Second place for Eugene Donnelly (Subaru WRC) in the
Lynch Hotels Clare Rally was enough for the Derry
driver to win the Dunlop National Rally Championship.
The rally was won by English driver, Jim Harrison
(Subaru WRC), who won his first ever event. Donnelly's
only rival for the Dunlop crown, Michael Barrable,
also on board a Subaru WRC, was third. The Group N
category was won by Adrian Quinn (Mitsubishi)
Posted: September 24, 2003 9:37 PM
Donnelly set the pace on the 9.9-mile opening stage,
Mullaghmore, where Harrison was a mere second in
arrears. Niall Maguire, the defending Dunlop
champion, slotted his Subaru into third place - eleven
seconds adrift of Harrison and four ahead of Dunlop
contender, Michael Barrable, who, like the others,
remarked on the greasy nature of the stage. Adrian
McElvaney and Patrick Elliott completed a sextet of
Subaru WRC's. Mike Moloney, in a Mk. 2 Escort, upheld
local honour, he was a sensational seventh.
Out on the second stage, top seed, Niall Maguire
crashed his Subaru WRC and the stage was subsequently
cancelled. The third stage, Maurice's Mills, saw
Harrison, even though he remarked that he lost a
little confidence, eke out a six second lead over
Donnelly. The Dunlop Championship leader managed to
finish the stage with his Subaru WRC unscathed after a
moment when it drifted perilously close to the Clare
scenery. With Maguire's demise, Barrable moved into
third. Patrick Elliott also in a Subaru WRC was
fourth with Adrian McElvaney opining that the rear
suspension of his Subaru WRC was posing a few
problems. Moloney continued to maintain his
impressive run, he was sixth - five seconds ahead of
the rear wheel drive BMW M3 of Denis Cronin. The top
ten was completed by Sean Lyons (Escort), the Peugeot
205 of Mac McKenna and Paddy Boyle (Escort). Richard
Casey retired his Escort with a blown engine. Peter
Clifford (Subaru) led the Group N category from the
Mitsubishi's of Adrian Quinn and Dunlop front-runner
in the showroom category, Derek Jobb.
There was just a second between Harrison and Donnelly
after they completed the fourth stage, then the
Macclesfield driver eked a further second ahead on the
fifth stage. The final stage of the second loop paid
dividends for Harrison, who arrived at the Toonagh
service halt with an eleven second lead. Barrable
remarked that he was beginning to regain his
confidence, he was 24 seconds behind his Dunlop rival,
Donnelly.
Adrian McElvaney and Patrick Elliott shared fourth,
the suspension of the McElvaney Subaru WRC showing
some improvement. Denis Cronin gradually increased
his pace in the very difficult conditions and his BMW
M3 was eleven seconds ahead of the Escort of Clare
ace, Mike Moloney.
The lead also changed in Group N when Peter Clifford's
Subaru developed fuel pump problems and Adrian Quinn
led the similar Mitsubishi of Derrick Jobb with Willie Fannin moving up to third in his new Subaru.
Out on the last loop, Harrison extended his lead and
went on to take his first ever outright victory.
Donnelly, sensibly, backed off on the final stages
even though he did have a spin on the very last
corner. Barrable was third and McElvaney won the
battle for fourth. Denis Cronin won the rear wheel
drive class, he was sixth; Mac McKenna was next and
Sean Lyons (Escort) and Ollie O'Donovan in the
McKinstry P2000 Subaru was ninth and Group N winner,
Adrian Quinn (Mitsubishi) was tenth. Mike Moloney
retired his Escort with a blown engine.
Non-starters included Maurice Gass, David Armstrong,
Tim McNulty and Ray Breen.
1. J. Harrison/H. Bell (Subaru Impreza WRC)1h. 01m. 21s.
2. E. Donnelly/P. Toner (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1h. 01m. 51s.
3. M. Barrable/D. O'Gorman (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1h. 02m. 56s.
4. A. McElvaney/P. Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1h. 03m. 22s.
5. P. Elliott/M. Cahill (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1h. 03m. 34s.
6. D. Cronin/H. O'Sullivan (BMW M3) 1h. 05m. 24s.
7. M. McKenna/J. Loughran (Peugeot 205 RWD) 1h. 06m. 31s.
8. S. Lyons/J. Devine (Escort)1h. 06m. 45s.
9. O. O'Donovan/P. Moynihan (Subaru WRC) 1h. 06m. 47s.
10. A. Quinn/L. Roe (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6) 1h. 07m. 45s.
Dunlop National Rally Championship
(Positions after Round 9):
1. Eugene Donnelly 156;
2. Michael Barrable 142;
3. Adrian McElvaney 102;
4. Jim Harrison 99