SS3: After three stages of the Carryduff Forklift Down
Rally, Jonny Greer and Kirsty Riddick continue to lead the event thanks to
their stunning time through stage one where they blitzed the opposition!
They were very much on the pace through stages two and three
with third and fifth fastest times, leaving them with a lead of 8.5 seconds at
first service.
Meirion Evans and Jonathan Jackson are leading the chase in
second overall, closely followed by Jon Armstrong and Noel O’Sullivan. It’s
Armstrong’s first event in a World Rally Car and after settling in over the tricky
opening stage, he went on to claim fastest time on stage two.
After the Eikon Spectator stage, Armstrong trails the
leaders by 10.8 seconds but is very much the man on the move.
Daniel Harper and Chris Campbell lost a little bit of ground
to the leaders over stages two and three. They had been in the top three after
stage one but lost some precious seconds during the Drumaknocken stage two and
are fourth overall in front of Stephen Wright and Liam Moynihan.
Wright was the early McGrady Insurance N.I. Championship leader
after his round one win but he missed the third round of the series. Today
marks his return and although it’s still early in the event, he’s on course for
another top result if he can maintain his pace.
Welshman Melvyn Evans and Aled Davies hold sixth in their Fabia
R5 while Steve Wood and Keith Moriarty set fastest time on the spectator stage
to arrive at service in seventh overall ahead of Derek and Mark McGeehan.
The McGeehan father and son team are the current Northern
Ireland Championship leaders and are thoroughly enjoying their day in what is only
Mark’s second time reading pace notes.
Stuart Biggerstaff and Anthony Nestor are chomping at their
heels in ninth overall. It’s Stuart’s first event with a left-hand drive car
and incredibly he has taken to it like a duck to water. The McKinstry
Motorsport Fiesta R5 is performing well and Biggerstaff is quietly pleased with
his pace.
In the two-wheel drive category, Damian Toner and Barry
McParland are starting to increase their pace now that the roads are beginning to
dry. They hold 10th overall after a stunning run through stage two which saw
them annihilate the 2WD field.
Toner is more than 16 seconds ahead of nearest rivals Wesley
Patterson and Johnny Baird, with John Devlin and John McCarthy third in the
category.
Unfortunately for championship sponsor Fintan McGrady, his
rally has come to a premature end due to a minor gearbox problem. The crew have
managed to get it fixed but with no ‘Rally 2’ option, the crew is unable to
restart the event.
Wayne Sisson and Michael Kendry hit trouble during stage
three when a ball joint failed unexpectedly. Luckily, the stage was relatively
short and their service crew were able to fix the problem in service but the
team dropped six places, leaving them in 18th overall.
Crews are now on their way out of service for the longer
second loop of stages. They will tackle five tests, including another blast
through the Eikon’s spectator stage, before returning to service.
Latest results are available from www.rallyscore.net.
Jonathan
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