of the new 2003 Focus parts.
As an extra bonus the former World Rally Champion got a run in Dermot Carnegies 700BHP Focus Rallycross car as he entertained the 10,000 plus crowd.Hyundai WRC driver Natalie Barrett was not so lucky as she retired due to the cars erratic handling .
Andrew Nesbitt and Austin Mc Hale renewed their battle from last year with Nesbitt taking the 2nd place slot behind McRae
Top Ten:
1. C. McRae / J. Corr Ford Focus WRC 15mins 14.4secs
2. A. Nesbitt / J. O'Brien Subaru Impreza WRC 15mins 28.4secs
3. A. McHale / B. Murphy Toyota Corolla WRC 15mins 41.5secs
4. M. Barrable / L. Barrable Subaru Impreza WRC 15mins 51.8secs
5. D. McGarrity / W. McKee Subaru Impreza WRC 15mins 54.0secs
6. M. Gass / G. Orr Subaru Impreza WRC 15mins 54.3secs
7. R. Woodside / G. McKee Subaru Impreza WRC 15mins 58.1secs
8. D. Greer / R. Kennedy Toyota Corolla WRC 16mins 05.4secs
9. P. Hurson / I. Porter Toyota Celica 16mins 08.3secs
10. E. Donnelly / P. Kiely Toyota Celica 16mins 11.5secs
The event also saw the shakedown round of the new Ford Focus Challenge with Midland crew of Brendan Kelly and Cathal Shanahan finishing 3rd overall behind Oliver Stanley (1st) and Cathal O Reilly (2nd) anfter they lost time with gearbox trouble.
Denis Biggerstaff takes Park win
Denis Biggerstaff and Damien McCann took victory on this year's Lark in the Park by 0.4 seconds from the Toyota Celica of Eugene Donnelly and Paul Kiely. After a cautious start to the day, Biggerstaff took the lead from Donnelly on the third stage by 1.7 seconds. The remaining two stages saw Donnelly fight back but Biggerstaff held on to his lead and took the win. Denis also won the shoot-out competition for the second year in succession and the £500 cheque after beating Donnelly by half a second on a final run over the stage...without their co-drivers.
Donnelly nearly won the event , when he got to within a fraction of a second, but lost time losing grip due to cold tyres.The Celica nearly not making the starting order following the sump and oil failure on the Sligo event last week-end but a last minute dash to Cologne secured the replacement parts.
1. D. Biggerstaff / D. McCann Metro 6R4 6mins 59.1secs
2. E. Donnelly / P. Kiely Toyota Celica 6mins 59.5secs
3. I. Stewart / M. Lynch Ford Escort Cosworth 7mins 06.1secs
4. R. Hogg / M. Hanna Toyota Celica 7mins 08.2secs
5. T. McLaughlin / S. McLaughlin Ford Escort Cosworth 7mins 14.3secs
6. A. Stewart / F. McShane Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7mins 14.9secs
7. S. Devine / G. Ward Subaru Impreza 7mins 25.9secs
8. T. Keys / K. Keys Ford Escort 7mins 29.2secs
9. E. Ferry / J. Gallagher Ford Escort 7mins 29.4secs
10. R. Reilly / R. Reilly Jnr Mitsubishi Lancer 7mins 31.1secs
Maguire wins in Sligo
Niall Maguire / Paul McLaughlin more or less secured their 2003 dunlop National Championship title when they took their 5th win of the season today
Eugene Donnelly in his Celica was Nialls biggest opposition until he was forced to retire after damaging his sump.Nearest contender Patrick Elliott finished within the top 6 to keep his National hopes alive but only has a slim chance of catching Maguire.
Top Ten:
1ST (1) Niall Maguire/Paul McLoughlin (Subaru WRC)1.06.32
2ND (5) David Armstrong/Herbie Blackburn (Escort 1.09.15
3RD (20) James Gillen/Victor Carrothers (Escort) 1.09.57
4TH (2) Patrick Elliott/Sean Moriarty (Impreza) 1.10.24
5TH (11) Dominic McLoughlin/Cyril Donnellan (205) 1.12.45
6TH (16) Aaron MacHale/Damien Connolly (Lancer) 1.12.50
7TH (15) Joe MacHugh/Dermot MacHugh (Escort COS) 1.13.03
8TH (10) Enda Keenan/Enda Sherry (Escort) 1.13.43
9TH (9) John Cairns/James Cairns (Impreza) 1.13.49
10TH (34) Paddy Boyle/Marty Sherlock (Escort) 1.13.58