2000 Downhill Hotel Mayo Stages Rally - 13 Mar '00

Posted: March 13, 2000 2:43 PM

Nesbitt, who was competing in his state-of-the-art Subaru Impreza World Rally Car, got off to cautious start with Harris completing the opening Stage seven seconds faster than that of the Tarmac Championship front runner. However two punctures, the first of which was on Stage 3, ended any chances the Donegal driver had of victory.

Third on the Downhill Hotel sponsored rally was Jim Harrison/Mike Gibson driving their Ford Escort Cosworth, who at one time held second spot when Harris suffered his second puncture on Stage 5. The Cheshire duo then lost this position as Harris made a strong recovery over the final three Stages.

The first major retirement of the rally came on Stage Two. Visiting English crew Pete Doughty/Tim Sturla were forced out when they experienced problems with the newly fitted sequencial gearbox in the Ford Escort WRC. As one of the main challengers to Nesbitt for victory, they had started the day well with third quickest time on the opening Stage. However, at the end of Stage two their rally was over.

The other big retirement was that of George Cullen/Dermot O'Gorman. Originally on the reserve list, the Galway men slotted in at No.5 seeds and were in a comforatble third place when they were forced to pull out with clutch failure in their Subaru Impreza.

Top local crew was Rory O'Connor/Francis Kenny, from Ballyhaunis, taking an excellent seventh overall in their Escort Cosworth.

With the 2000 Dunlop National Championship now under way after a successful opening rally, this year's championship looks set to provide some entertaining action over the 9 remain events. Round 2 is in a fortnights time, 26th of March, when crews compete in the Millennium Autos Galway Spring Rally.

    Driver/Co-Driver 		   Car                  Time

 1. Andrew Nesbitt/James O'Brien - Subaru Impreza WRC - 1:02.44
 2. Paul Harris/Eugene O'Donnell - Subaru Impreza Sti - 1:05.55
 3. Jim Harrison/Mike Gibson     - Escort RS Cosworth - 1:06.25
 4. James Gillen/Shane Purcell   - Escort RS Cosworth - 1:06.48
 5. Ray Breen/John Purcell 	 - Subaru Impreza 555 - 1:07.39
 6. Denis Cronin/Helena Sullivan - BMW M3             - 1:08.14
 7. Rory O'Connor/Francis Kenny  - Escort RS Cosworth - 1:08.45
 8. Joe & Dermot MacHugh  (Gp N) - Escort RS Cosworth - 1:09.16
 9. Joe McGurk/Arthur Kearns 	 - Toyota Celica GT4  - 1:09.33
10. Glenn Allen/Adrian Johnson   - Ford Escort 2.0    - 1:09.38

Leaders: 
SS1-2 Paul Harris
SS3-8 Andrew Nesbitt

Stage Winners
SS1 Paul Harris
SS2-8 Andrew Nesbitt

Major Retirements

Pete Doughty  - Ford Escort WRC     - Gearbox- Stage 2
George Cullen - Subaru Impreza 555  - Clutch - Stage 4