Report
Posted: January 24, 2010 10:24 PM
Willie McKeown and Patrick McCollum got the defence of their title off to a bright start by claiming victory in the Tour of the Mournes Rally, the first round of the McGrady Insurance Navigation Rally Championship last Friday night.
The rally started in Rathfriland and used the roads between there and Banbridge during the 80 mile route. A persistent fog never lifted throughout the rally and made life very difficult for the drivers.
Not much separated the top three throughout the rally and indeed any of them could have won it. Going into the final section, Eddie Murphy and Barry Taggart held the lead by 2 marks from McKeown/McCollum, but they lost a full 8 minutes in finding the final control and handed victory to the champions. Gary Sheridan and Lloyd Cochrane could also have won where it not for a time consuming section 3 from the end. They ended in 3rd place, just 3 marks behind the winners.
Andrew Hughes and Neil Anderson, on their first attempt the Semi-Expert Class, where the instructions are that bit tougher to solve than they would have used to, won the class from Ken McDonald and Rachel Muldoon.
The best of the Novice Class crews were Richard Beattie and Ian Hawthorne who led the class from start to finish. Barry Gilpin and Denis Morton were just that bit behind the leaders in most sections but claimed 2nd in class. Richard and Mark Hughes were 3rd, but if hadn't been for one missed control costing them 30 minutes, they would have won the class.
Results
Posted: January 24, 2010 9:48 PM
Overall:
- Willie McKeown/Patrick McCollum (Expert, Vauxhall Corsa) 19 marks;
- Eddie Murphy/Barry Taggart (Expert, Vauxhall Corsa) 21;
- Gary Sheridan/Lloyd Cochrane (Expert, Proton) 22;
- John Henderson/Jonathan Henderson (Expert, Nissan Micra) 62;
- David Preston/Kyle Preston (Expert, Citroën Saxo) 87;
- Gordon Simpson/Derek Graham (Expert, Citroën C4) 104;
- Clifford Auld/John Lindsay (Expert, Fiat Tipo) 108;
- Andrew Hughes/Neil Anderson (Semi-Expert, Peugeot 306) 129;
- Ken McDonald/Rachel Muldoon (Semi-Expert, Peugeot 205) 145;
DNF Leslie Hawe/Gareth Hawe (Expert, Renault Clio) DNF;
DNF William Howard/David Howard (Semi-Expert, Vauxhall Astra) DNF;
Novices:
- Richard Beattie/Ian Hawthorne (Citroën Saxo) 26;
- Barry Gilpin/Denis Morton (Rover 414) 43;
- Richard Hughes/Mark Hughes (Vauxhall Corsa) 54;
- Ian Johnston/Aaron Johnston (Nissan Micra) 73;
- Clive Latimer/David McElroy (Seat Ibiza) 101;
DNF Patsy Branney/Michael Gilmore (Škoda Favorit) DNF
Regulations:
Posted: January 11, 2010 5:53 PM
Club Website
Posted: January 1, 2010 12:01 AM
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