106 Cup - Scottish Rally - 15-16 Nov 01

Posted: September 18, 2001 12:01 PM

The 8.75 mile opening stage Glengap 1 saw Simon Hughes post the fastest time in 9.47.3, Kris Meeke with much to prove after yesterdays myriad of problems was next up 2.5 seconds behind, 3rd fastest was Champion 8.6 seconds down on Hughes with Galligan a mere 0.1 seconds further back. After SS7 Galligan held a comfortable 49.5 second lead over Champion.

Michael Brew picked up a puncture but carried on, Mike Faulkner’s rally ended with a high speed roll, Shaun Gallagher lost time with a small spin, Barry Mayers was struggling with gear linkage problems. Jazz Nandhra punctured a front offside tyre four miles from the end of the stage, Fowle also picked up a puncture and Trevor Martin was disappointed to find his replacement exhaust was also blowing.

Garry Jennings was quickest through Black Loch, 6.5 seconds clear of Champion with Hughes and Dunbabin close behind, Galligan was a little off the pace some 21 seconds down on Jennings but was still leading by 35 seconds from Champion with Dunbabin lying 3rd and Jennings leap frogging Hughes to take 4th place.

Stage 9 Clatteringshaw saw the demise of Michael Brew with a high speed roll that necessitated a long trip to the Dumfries and Galloway hospital for precautionary checks. Galligan was fastest 1.3 seconds up on Champion followed by the charging Hughes.

The final stage of the event was a re-run of Glengap and Hughes posted another fastest time closely followed by Champion and Galligan.

Galligan was very pleased with his victory and said; “Testing prior to the event has made all the difference, perhaps I should have eased off a little on the final stage but I am delighted with the result”. Champion was rueful of his problems yesterday feeling that he could have won but was pleased to have recovered to 2nd place taking valuable championship points.

Garry Jennings leads the Championship on 109 points, Galligan 102,Champion 94 and Brew has 80. Dropped scores will now come into play on the two remaining rounds.

Results and photos: www.peugeotsportuk.com

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Rory Galligan Rallying
FAULTLESS DRIVE SEES GALLIGAN TAKE VICTORY
by Claire Walsh

The Scottish Rally played host to Round 5 of the Peugeot Super 106 Cup this weekend. Early Saturday morning over twenty Peugeot crews set off on this long and challenging two day event which would involve over 100 stage miles on very fast and very rough terrain.

For Billy Coleman Award winner, Rory Galligan, his rally could not have got off to a better start when he set two fastest times on the first three stages, leaving him 3 seconds ahead of Ryan Champion. A bad tyre choice on stage 4 caused Rory to lose his lead briefly, but another fastest time on stage 5 put him back on top. The rest of the day remained trouble free and Rory held a 21 second overnight lead. This was Paul Nagle's first event partnering Rory and he commented at the end of the day, "it is fantastic to have such a lead at the end of the first day, lets hope tomorrow goes as well"

Day 2 began well, although Rory did not push too hard, knowing that there was still a full day of rallying ahead. The team encountered their only problem of the rally on stage 8, when Rory spent the entire eight miles with one eye on the petrol gauge, when the car was running low on fuel. This did not break Rory's concentration and he set yet another fastest time on stage nine, the penultimate stage, leaving him with a 36 second lead going into the last stage. A faultless controlled drive on the final stage left Rory with top honours, 34 seconds ahead of Ryan Champion.

Other Irish drivers were not so lucky, Garry Jennings encountered punctures on day 1 and had an engine management problem throughout day 2, while Shaun Gallagher spun twice on the opening stage and Kris Meeke lost a wheel, losing him over 7 minutes. However all drivers recovered well and they finished 5th, 8th and 10th respectively.

Results
1    Rory Galligan/Paul Nagle
2    Ryan Champion/Cliff Simmons
3    Daniel Dunbabin/Clive Dunbabin
4    Simon Hughes/Phil Pugh
5    Gary Jennings/James O'Brien
6    Richard Sykes/Mark Andrews
7    Barry Mayers/Richard Edwards
8    Shaun Gallagher/Brendan Duggan
9    Trevor Martin/Ray Cleghorn
10   Kris Meeke/Gordon Noble

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GALLIGAN TAKES NARROW LEAD INTO SECOND DAY

The 24 competitors fighting for the TOTAL supported Super 106 Cup faced a difficult first day with 65 competitive miles through tricky conditions in the Forests of Dumfries and Galloway.

The opening stage Ae 1, an 18.79 miler was sure to set an arduous test and so it proved with many incidents affecting the battling crews. Michael Brew went off losing a minute, Kris Meeke lost his wheel nuts and seven minutes whilst he sorted out the problem of what to do with only three wheels, Simon Hughes spun and needed spectator assistance to regain the stage as did Rob Russell. Out of the melee Rory Galligan posted the fastest time on the opener a mere four seconds faster than Ryan Champion with Mike Faulkner a further half second back and Daniel Dunbabin fourth by 4.6 seconds.

Stage 2 Windy Hill 1 was not without its own drama and Shaun Gallagher after a torrid first stage was not best pleased when his intercom failed. Faulkner took the honours on the stage a mere 0.8 seconds clear of Champion with Galligan 3rd, 2.6 seconds down on Faulkner.

Galligan however kept his cool and extended his narrow lead on Stage 3 Twiglees beating Michael Brew by 1.3 seconds with Champion next up 0.6 seconds behind Brew.

Championship leader Garry Jennings was somewhat happier having been well off the pace earlier after suffering from an engine problem which was causing the motor to cut out, Champion was determined to stay out of trouble something James Gloster could not hope for as his clutch was in serious decline.

The 5.24 miles over Castle O’er fell to Champion with Simon Hughes and Kris Meeke posting exactly the same time in 2nd 2.5 seconds down on Champion. Garry Jennings had a puncture near the end of the stage , Brew complained of having little confidence and Champion revelled in the conditions thoroughly enjoying the stage, finding it very slippy and moved into the lead.

However the re-run of Ae saw Champion suffer yet again from the bad luck which has dogged him this year. A misfire caused him to drop nearly a minute to Galligan, who was fastest through the stage by nearly 8 seconds, despite complaining of severe tyre wear ¾ ‘s of the way through the stage. Jennings was recovering well from his problems and took the second fastest time.

The final stage stage of the day, Windy Hill 2 saw Faulkner take his second fastest time of the day two seconds clear of Champion, moving Faulkner into second place. Galligan lying sixth overall in the full event will lead off the competitors for Sundays four stages comprising a further 40.58 miles of competition.